Camilio

BLOG 1 / 15-1-2021 / Camilio van Lenteren / Visual artist. 

TITLE
Bey bey 2020, welcome 2021. A general text on art installation 'Isolation Hibernation (torpor) Box' (art installation / performance 2019):

SUBTITLE: 
An inconvenient personal truth /  vision, anxiety, thought and reasoning to create an art installation and performance. 

READING INSTRUCTIONS: 
English is not my mother tong, I am dyslectic and I write with dark humour in mind with a pinch of sarcasm. Yes I look in the mirror on a weekly basis, I practise what I preach and I make mistakes too. 

TO START WITH
Listening to David Bowie Live at BBC 2000, writing this piece of text, as Bowie has a soothing effect on my, still an even 5 years after his death (1-10-2016). And to be honest, I loved the David Bowie the most since 1995 when the Outside CD came out. David was much more relaxed and himself in the last decennia of his life, but hey, that is just my opinion. Live music and stand-up comedian shows I put on my headphones when I am restless, melancholic, anxiety or just straight up depressed. Why I tell you this might will get much clearer later on, but of course to start with, David Much is a true artist in music, performance and creating his own visual art. And my blogs mostly will go about art, as I am myself a visual artist. That is the point and that is what is happening here. 

GLOBAL ART SCENE
As in the global art scene (as it should be called and be), still dominated by the Western art world, the discussion is focused (and I understand why) on sexism, the BLM movement, more inclusiveness, gender neutrality and sexual harassment and rape claims on white privileged old man. Still I think there are still more urgent matters to discuss, as to say, THE GLOBE IS BURNING and it is 10 past 12. I say this because living in countries not considered the West, these themes are not as urgent as in The West, and again The West is dominating the discussions again and where “art” “should be about”. It is still and will be not inclusive. 
If only we would and could be wise, we just should make everything 50/50 man/woman and 50% of the art should be made by people of color, whatever that maybe. We should be grownups and the fact that we are thinking about it, discussing about it, means it is still not done and the wrong people are still in power. But I let myself carry away. Focus!

STARTING POINT 
When covid-19 (sorry, Corona sounds too much to me as a party) went global in the beginning of 2000, panic went global, I just was very much surprised by the first respond in the countries it hits. Well, better said: no immediately respond, more just talking. The respond was talking and thinking, not acting. Especially in so called democratic countries. Not one democracy declared state of emergency immediately, only the country I am in. Lucky me, lucky country. Until know “we kept it dry”. 

NETHERLANDS
Originally I am from the Netherlands and at the moment there it is a shit show, concerning Covid-19. Not necessary because the infection cases are hitting the roof and beyond, but because we had to “wait” 8 months, or so, before we could have a solid rule to start wearing face masks in public spaces. In the country I live now, if you cough, you punt on a face mask out of free will, out of respect for others and to protect others. It is a, unwritten, social rule. 

NOW AND BEFORE DECEMBER 2019
It would be an understatement to say I am not happy with the situation the world is in now with Covid-19, as I am concern with the wellbeing of humans, especially as we are put in this situation outside of our control by governments that should be, but aren’t. in control. Bringing another song of David Bowie in to mind: I am deranged (1995). But let me not get carry away again. Focus.

HAPPY, WHY?
So, about me not being happy now (and I guess I am not the only one), with the ending of 2019 and 2020, that is not new as I wasn’t particular happy the state of the world before 2019 either. Deforestation up to the max (in Holland because of “bio-gas”, Brazil and America because of selfish idiotically populistic leaders),  Wildlife 70% down in the last 30 years, insects 60% in the last 30 years, plastic soup in our oceans, micro plastics everywhere and our waste of energy and extensive (and unnecessary) C02 emissions, etc.. 

BLIND SIGHTED
I have the feeling we are blind sighted by global warming, climate change and the still growing emissions of CO2, which will meld the polar ice and will let the sea levels rise, but that is just an outcome we can comprehend, see and touch. Still, that already is ridiculed by populistic consumentistic capitalistic (neo liberal sounds to neat for what it is) world leaders. Besides they ridicule it, they make us feel we can negotiate with it, that we (the 10 to 20% of humanity who can pay for it) still can choose for cheap meet, fish, clothing, cars, flying trips, etc. A virus doesn’t listen to democracy, not to economic crisis and nor will climate change and global warming. But, there I drift away again. 
 
NORMAL OR ABNORMAL BEHAVIOUR 
So all this I wanted to write down in order to get to the reasoning and the why I made a particular art installation and performance. As in all the panic and chaos after the global Covid-19 breakout, people where, in my eyes, only focused on getting a vaccine as soon as possible, going back to normal and not able, or wanting to change their lifestyle. Well, the lifestyle asked  by our governments where to go into isolation and that is exactly who we are not as human beings, we are 100% social animals. Real options or alternatives, how to deal with these long isolations times, were not given to us, no soothing inventions where given to us in order to keep cinema’s open, bars, restaurants, etc. We were also not given a reset button or pause button. Some exceptions where, Half way the pandemic, plastic screens to hug through and some restaurants providing glass houses so you still could eat there. That where the only “normal” things I was seeing, but nothing was given to us, provided by or supported by the governments. It is really sad. 

WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER
What also was a normal response to see was panic, chaos, anxiety, etc. People were talking about isolation and the anxiety in response of their changing world which was spinning out of control. The governments where just talking that we should listen, stay home, work from howe, war against a virus, total lockdown, we are in this together, etc.
As I am connected to different groups with people who have a psychological problems I am quite informed on that subject, and I can tell you we are not in this together. In the first wave people with mental illness seemed to relax more because as everybody was more or less panicking, they felt more normal. Now, with the second and third wave and the continuation of isolation periods, it is flipping to the other side, sadly.  
The reason I am in those groups is because I am diagnose with a general anxiety disorder myself. That is the only reason I am telling you this, and this time a am not drifting away from the main object here (wink wink). First of all, we all have a disorder in some way, and if not, you may be a psychopath, of which many world leaders and high managers are affected with. 

PAUZE BUTTON
For suppressing my own anxiety for Covid-19 and countries closing their borders I bought Diazepam (not a fan of pharmacies either, as in a consumerism capitalism they react on what they can make money, the most profit, with) and I made myself an Isolation Hibernation Box in which I had a Torpor for 2 weeks, the period of an enforced 14 days quarantine in the country I am at the moment. Reading all the research of NASA and Biologists on Torpor and Hibernations, I hope to slowly extend these pause sleeps to 3 or 6 months, so that we, in the next pandemic, yes there will be one soon, can just sleep it out.    

Amen and thank you (wink wink).