I was really interested to see on the news last night that a new exhibition celebrating 100 years of the Secret Intelligence Service is being exhibited. James Hart Dyke spent a year recording their work in a series of paintings and sketches, they don't identify actual SIS agents or events however they illustrate this unusual and secretive word.
I am going to try and visit the exhibition as I am interested to see what James' perception on the SIS is. We all have our own personal view on the SIS, whether it be from watching 'Spooks' and seeing all these extremely fast packed episodes on MI6 saving the world, to those who view the SIS as the calm and collected observer building relationships with all manners of people. To see someone's perception of this world through art will be extremely interesting.
My fascination with perception came from a little boy I was looking after last summer, he was playing in the garden and found something, he came bounding up to me and thrust it into my hand, "See Catherine, look look look what i've found" his fingers moving mine over a small snail whose shell was broken.
This was the first time that I noticed that Jack thought everyone 'saw' with their hands. My first instinct was to throw the slimy little creature to the ground, however Jack is blind, his perception of the snail was intrigue not fear like mine, its amazing how your perception of something can change in an instance depending on the circumstances.
I heard about this on Radio 4. He had to go through all the vetting procedure and everything to take the commission - which he did for no fee apparently too.
ReplyDeleteSeeing with our fingers - very true if you allow yourself