Stay the Same

  • First sunshine in four months!

    Yesterday for the first time in four months the sun was high enough above the mountains for it to be shining on me while I was filming at 8.30am. The light is changing really quickly now and waking up believing I have slept through both alarms only to find it is actually only 7.30am has…

  • #22 Small cat arrives in post

    Someone in Singapore sent me a very small handcarved wooden cat in the post with a note describing it as a “woody pal” to brighten my day, which it did immensly. It’s not strictly a response to the film but was such a nice thing to receive I thought I would share it here. As…

  • The Entire History of You

    A while ago someone suggested I watch Charlie Brookers drama Black Mirror in response to this film. There is no TV reception here and limited broadband but it looks great. I’m particularly interested in The Entire History of You in which everyone has an implant that records everything they see and hear so that they…

  • #21 Calligraphy by Rufus Gerrard-Wright

  • 8 months on and dreaming of escape . .

    I have just passed the 8 months mark! This is how long I have been going out every day in all weathers filming myself for ten minutes in an attempt to make a film exploring our desire to document our lives through film and capture time. Today wasn’t pleasant, the rain was coming directly at…

  • #20 A Drawing by Rhona

    Rhona Miller is my next door neighbour, she and her sister Isla run The Knoydart Pottery and Tearoom. It is a very special place to have here on Knoydart, like stepping into a cute french film. There is lots of bunting and pretty handmade things, not just pottery and cakes, but monkeys made from scrap…

  • #19 Poem received

    Art exists to tell the truth about the human condition today we are all isolated by electronics we are lonely lost without human contact here by a remote Scottish loch on the edge of Britain’s last wilderness, a small, lone blonde film artist reminds us of ourselves. PWD

  • #18 Fiona McCade@The Scotsman

    This is what Fiona McCade had to say about Stay the Same in the Scotsman on Thursday 9th Feb. I am posting it here because although there is much I disagree with, I found it quite interesting as a response to the film and it got me thinking. I particularly liked hearing about her “Fiona…

  • #17 Portraits of a South African village

      I received these pictures and text yesterday from Rick Rohde in South Africa. There is something compelling about Vytjie’s photographs, particularly as she has been taking them over many years and I would love to see more, particularly her self portraits. I’m also really interested in Rick’s project giving cameras to young people because…

  • #16 Stuart Watson

    Stuart Watson sent me the following email for inclusion in this blog.  He is right to say that this blog is like a live notebook for a work in progress, which is very much how I see it. A virtual way of discussion and exploring the ideas behind the work. ‘Describing this with words seems…