2018- EXIT: STAGE RIGHT
To summarise the passing year in a coherent way is very difficult but, as 2019 appears on the horizon, it’s also impossible to leave it without comment. An ‘untouchable’ status on anything significant is becoming far more familiar these days as portrayals of our own lives usurp the prime position that atom bombs, genocides and avalanches once held. Moreover, the former are now organised into episodes of online ‘positivity’ coupled with images of the self which bear only marginal relevance. If it’s not extreme close-ups of freshly cemented dental yawns, then jumping up and down on the spot is the way to go. Rome may be burning but at least one’s teeth are white, arthritis hasn’t set in and the half-full mentality of the meek isn’t compromised. ‘News’ today incorporates testimonials to one’s own beauty and utility and it’s realised at the expense of both accuracy and interest. Meanwhile, what really matters keeps chugging away underneath the online surface and we barel...