Third Person
David Blamey is a London-based artist and proprietor of the independent publishing imprint Open Editions. His work encompasses several activities – including exhibiting, curating and publishing – which overlap to form a multidimensional practice that eludes conventional categorisation. To this end, his work is consciously positioned within a range of public situations, both inside and beyond the art gallery. He recently released an edited book, ‘Specialism’ (2016) and a record, ‘Rural’ (2015) and The Wire described his ‘O.K.’ sound project for My Dance the Skull’s 'Voice Studies’ series as ‘something quite strange, creepy and good’.
First Person
I don’t believe that reality is actuality at all. Nothing is as it appears. There’s almost always something different going on to that which meets the eye. This is one of the reasons why I am drawn to art. For me, art is a way of life: a way of failing to make sense of the world in a manner that is socially acceptable. I spend a lot of time looking for patterns and inconsistencies within the exquisite chaos of everyday occurrences. Searching for moments of clarity in the wider situation of complexity is a good way to remain calm and be happy; a discipline for gathering one’s thoughts and embracing the energy of change. I like the idea that the distance between the ‘art’ world and the ‘real’ world can be almost nothing. Framing, adjusting, assisting, promoting, thinking-about, reordering and reassessing what's already there – that is my work.
