I am selling this piece on EBAY, this is a one off opportunity to own something of mine for, well, a price that
you dictate.
Bidding has started at 99p! *gasp*
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/
Here is the story of why I am selling it:
This piece is called ‘Film Still’.
It is a portrait of my best friend Mariaflora Papapanagiotou, that I made in 2007. I met
Mariaflora in 2002, the same night that I met my future husband and father of my child
and three other lifelong friends and collaborators. It was an utterly life-changing day.
Admittedly it was not love at first sight for us, I thought Mariaflora was terrifying and she
thought I was pointless. It was art and the thirst to create that brought us together and in
a bar in Soho in a dark smoky tunnel we shared our history, united on our romantic and
lateral perspectives of the world and built a home in each other.
God I am actually weeping now.
Only because these friendships are so rare and precious and sometimes it takes the path
of time to realise that. There are seas between us now. When she first moved away, I was
shopping for a replacement, but over time I realised that that was it, that was something
special right there and I was lucky to be part of it.
Mariaflora is getting married. Her future husband is my friend too, he is compassionate,
sincere and great company and he really gets her (as well as being a complete babe).
Basically everything you wish for your best friend.
This piece was the absolute turning point in my career as an artist, I found this mattress at
the side of the road, with my 8 month old daughter asleep in her pram. I stood at the side
of the road for what felt like an age. After becoming a mother I didn’t really know where I
stood as an artist, was it time to move on and dedicate my life to my beautiful daughter, or
should I fight even harder to be everything and did I have the energy and strength to do
that? I stood at the side of the road and knew that if I didn’t drag this skanky old mattress
into my family home then art was over for me, if I did do it, then I had to really rise up as
an artist, if I was going to have something come between my daughter and I then it had to
be really worth it.
I chose to go for it.
I dragged it home and I worked 9 days in a sleepless starving intense frenzy, unearthing
this piece from the depths of the mattress and in some ways it is the best piece I have
ever made.
It has been on a journey with me. It has been to New Orleans, it has been in the New
York Times, its in the book PUSH Stitchery, it has been tumbling through tumblr over 2500
times and I made a film with it.
But now it is time to let it go. Mine and Mariafloras relationship has always thrived on
poetry and this is to celebrate that, to let our past friendship go full circle and be
supporting our present lives, that the times we spend together and being in that moment is
pure happiness and the memories of those times when they move into the past are utterly
precious.
I am still an artist and times are tough, my god, I am literally skimming through and
growing grey hairs in the process. But my daughter and I have to be there for her wedding
and be able to be 100% present. I need to BE there, support her in any way I can to make
this the most beautiful, heartfelt wedding and I cannot let her down in this, you only get
one shot right?
So I am selling this piece and though the thought at times gives me heart palpitations, it
feels like the best solution. I want you to know that bidding on it, you are not just bidding
on a piece of art, you are supporting love in every way.
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