Debrief
It's been a couple of weeks since the show ended - enough to let the dust settle a bit.
The show was a success. I've learnt a great deal about myself, my pictures and the practical aspects of putting on a show. I sold enough pictures to cover the gallery hire, and I met a number of people who like my work. Working with Gill was a pleasure.
Seeing my pictures framed and on the wall gave me some distance from them and allowed me to enjoy them in a simple, non-apologetic way. Showing my stuff now seems like a natural part of its life-cycle. I had worried that showing the work was an ego trip, but that turned out not to be the case. My pictures are not me, and I related to them in a way which is not so different from anyone else who wandered into the gallery. This was a relief.
The hanging was excellent - thanks again to Steve Dixon for working with me for several hours getting this right.
After the show ended and everything was packed away, I was left with a strong feeling of disorientation, which I didn't expect. Talking with other people, this is apparently to be expected after a show. It's not a feeling of anti-climax, which I did expect, but a complex mixture of exhaustion, incomprehension of how the work and the show came together as well as they did, fear that you won't be able to pull it off again, and confusion about about how to move forward. It looks like every show shifts the ground under you a bit, and everything looks slightly different afterwards.
After a few days I stumbled onto a new trail and I'm off again. Steve and I are planning a collaborative show later in the year. You'll be the first to know the details.
7:51:30 AM 
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