Stay the Same

  • #29 In memory of Nick Darke

    It was particularly poignant when Henry Darke sent me these polaroids of his father playwright and poet Nick Darke who also died on June 10th in 2005. They were taken during a holiday Nick went on in Scotland with Henry’s mum Jane. One of Nick’s favourite books was Desert Solitaire by Edward Abby (Henry made…

  • #28 Henry Darke sings Stay the Same

    I have just had a visit from my good friends and felllow filmmakers Henry Darke and Harry Wootliff. Henry is also a musician and a few months ago he wrote this song in response to my film. It seemed apt to record it on the platform where I film myself every morning. Except we did…

  • Two weeks to go!

    And now I just want everything to stay the same . . . .  

  • #27 Sleep Stills by Pippa Best

    My friend Pippa Best sent me this short film yesterday in response to the project. I have known Pippa since early childhood when our parents were part of a baby sitting exhange so it is very appropriate her film is about childhood. Pippa and I lost touch for several years then accidentally bumped into each…

  • On Standing Still

    Twenty days to go. There has been some more press interest in the project recently. Interestingly the focus this time has been more on the idea of me standing still which I quite like. It’s very true that the process of making this film has involved standing still in many different ways. Every day I…

  • #26 Thomas Thwaites

    Thomas Thwaites  has visited Knoydart twice now to collect mica for his infamous Toaster Project which is now going to be part of a TV series he is working on for on Channel 4. In an equally tenacious project Thomas set out to build a household toaster from scratch using raw materials to demonstrate our…

  • One month to go!

    Today I have been filming at exactly the same time, in exactly the same place every day for 11 months. I now only have 31 days left to go. I can’t quite believe that filming is coming to an end this soon. The closer I get to finishing filming the more I have been questioning…

  • Response #25 Overtime by Claudia Firth

    My older sister, Claudia Firth, is also an artist. There are many ways in which our lives our weirdly parallel despite her living in the centre of London and I in the north-west of Scotland.  A couple of years ago Claudia started a project called Overtime. From her home in the Oxo Tower, a housing…

  • In search of a happy ending

    My self imposed prison has turned into a bit of a paradise recently. The weather has been glorious, incredible sunsets, blue skies, cuckoos and a weekend of kayaking. Strangely even with the good weather and the opportunity to travel again imminent I still feel the same anxiety that has underpinned this whole year. I have…

  • Time Piece by Jim Henson

    Just as I was starting to despair with the internet (see last post) thanks to Matt Hulse on facebook of all places I discovered Jim Henson’s 1965 experimental film Time Piece, below, which I’d never seen before and is a bit wonderful. The film was nominated for an Oscar and Henson made the first episode…