The artistic self that says ‘fuck it!’

◯ We all inhabit several selves. They are not always loud, and they are not always present, but they are always there. When the appropriate time presents itself, different versions of our selves step forward to deal with the situations. Whether it’s for protection, inclusion, work, survival, entertainment or love, we tackle it with one of our various selves. Regress is my unfiltered artistic self, doing whatever the fuck it wants. When it’s in control, the rest of my various selves are just going along for the ride.

Regress is a result of a discussion with a friend. We were chatting about professional burnout and creative exhaustion. We were lamenting the unfiltered creative freedom we both felt at earlier points in our life, in particular, the explorative days of university and the creative energy that came after that.

We whined about some things, complained about others and hungered for the bravado of our creative youth. After the chat I said, ‘fuck it!’ and I turned to old inspiration. I created pieces reminiscent of my earlier work, listened to music from that creative era and I embraced a ‘who gives a fuck’ attitude towards what I made. By regressing back, I found the part of me that was happy to step forward. It was good. Great, even! My unfiltered artistic self now had a voice, and it called itself Regress - named for obvious reason, but also as a nod to Futura 2000, one, of the artist that was so influential for me as I started down this creative path. Fitting, no?

Sometimes you have to go back to go forward. I’m sure Yoda said something like that to Luke, and if it’s good enough for Yoda, it’s good enough for everyone.

Go back to go forward. Regress.

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