Solomun Teaser

Southampton Cargo Container

I've never posted Solomun's Greatest Set.

Randy Quaid

Original here

Rare Earth Coltan - The Smart Phone Material 5 Million Died In The Congo For

Ten minutes ago I didn't know why the DRC war happened or what Coltan was. Now I know.

The war beginning in 1998 that pitted the armies of Congo, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola against those of Uganda and Rwanda induced the largest humanitarian disaster since World War II, with an estimated four million Congolese lives lost. Congo's first national elections since 1965 have taken place, but true peace and democracy remain elusive goals.

China's Backbone

Here in China there's a large group of people that are only recently becoming recognised and represented in The People's Congress. They are the migrant worker population.

Sure there are lots more Herds as top thinker Mark Earls correctly espouses, but I think these people are the unsung heroes of China. I have wanted to take photographs of them since last year but felt that my presence would be intrusive and unwelcome. Just another white boy indulging his pampered ass in pseudo blue collar sympathies but tonight I took the plunge and asked if I could take a picture. A few got up straight away and ran out of range but the rest were happy enough and now I'm inspired to go further afield and get stuck into the rural areas and rust belts of China to learn more. Here are the pictures and they are a scene that is typical across all major cities late into the night across China. Nervous to get a shot as quick as possible I failed to do the settings on the camera correctly and so they are not good. But I wont make that mistake again. Expect more of this stuff.

As I type this I can hear a circular saw buzzing away at 8.15 PM on a Saturday night while the Neo Georgian building opposite my window emerges piece by piece each and every unrelenting day.

Yen Countdown

The PRC, being run in a top down sort of affair has allocated a district in Beijing solely for the artist community. It's called 798. I don't normally approve of art-under-duress but on New Years Eve I made an exception.

My head is spinning....

....from all the little transactions that I can do in at least three different languages. Just not this one. So I did one of my 'moves' between home, work and home again. With a little help from a mobile phone camera, bluetooth, a printer and translation assistance from the very helpful Connie.

I'd really love it if Charles Stab did 'Me and my shit life with language barriers' some day :)