bridget martin

Sometimes it feels as though a piece of art almost makes itself; the fragments coming together as if by magic. I had made the box out of cardboard packaging but it lay empty, waiting. I was restless and couldn’t decide what to do next, flitting from one thing to another, resting no longer than a butterfly.

But then a little collage came into being. Small scraps of paper and fabric, some stitching, a safety pin, a word. Something simple, something quiet, something humble. Something to be held by the box. Lightly and quietly.

It is an extraordinary human activity to make something beautiful. A pot, a painting, a garden, a meal. Making something by hand is about more than the end result. In the act of creation there is thinking and wondering, imagination and emotion. In this little collage that rests so lightly in its box and on the earth there is all at once self doubt and frustration, despair and fear, hope and curiosity, determination and love. There is life. It may seem insignificant, this scrappy little thing, but look closer. This is an act of rebellion against the cult of speed and efficiency, profitability and productivity, the shiny and plastic and new. It is rebelling against the insidious onslaught of the bland homogenisation of just about everything. This is human not AI. This is art not content.

When it feels as though the world is falling apart and we can’t find the words or bring clarity to our thoughts it is okay to be like the box. We can rest gently, waiting. Amidst the confusion and loud voices, the opinions and the posturing we can do something radical – we can reflect and consider, notice and listen, think and be patient. Then, like the collage, let the fragments come together, the threads and the edges, the thoughts and emotions, and maybe then find the words to express how we feel. Sometimes it is a slow reveal as emotional expression requires the courage to be vulnerable. But this is our humanity and it is under threat.

When it feels as though the world is falling apart we have to grasp our humanity tightly. Don’t let them take it away.