My presentation is based on Bruce Mau’s Incomplete Manifesto for Growth. But with 43 points on his manifesto, I’ve had to tailor things a little - so here is Neneh Patel’s Incomplete Manifesto for Personal Growth. That’s me, by the way.
Kicking things off with number 43… which seems to have escaped me..
Let’s maybe move on to number 42 - which, is actually ‘Remember’.
42 Remember
From 505 to now
41 Laugh
Making sure that I make work that I enjoy - instead of what I feel I have to.
39 Interstitial spaces
Take a breather from working an allow yourself to think things over
37 Break it, stretch it, bend it, crush it, crack it, fold it,
This one just sounds good
34 Make mistakes faster
Making lots of work and
33 Take field trips
Allow experiences to shape my work — galleries and being outside, and drawing people and places. Armley Mills. Focussed on experiences.
32 Listen carefully
Work experience? Future - getting into contact with lots of people
30 Organisation = Liberty
29 Think with your mind
Leave the tech behind - concentrate and think things through via the sketchbook!
28 Make new words
New connections - conceptual work, create your own visual language - communicating through media - making a personal archive of textures.
27 Read only left-hand pages
Research informs my work - but I want to be thorough. This won’t do!
26 Don’t enter awards competitions
Do - and do it well. Do it as a challenge, and take yourself out of your comfort zone - Bumble brief. It tells you about your practice and where it is headed. Book cover.
24 Avoid software
A light touch is all that’s needed. Ink drawings are my thang. Then taking it into After Effects I just go mad
21 Repeat yourself
Make multiples of the same thing… especially for ink drawings
19 Work the metaphor
Visual metaphor, that is
18 Stay up late
Yes, but also don’t make a habit of it. Find a balance