There’s nothing shameful in life being a double edged sword, we can write and if it touches someone, or it helps them to feel less alone then what a gift we’ve found in amongst the chaos.

solen collet 27/11/2023 solen collet 27/11/2023

Why all this music?

I’ve been busy in the studio working on self portraits and bringing some of my photos off of screens and into reality with Art Director Wizard, Hannah Taylor…pray to the print and post office gods that I get them back in time for:

Out of the Blue Drill Hall Open Studios

Sundays 3 & 10 December

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You’ll find me making a wee guest appearance with pals Lost Map Records in their studio, G49.

There’s an art market on out in the main space and also lots of neighbours work to have a nosy at. My studio is in a weird part of the building and I’d have had to get some door staff to bring folks up and down, in which case might as well just hire in a PA and build a bar…or sneak into a pal’s space and make a mess there instead.

Another month, eh…

Hope everyone is doing well? It’s pretty wild out there.

Thanks to the folks who came to say hi at Good Vibes this weekend, was nice to meet you, hope maybe some of us can work together next year.

Thanks to Rowanjoy for having me.

Out of the Blue Drill Hall Open Studios

Sundays 3 & 10 December

11-4

You’ll find me making a wee guest appearance with pals Lost Map Records in their studio, G49.

I’ll have some images of gigs/events I’ve shot for Lost Map over the last few years, along with a few performer portraits I made on Eigg last year at Howlin Fling. But I’ll also have a few prints to sell, maybe the stuff Hannah’s been putting together (definitely by the 10th).

Would be great to see you if you are free so fire along and say hi, bag some prints, records and merch…

I’d also love it if you joined the gang at LOST & FOUND.

It’s a private space on here where I write a bit. Mostly so far it’s been about a bunch of heavy stuff over the last year but I’m so bored of talking about that stuff and of trying to process traumatic things. It’s all a bit too woe is me. I’ve not written on there for a while as it’s all been a bit intense.

I was in the bath earlier thinking, why do I waste my time sometimes getting all maudlin about past lives I know I don’t miss. I don’t want to be cynical and hold all this tension in my body so maybes it’s all resurfacing just cos my body and brains know it’s time to alchemise them all…So I’ve started writing some short stories to add into the mix. Might be based on life experiences or mythology, who knows. Sue me.

I’ve promised some folks to write a bit more about my experiences of things like Poland Syndrome and kicking the booze so I’ll still rant on about that too I guess but I want to lean in to the tasty stuff. Also maybes get to share some stories from the old days about all the characters I’ve met and their weird and wonderful ways…Come along with me, no salacious scandals just some cathartic larking about and sharing tales to get to know each other better?

This last month has mostly been getting involved in my kid’s obsession with the beautiful game, visiting my lovely pals in Hamburg and avoiding them turning me into a cat lady, staring at art as always and having a wild old time on a lantern parade with a bunch of little kids.

Visiting church in Hamburg on a Saturday evening is a surreal experience which I didn’t know I needed and highly recommend. A woman was riding a hobby horse, pretending to be a male saint, while the weans sang some hymns about this saint fella hiding out in a goose shed. Praise be. After their lantern parade we had a wee band with a light up xylophone and marching drums play some tunes for us while everyone drank tea and ate goose shaped biscuits. Sonder. Perfect entertainment for space cadets who don’t speak German.

There’s also a lush exhibition on about Otto Dix’s shared influences. I fell in love with a black and white surreal film by Julian Rosefeldt, called Deep Gold. It’s a short made in 2014. Set in 1920s, it explores sexual morals, gender roles and the similarities in politics then and now, all set in a tiny Berlin nightclub. It’s like a shot too many of absinthe.

Oh and I also fell in love with poet Gregory Orr. I’ve been a fan of his work for a while, short and succinct lyrical gems. I watched him tell the story of his life (he killed his brother in a hunting accident as a wee kid, was tortured for demonstrating against war and all sorts) and how his art saved it and he’s just a very cool old boy. You can read a bit about his history here. He’s developed this whole world for his work in which he says there’s a book that contains all the poems and lyrics ever written, he calls it the beloved, and it’s a library where everyone has access to the magic of all art and words.

““I believe in poetry as a way of surviving the emotional chaos, spiritual confusions, and traumatic events that come with being alive.””

— Gregory Orr

I’ll be adding some prints to an online store on here over winter too. I’m also really bored of instagram and avoid all the other social platforms entirely so come join the regular old mailing list and I’ll remind you when I’ve word vommed on here again or when I’ve succumbed to the pressures of capitalism and done some offer on prints or when I’ve found my baws and sorted an exhibition or whatever…?

mailing list

PORTRAIT TIME??

