Wow! I enjoyed this - it’s brilliant, thought provoking and you write so beautifully. I’ll never look at a bubble the same again! Throughout I was reminded of that quote “Cemeteries are full of indispensable men, and the world goes on quite well without them.”
Thank you for your kind words. This is an excellent quote, I have never heard it before but it touches upon two important problems, first being (obviously) irreplaceability and second why the world for ages revolves around men and women are just a decoration. We pretend we are advancing as civilisation but sometimes I think it’s a joke and we don’t learn (not from history, that’s for sure). C’est la vie
This was such a brilliant read, Lucy. I loved the way you pulled apart the difference between being genuinely irreplaceable and being visibly needed, especially in a digital culture where validation can start to look a lot like recognition. It also made me think about when I lived and worked in Japan, and how important it was culturally to be seen as being 'busy' in an office, even when you weren’t. The image of performing the bubble instead of blowing it captures something subtle but very real, how easily the act of making something can get tangled up with the need to be seen making it. I’m really enjoying your work :)
Thank you so much for your honest comment. I couldn’t be happier when you wrote “it made me think” because this is exactly what I want my people will do to people - let them sit for a moment with their thoughts in peace and just think on their own. Painting is so deep and that bubble - ephemeral. It’s like with kids blowing bubbles - they love it despite the fact the bubbles last nothing. Kids still are smiling and I am smiling when looking at this painting.
It makes me think of how young people are constantly seeking approval to do things they should do anyway. I teach and pupils want rewards for simply sitting still or writing a paragraph.
Do you think this behaviour you describe wasn’t there before internet and social media? I was born and raised in Eastern Europe right after the iron curtain fell and I knew nothing will be given to me if I won’t fight for it, learn languages and make effort. Now I’m raising my multilingual children in Spain and I know they have such a different start in life than I did have and I’m not sure how it will shape their character. Everything seems now easier for the new generations, maybe it’s too easy.
Wow! I enjoyed this - it’s brilliant, thought provoking and you write so beautifully. I’ll never look at a bubble the same again! Throughout I was reminded of that quote “Cemeteries are full of indispensable men, and the world goes on quite well without them.”
Thank you for your kind words. This is an excellent quote, I have never heard it before but it touches upon two important problems, first being (obviously) irreplaceability and second why the world for ages revolves around men and women are just a decoration. We pretend we are advancing as civilisation but sometimes I think it’s a joke and we don’t learn (not from history, that’s for sure). C’est la vie
This was such a brilliant read, Lucy. I loved the way you pulled apart the difference between being genuinely irreplaceable and being visibly needed, especially in a digital culture where validation can start to look a lot like recognition. It also made me think about when I lived and worked in Japan, and how important it was culturally to be seen as being 'busy' in an office, even when you weren’t. The image of performing the bubble instead of blowing it captures something subtle but very real, how easily the act of making something can get tangled up with the need to be seen making it. I’m really enjoying your work :)
Thank you so much for your honest comment. I couldn’t be happier when you wrote “it made me think” because this is exactly what I want my people will do to people - let them sit for a moment with their thoughts in peace and just think on their own. Painting is so deep and that bubble - ephemeral. It’s like with kids blowing bubbles - they love it despite the fact the bubbles last nothing. Kids still are smiling and I am smiling when looking at this painting.
This is so very true and very sad. Thanks for writing this, I feel a new enthusiasm to go off and be silly - one of my more favoured past times!
Thank you for your kind words. Go and be reckless!
It makes me think of how young people are constantly seeking approval to do things they should do anyway. I teach and pupils want rewards for simply sitting still or writing a paragraph.
Do you think this behaviour you describe wasn’t there before internet and social media? I was born and raised in Eastern Europe right after the iron curtain fell and I knew nothing will be given to me if I won’t fight for it, learn languages and make effort. Now I’m raising my multilingual children in Spain and I know they have such a different start in life than I did have and I’m not sure how it will shape their character. Everything seems now easier for the new generations, maybe it’s too easy.
The bubble is not for the one who watches.
Indeed, you captured the essence of my essay in one sentence.