Artist Statement

by LEN Final Major Project

Luis the owner of the ESPACIO14 gallery I will be exhibiting in is working with me on an artist statement. Here is the first draft which I expect to change a lot as I circulate it and incorporate feedback. It will be important to produce a version of this in Valenciano, Catallan and English. English and Spanish versions are here.

In English

Len’s work is triggered by his own emotions. He makes use of material contingent to him to create an explanation of what it is to be alive. He creates his work during his experience of strong emotions and then assembles a narrative with the gathered material as a process of remembering and forgetting. His intent is for viewers to project their own experiences on to the work exhibited. His most recent work ‘every bird i see will be part of you’ explores his emotional journey through 2019 and 2020. In January, 2020, Karen, his soul mate over forty years, chose to end her life in Switzerland. In 2019 Karen became paralysed from a long slow deterioration with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. Len’s work is a reconstruction after the event using material produced during his experience. A previous work, ‘Forlorn’, related feelings he experienced in the village of Susuz in Cyprus, abandoned in 1974. It connected him with the story of his mother’s family in which previous generations were driven out of Croatia by the Turkish in to Hungary and then Austria. Len has a degree in Mathematics. With a lifelong enquiry in what it is to be alive he gained an MSc in Psychology in 2010 at the University of London and studied Gestalt Systems theory with the Cleveland Institute, USA. He continues his enquiries with his camera as he now completes an MA in Photography at Falmouth University. To earn a living Len worked in a multinational for 30 years based in the UK, Belgium, USA and Singapore. Len currently lives in Spain.

In Spanish

El trabajo de Len es provocado por sus propias emociones. Hace uso de material que le es contingente para crear una explicación de lo que es estar vivo. Crea su trabajo durante su experiencia de emociones fuertes y luego ensambla una narrativa con el material reunido como un proceso de recordar y olvidar. Su intención es que los espectadores proyecten sus propias experiencias sobre el trabajo expuesto. Su trabajo más reciente, “Cada pájaro que vea será parte de ti” explora su viaje emocional a través de 2019 y 2020. En enero de 2020, Karen, su alma gemela de más de cuarenta años, decidió terminar con su vida en Suiza. En 2019, Karen quedó paralizada por un lento y prolongado deterioro con esclerosis múltiple secundaria progresiva. El trabajo de Len es una reconstrucción después del evento utilizando material producido durante su experiencia. Un trabajo anterior, ‘Forlorn’, relata los sentimientos que experimentó en el pueblo de Susuz en Chipre, abandonado en 1974. Lo conectaba con la historia de la familia de su madre en la que las generaciones anteriores fueron expulsadas de Croacia por los turcos a Hungría y luego Austria. Len tiene una licenciatura en Matemáticas. Con una investigación de por vida sobre lo que es estar vivo, obtuvo una Maestría en Psicología en 2010 en la Universidad de Londres y estudió teoría de Sistemas Gestalt en el Instituto de Cleveland, EE. UU. Continúa sus indagaciones con su cámara mientras completa una maestría en fotografía en la Universidad de Falmouth. Para ganarse la vida, Len trabajó en una multinacional durante 30 años con sede en el Reino Unido, Bélgica, Estados Unidos y Singapur. Len actualmente vive en España.

Categories: Final Major Project, Project Development FMP

LEN

I am a Photographer. As well as taking many photographs I am currently studying for an MA in Photography at Falmouth University. I will direct my attention through the lens of my camera for the next couple of years and see what shows up. I see a photograph as a little bit of magic capturing a moment in time. If successful it surprises and engages your emotions. It tells a story about the wonders of being alive or tells us what we need to change to make it a better world to live in. That is enough for me to get going and then like walking a 1000 miles, which I did across the UK in 2010, or walking 200 miles across Cyprus, which I did in November last year, it is one step at a time.

I was a writer. The title of my unpublished book was ‘You Would Have Done The Same.' It is about a successful guy in love with his wife who lets her die when he discovers her in the process of committing suicide. The title gives a clue as to what I think you would have done. The book is 200 pages long. I found it cathartic to write it but after two years of work and reviewing with agents decided it probably needed another 2000 hours to get the whole book up to the standard of some of the pages. Writing is great but it is a lot of sitting down so I decided to get out and walk, play tennis, play bridge, go birding, watch football at Nottingham Forest, Arsenal and Valencia and anywhere else if I can, meditate, cook and eat. I was a writer who has so far failed to become an author.
I was a young man who loved Mathematics and thoroughly enjoyed getting a BSc at Liverpool University. While there I went often to Anfield and the Philharmonic Hall. I was all set on doing a PhD until I went for interview practice at BP and got seduced by the excitement of an International business career. BP was a great adventure building trading teams and businesses in London, Antwerp, Cleveland Ohio and Singapore. Fabulous people and some great challenges and also very hard work, constant jet lag and lots of fun along the way. I married Karen, my stunning wife, and had the most amazing time with her and our three boys Alex, Tom and Dan. She has multiple sclerosis and we have taken on many challenges together but somehow keep creating a new normal against the horrors thrown our way. She is the love of my life.

After BP I decided to coach senior executives and quickly realized I had a lot to learn
about what makes people tick. I had a fantastic 18 months on the International Programme of the Cleveland Gestalt Institute. A great faculty and a
wonderful group of people on the programme. We studied and worked in Dingle, Singapore, Holland, Cape Town and
Lisbon. This also got me interested in the way we think and make decisions so I studied for an MSc in Psychology atUniversity College London in 2010. The
Masters was in Cognitive and Decision Sciences and I found it fascinating what
we do know but also how much we don’t know about how we think and make
decisions.

I loved coaching and making a difference. I got a number of people to hear themselves, remove some of their own chains and free up the way they thought about the world. I remain fascinated by how people react to and engage with the world. My Masters thesis was why do two people given the same information make different decisions? Put simply, it is because each of us are unique in the way we are constructed.

Since returning from Singapore I found English winters tough so moved to Spain where I now live. The people are lovely, the scenery amazing, food delicious and the sun shines all the time. Almost.

All of these experiences will feed in to my time now as a Photographer. Three motivations I am lucky to have are enthusiasm, curiosity and a continuous interest in learning. All the time I look forward to meeting old friends and making new friends and experiencing this wonderful life together.