I’ve carved out some time before the wedding work in 2024 so I’ll be in the studio being a weirdo but I’ll also have a little time for portrait sessions so hit me if you’d like to come along and make some images together.

SAY CHEESE

Speak soon xx

solen collet 25/09/2023 solen collet 25/09/2023

Cheers for Now

Here’s to fresh starts and new beginnings.

THANK YOU to everyone who made and came along to the resident artists’ exhibition at Out of the Blue Drill Hall. Cheers now for the dairy box too. Delicious.

It felt really good, despite being a last minute chaotic scramble to pull something together at the same time as moving studios and busy work and all the usual. I was a bit shy about putting them out there, they feel like nibbles from a feast I want to cook. It’s been sweet to hear positive things and to have conversations about how others have interpreted things too.

Here’s to fresh starts and new beginnings.

THANK YOU to everyone who made and came along to the resident artists’ exhibition at Out of the Blue Drill Hall. Cheers now for the dairy box too. Delicious.

It felt really good, despite being a last minute chaotic scramble to pull something together at the same time as moving studios and busy work and all the usual. I was a bit shy about putting them out there, they feel like wee bites from a feast I want to cook. It’s been sweet to hear positive things and to have conversations about how others have interpreted things too.

edinburgh visual artist solen collet, edinburgh visual art, edinburgh exhibitions, out of the blue drill hall residents exhibition, solen collet

I’ve been purposefully erratic on some of my corners of the internet of late. I’ve been smoking out the unwelcome. Can confirm they lurk like stale farts pretty much everywhere. I’ve been speaking to the platforms about safety and basically they don’t give a fuck. You can’t really block them and they’ll just make a new account if you could.

So the only thing you can really do is just be more yourself and shout more for and to the people you want to communicate with. You have to learn to just ignore the fact you are also being hunted for sport by multiple predatory folk. It sounds insane to even type it but the police have confirmed to me that I am not crazy. And I don’t relish speaking to the police. Enough about all that for now. I think it’s been a necessary and annoying part of the process of letting all of those triggers for feeling unsafe go.

I’m changing up the password for folks who read Lost and Found soon and I’ll write about how recent news and experiences have helped me to find some confidence. I’m just needing some space from all of that for a bit.

Lost and Found is a private blog where I gripe and grumble a lot but usually it ends up positive and hopeful cos, well, I’m fucked if doesn’t.

It’s been lovely to realise I’m not paranoid, (not massively) delusional, I’m not a burden, I’m not even that chaotic. I’ve just been an easy target for a lot of other people’s anger and difficult feelings and I’ve internalised a lot of it. I’ve shamed myself for the ways my body reacts now to try to make sure I’m safe. The things that people who’ve been in abusive relationships internalise and can hold on to is wild. It does create depression, anxiety, symptoms of complex post traumatic disorder but you have to learn to manage those things as best you can. Learning to stay present is a huge thing for me. I’m prone to dissociating and brain fog and all that stuff. Iyengar yoga, running, swimming in the cold sea, dancing, it’s all helping to bring me back to the present when things get a bit fuckin much, which it’s been doing a lot lately, if you read the news.

I’ve been talking a lot with friends who’ve gone through similar experiences and we all have taken a long time to unfurl the projections we’ve been convinced are ours to carry. It’s the most amazing thing to hear these pals recognise their worth finally. Very proud to know some beautiful souls who, despite true violence and untold amounts of bullshit, refuse to give in to bitterness and they just carry on being kind humble legends.

“I can accept your faulty perception of me.”

Always coming back to that powerful phrase and keeping the faith. I refuse to let any of it make me bitter either. I’m a lover not a fighter and all that.

So I’ve been gathering all this intel, these experiences and feelings to make some work this coming winter. Too many ideas, as always. But looking forward to being able to create positive things from shitty places. It’s a superpower using our creativity. I found the dafter stuff I put together for the exhibition, like my unfinished concertina book that won’t stay folded and my wee flipbook that fell apart more times than it worked, put a soppy grin on my face and that’s a nice place to be. The Drill Hall is a lush space to work from. You’ve got your own wee private space to hyperfocus and get through your workload and there’s always a friendly face in the cafe for a chat too. It’s been really good to meet new neighbours (and some pals who have spaces here), along with some folks I know who have classes in the space and friends who’ve popped by. I feel like I’m in the right place to expand and grow and be the wee weirdo I am.

Getting stuck in about finally sharing some of the summer’s work and I’ve uploaded galleries for a couple of events with the lush wee team at Aetla. I’ve more to share soon too. There’s also a couple of brand commissions and I can’t remember if I mentioned on here that there’s also a gallery of promotional headshots from a shoot with social activist and author, Emily Kenway so I’ll just say it again. Some links on the buttons below to most of the new stuff.