What better way to start off our second year of [synonym] sessions than to go to the location it first debuted – Tramway, Glasgow!
Maud Sulter’s You are my kindred spirit is a living archive, harbouring photographs, film, collages, and sound; a collaboration of disparate mediums that fills the enormous concrete space. The themes are of family and diaspora brought to life by their stories in relation to the artist whether it was familial or familiar.
This made us think of our own stories, our own archives, our own lived experiences.
We encouraged our participants to bring along their own piece of archive, whether it was a photo or an object, and asked for these to be centric to their writing. Having viewed the black and white photographs, the radical femme collages, and the flesh-y film as well as inhaled sonically Sulter’s sound we moved to the writing section of the session.
Izzy – time anchor, circular calendar
in a small round disc of tucked time the millennium looms time stayed as a blue-white structure, my grandfather’s knowledge secret knowledge wisdom of time space confusion illusion of success, perhaps progress.
somehow the past future and present remained the same. the greeks the romans the jesus people saw the year tick boom in a continual dawn light for who can see what comes next, what bites. your understanding assurance of the history of time grounded me in a static presence, a cubby in which to grow
dinosaurs then humans and
nothing in between
iridescent study lamp
glimmer sweet touching of material
lives lived
30 years in the future as
inconceivable as 2000
the stretch of my life or theirs
the horizon unchanged
the significance ours, the same
Eliza – ya wee pet
pet an endearing term as hen is to the Scots
Pet in Geordie
a sense of love
wrapped in the 3 letters
put together
to touch the soul
Why aye pet. The wor lad had a good neet.
Through the connections of love in words, love in affection, love in time. Captured in the subtle vernacular of aye pet. I know what is said, I know how this touches the tips of my head to the tips of my toes.
A-J – Papa
Faux fireplace
thick green rug with
the creamy tassels,
the flattened red carpet that
paled throughout the day
only to be darkened at
the draw of curtains
the protective barrier
from the starsThe wax-y pencil case skin
and printer paper
white, dimmed while featuring
an animation of orange
from under the glow of the
plastic embersThe 2-D cowboys riding their horses
galloped through my ears
– crashing onto
the page through Papa’s pencils
Mother’s pride and lyle’s golden syrup
“Are you hungry, flower?”
Yes, papa, I couldn’t stop thinking about your syrup piece.
“Do you know how to make it?”
No, papa, can you make it for me, please?
“Okay, watch me make it.”
I knew how to make it, but I loved how he made it. He asked me so many times if I knew how to make it, and I always told him I didn’t. He made no fuss and made the piece. I felt that he enjoyed making them for me, and I enjoyed watching him prepare it.
Alan Buchanan’s syrup piece recipe: grab one bread slice (Mother’s Pride), spread the butter, and add the syrup (Lyle’s Golden). Fold the slice of bread to make the piece. Trim off the tough crust if you’re not a fan of its tough qualities.
I miss his syrup pieces. Crust and all.
Dragons
I have a confession to make: I like watching the fire shoot up from the pipes at power plants.
When I was young, my Papa would tell me that the fires erupting from those industrial chimneys are the work of dragons. As we drove past them in his silver Peugeot 207 he’d point and say that the dragons are the cause of these huge flumes of oranges and yellows.
Even today, I can’t help but imagine the dragons filling the tubes with their internal glow.
We are hosting [synonym] sessions writing events each month and have announced our seventh instalment taking place in Edinburgh for the first time. Find us at the Talbot Rice gallery on the 15th of March!
All are welcome, we aim for this workshop to be casual and we aim for this group to give space for all voices, expertise and experiences and very much encourage people who wish to also develop their writing, however, previous art writing is not essential.
For more information and tickets to our next [synonym] session click here.
We’d also like to thank Tramway and its team for all of their help and allowing us to organise our sixth [synonym] session with them.
Gal bag. 