My name is Ben, I am an artist based in Bristol, U.K. I have just completed a Masters degree in Multi-Disciplinary Printmaking and am beginning life as an artist beyond the confines of university.
In my second year of study I discovered asemic writing. This is loosely defined as being writing that contains no semantic content, but does offer aesthetic and emotive meaning. This gestural way of working enabled me to communicate my thoughts on a range of subject matter; from transcribing the music I was listening to at the time, to describing my experiences during the coronavirus pandemic. Asemic writing has proven to be a method of working that conveys outward reflections of inner feelings, and I am currently interested in discerning how I can utilise asemic writing as a means to understand or comprehend narrative.
Towards the end of my time as a student I discovered that the performative elements of the handwritten mark were just as important to me as the finished output. Handwriting itself is a novel topic of discussion since its use is in decline, in favour of both touch and thumb typing. By not defining myself under a fixed artistic identity I am able to explore more areas where my ideas of asemic writing, autobiography and narrative might grow.
The Masters degree taught me a lot about myself, both personally and as a creative practitioner. My practice endured a development beyond that which I could have ever anticipated. A big part of the degree was writing a critical journal that ran alongside our practice. This was a space where we could discuss how our work would progress as well as any relevant influences that we happened upon along the way. I wrote my journal as a blog, hoping to network with likeminded creatives throughout my time as a student, and by the end of the course it became apparent that blogging had become an integral aspect of my practice. So begins my new journey as an artist and blogger.
I have signed off from my critical journal blog and will continue to explore my ideas, influences and growth in this space. If my progression as a Masters student is of interest, my critical journal is archived here.
Thank you to those that have migrated with me from the old platform, and welcome to those that are new to reading about my practice. There is an option to subscribe to my posts in the sidebar, so that you will be kept up to date with everything that I discuss along the way.
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