Love Thy Neighbour (and yourself)
My message to y’all this blog post though is that you must continue to fight for what is right in the world, but occasionally take a break for self-care. You are useless if you collapse. Pace yourself. Monitor yourself for signs of cracks and love yourself. Stop for as long as you need, talk to loved ones, or if they too are frazzled, speak to Lifeline or some other professional service so that you can get back to the long fight for the wellbeing of our communities and planet.
From the very beginning of the month, art was happening. My art class, Artstop, run by Arts Access Victoria for humans with disability, have created a projection "Prism" in conjunction with The Little Projection Company (this is our second project with this company). The video is being projected high on the wall at the art precinct of 260 Sydney Rd, Brunswick (Bulleke-bek) in Naarm from dusk till midnight until the 30th of November. We wanted to continue on from the theme of our group exhibition “Shining A Light Into The Darkness”, by investigating the many colours of identity that make up our group and our communities.
Finally managed to get out on a photography adventure with my support worker. We ventured to the outstanding Tesselaar Flower Farm for their tulip displays and because their season had started early due to the messed up weather, we got free passes to the next show and as a bonus, I found two more free passes on the ground!
My sculpture "Tidal", from my anarchic multimedia series "The Reclamation of Terra", has gotten around, first at Brunswick Uniting Church’s exhibition "Living Colour", and currently it is on display at Merri-bek’s Summer Show at Counihan Gallery in Bulleke-bek. Please vote for my sculpture so I can be awarded the People’s Choice Award of $1,000!
I am one of the subjects of a photo shoot for an upcoming (2024) coffee table book and exhibition about the "older" trans community. I think though at not-quite-50, I’m one of the young’uns (which is great for the ego).
Meanwhile, I decided to create a 12th canvas for my Reclamation series, to represent the Intersex community, which is sometimes seen on the progressive pride flag. Here is a sneak peek at it, although it is not finished yet - I have yet to paint the bigender pride flag river motif.
On the 19th of October I photographed the official Naarm book launch of "Everything Under the Moon", an exquisite anthology of faerie tales told in a queerer light, edited by Michael Earp. It was an amazing turnout of all ages on the beautiful rooftop of the Victorian Pride Centre whilst the sun set.
Then I participated in an induction training video for Midsumma as part of their accessibility training. It was a lot of fun, but you'll have to wait to see the video (if I can get my hands on it), as I did not take any behind-the-scenes.
Whilst doing all of this I was also hustling to try and obtain more funding for the gala exhibition launch in January - I only need about $2500 more to be able to pay for the performers, Auslan interpreters, Welcome to Country, and catering/refreshments. So please keep sharing with your networks! People can continue to donate through my Ko-fi, or if they would like to donate a tax deductible donation then my Australian Cultural Fund is a viable option. Another way to donate to the cause if you want to remain anonymous and not send your details through the internet is via my PayPal: TLeighs World Vision.
I also made a 2024 calendar jam packed full of the images I took over the course of 2023. If you would like to buy a copy for friends/family/yourself as a delightful Christmas present, please get in touch privately and I can arrange the order through Vistaprint (they look very good, I am very happy with the quality!). I am currently selling the 300gsm high gloss version for $32 (including postage – Australia only), but this price could rise, so get in quick! This is currently an exclusive offer - I will be launching to the public next week!
So much happening, but I guess that is life in a consumerist society when you're an independent artist hustling to get your message out in to the wide yonder.
Whilst the wonderful world of art and creation has been occurring, I have also been combating hate for Muslims, in particular Palestinians who practically live in concentration camps that are now being relentlessly bombarded by a Zionist government who has granted exploration oil licenses to land not currently their own; supporting my Blak friends and their communities after an atrocious referendum – it is time for Treaty and Sovereignty; writing to the NSW government to end the use of conversion therapy on trans and queer humans; writing to local, state, and federal government over the continuing funding of the forestry sector and selling fresh licenses to new coal projects; championing for disability equity; and currently shouting loudly about ending horse cruelty (#NupToTheCup).
Oh, and I also fought fungicide infection in most of my 65 house plants and both a carpet beetle and clothes moth infestation, which meant cleaning absolutely everything and scrubbing every surface, nook, and cranny. Not so great for someone whose schizophrenia manifests bugs!
Needless to say, I have not been sleeping and have had to request emergency counselling services to deal with everything. My message to y’all this blog post though is that you must continue to fight for what is right in the world, but occasionally take a break for self-care. You are useless if you collapse. Pace yourself. Monitor yourself for signs of cracks and love yourself. Stop for as long as you need, talk to loved ones, or if they too are frazzled, speak to Lifeline or some other professional service so that you can get back to the long fight for the wellbeing of our communities and planet. Yesterday I drove to the nude beach for a couple of hours of nature and sun time, and now I am refreshed and back in the battle.
Many thanks to y'all for your support. Please continue to talk about what I am trying to achieve - community unity to reverse climate devastation, especially if financial support is out of your means now. At times of crisis our souls still need art and artists are often at the forefront of change, especially those of us from minority communities.
With love.
T.Leigh
Teague Leigh’s sculpture “Tidal” is able to win People’s Choice Award. Link to voting in blog.