BILLY CHILDISH NOTES

ROBERT WALSER DEAD IN THE SNOW AND OTHER DEPICTIONS OF DIVINE MUNDAINITY

FACTS, CLUES, ANOMILI and other INTELLECTUAL DEBRI

"It's very simple: what are we gaining - excuse me if I'm repeating myself - what are we gaining by a pragmatism that robs our life of poetry, dreams, mysticism- are these all lies? What is truth? Can you tell me that? We can only struggle along by using symbols, and we change them as we alter our views." Nagel from Knut Hamsun's novel 'Mysteries'

"In a little while you will be alone in shoreless space, to wander its limitless solitudes without friend or comrade forever - for you will remain a thought, the only existent thought, and by your nature inextinguishable, indestructible. But I, your poor servant, have revealed you to yourself and set you free. Dream other dreams, and better!" Satan from The Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain

"Yes, everyone is happy when they see a man in a bright yellow suit bringing gold and paintings!" The Son of Art

1. These paintings are loosely based on a set of police photographs of the Swiss modernist author Robert Walser, who was found dead in the snow on Christmas day 1956. He had died of a heart attack whilst out on his daily walk. As well as being struck by this image, Childish is a great admirer of Walser's writings and says "He is a big influence on my novels, and also the way he laughs and mocks pretensions in the world he meets".

2. As well as simple depictions of Walser prostate in the snow we also see elements of Childish himself in there (Walser is known to have claimed that he only ever wrote one story (of himself) and likewise, Childish essentially paints the same painting of himself in many different guises), and then the bright yellow suit of John Nagel suddenly turns up. Childish explains "I don't plan these things, they just come after me and I have to obey. I had a yellow suit made and did some performance pieces at Trafalgar Square and at Martin Creed's opening at Tate Britain. This Son of Art was part Christ from the book of John, and that brought in the bossiness, and then the devil from Twain's 'The Mysterious Stranger'. I just paint this stuff out. My favorite authors and painters are part of me in the here and now. They speak to me and are my friends and companions. So I paint my inner life and my connection to the world of poetry and authors."

3. There is a painting by Billy Childish of a man lying on his back in the snow, head back, staring up into the sky. It was first painted in the mid 1990s based on the artist's experience of "lying in a snowdrift drunk, and crying my eyes out. We (the Pop Rivets) were playing at an indoor rifle range in village in the Swiss Alps. It was my 19th birthday (1st Dec 1979) and I was crying to God or a space ship to come and whisk me away - a proper night of the soul". Several renditions of this painting have been made since. Sometimes, we are seeing the adolescent Childish, sometimes the character is shown wearing a yellow suit.

4. Over the last two years, Childish has returned to the image of Walser many times. Some depict him lying dead in the snow, some depict him alive as a younger man, and some depict him walking in the snow; the same walk he made on Christmas day 1956 when he died of an heart attack. In these paintings identities are blurred, the painter and the model morphing into one, incorporating wider aspects of other authors who have found it their path to speak in violent poetic terms. Sometimes Walser wears the bright yellow suit, sometimes John Nagel, sometimes Childish, and sometimes the Mysterious Stranger.

5. Robert Walser, was an overlooked author that Childish admires and identifies with (Childish's second novel 'Notebooks of a Naked Youth' (1996) was highly influenced by Walser's novel 'The Institute of Benjamenta'). Like Childish, Walser had drink issues, was non-conformist, prone to causing trouble and, although mostly unrecognized for his work, counted writers such as Herman Hesse, Franz Kafka and Robert Musil amongst his admirers.

6. Knut Hamsun is another author that Childish admires and identifies with. In his novel 'Mysteries' the central character is another mysterious stranger who wanders into a small seaside town wearing a peculiar yellow suit and proceeds to shock, bewilder, and beguile its bourgeoisie inhabitants with his bizarre behaviour, feverish rants, and uncompromising self-revelations before drowning himself.

7. This idea of the 'impish' stranger can also be seen in Mark Twain's unfinished novel "The Mysterious Stranger". In this, Satan (an angel and nephew of the fallen angel Satan) visits a small isolated village in 16th century Austria. After several magical feats, predictions of tragedy and heavenly intervention, mayhem ensues. The body of this work is considered to be a serious social commentary by Twain addressing his ideas of the Moral Sense and the "damned human race".

8. In 2008 Billy Childish had a bright yellow suit made. He wore this suit for a number of performances/interventions where he visited galleries and institutions (sometimes invited, sometimes not) to disseminate cryptic messages on leaflets and placards that alluded to "The Son of Art". Elaborate plans for further performances involving casting gold bullion, coinage and 'free gift' paintings have also been muted.

FINAL NOTE

The painting of Walser lying dead in the snow in a yellow suit, is, I now understand, a representation of Walser ascending to the spirit world. Walser, as a spirit, was not happy with the police photographs of his death, and when drawn to this image, I at first wrongly attached myself to its association with dark glamour.

Now, seeing more clearly, I realise that some of these paintings will remain in the mundane, to show the transformation from one world to the next. But others will be repainted during the show in accordance with Walser's 'spirit wish', and show the golden light of the yellow suit.

In that sense my work's purpose is to bring light into the mundane, and elevate consciousness; not get lost in that romanticism of dark glamour, but be a conduit between worlds. Of course all symbols and emblems are only that: symbols and emblems. Truth lies beyond them and their mere representations. This is why I must get out of the way of the painting and allow the paintings to paint themselves, allow the unwitting discoveries and celebrate God's fantastic colours; bringing improvement and wellbeing to a world that, in ignorance, often celebrates greed and suffering rather than merely acknowledging its truth, and fails to celebrate the greater truth of blessedness.

Bill Hamper, Oct 20th 09