manchester artists' bonfire 2011

I said back here that I'd write more about Manchester Artists' Bonfire.

What I meant was that I would write in more depth about how I understand the bonfire came about and how I felt about the whole process.

It's a pretty subjective account and for me the beauty of the event is that it means a whole lot of different things to a whole lot of different people.

So it starts in November. There's a passing reference in a post from the 14th.

Incidentally you probably won't have noticed but the Long Lankin sculpture which has dominated the space is no longer there. A friend is shortly going to India for several months and decided to burn a large piece of work. Having decided I had to get rid of the Lankin it was the perfect opportunity to do so and it was burned at the same time.

Jennifer McDonald currently coming to the end of a residency at the Gowry Art Institute in south India was due to set off in a few days. She had a large installation that had been exhibited earlier in the year that she wasn't really able to store anywhere. She decided to have a bonfire with friends and burn the art.

Since I also had a large piece of work I wanted shot of, the Long Lankin sculpture mentioned (detail below) I dragged that along to add to the fire.

Also in attendance that night were Graham Dunning, Gary Fisher, Helen Shanahan and Louise Woodcock. And it was great. Friends having a nice night round a bonfire saying goodbye and talking shit.

There was some talk already about how it should be a regular thing. That burning art was a way of registering protest against coalition arts cuts. I think Lou may already have spoken to Rosanne Robertson about putting on an event where Manchester artists burn their work.

And for a couple of weeks that was it as far as I could tell. The next I knew Lou, Graham and Rosanne were working toward an event at some point in January.

A confession. Gary and myself should have had a hand in organising the performers on the night as a kind of Counting Backwards spin-off. That didn't happen because I was distracted by other things and didn't really check the Facebook page for the event, so wasn't aware until quite late when the event was actually happening. Excuses really.

Eventually I did become aware of the date of the planned bonfire and made my pledge.

There are distinct personal resonances in this event.

I started writing with the aim of publication under the previous Tory administration during the early 90's recession.

After sixteen years of being ignored I started a Creative Writing MA and began to move away from text. At first through sound poetry and visual poetry, then broadening into sound art, performance, and making sculptural forms.

Last year it became apparent that my civil service job would relocate. Almost all the admin staff will have to take 'voluntary redundancy'. This is directly attributable to Coalition cuts. For many this will have enormous financial implications.

For me it's an opportunity to spend time travelling, to grow personally and creatively.

Just as the destructive policies of Margaret Thatcher and subsequent leaders gave me reasons to make art. Just as abandoning my established writing practice freed my work and led to unexpected opportunities. Just as the cuts liberated me from a job I no longer care about, so the bonfire is an act of defiance, a reassertion of creative independence.

Despite having failed to organise anything - the hard work was done by Rosanne and Lou, with help from Graham initially until he moved to London and latterly from Helen - I was also added to the bill as one of the performers.

The first bit of audio is my version of Bob Dylan's I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine. I'm not especially happy with it. There are too many element added into the loop and it just becomes sludgy. I am happy with my singing though. It's just short of thirteen minutes.

The bonfire itself on Friday night was brilliant. Most artists spoke about their reasons for burning the cumulatively huge amount of work pledged. There were a combination of personal and political reasons for doing so.

Many of the pieces burned in fascinating ways. Perhaps because I know more about the artists and their work I was especially struck by the way Helen's dollshouse burned, and the melting of Lou's wax skull.

I burned the box created for menu for murmur... in May last year. The significance being that while I had exhibited a sound installation once before this was the first piece I manufactured for exhibition.

Some people were strongly emotionally affected by the whole process. I know that Helen, rather like Jen at the original bonfire, had second thoughts about destroying the work. I think this is a good and healthy thing. Personally I didn't have much emotion about it which might suggest that I picked the wrong piece to burn.

It may also suggest that the performance took up a little more of my attention. I was trying something markedly different this time and really very personal. The intention was to sing, and to push the singing further to the fore than I've ever previously dared.

I started with I Dreamed I Saw St Augustine which I've come to associate with my father since his death. Although it was plunged in a noisy swamp of vaguely rhythmic mush it was the first time I've attempted to perform it in public. I will try it again with a more minimal loop.

The second piece was the first time I've ever sung an entire song unaccompanied in public. The ballad Long Lankin is a significant song to me having terrified me as a small child. Over the last year I've attempted to create a sculpture that captures some of that sensation. With no success as yet.

Although there are some problems I'm actually incredibly pleased with the performance. The recording below's just over six minutes. For me as a non-musician to sustain a song for that length of time feels like a genuine accomplishment.

Luckily my dour stylings were followed by the utterly brilliant Paddy Steer who was possibly the best I've seen him. He was also visually compelling. A more relaxed musical Captain Nemo at the helm of a steampunk Nautilus.

Paddy was succeeded by Womb Collective an all-female group initiated by Lou. They also played a truly excellent set and gave the evening a really fitting end.

I'd be looking forward to next year's event already if I wasn't going to be far away in China.

The final photo, nicked from Islington Mill's twitter, shows me fooling about on stage.