Slow Down Vol. 1

Almost a year ago I registered this studio, to give more defined space and shape to my creative practice after a decade and a half grinding through digital interfaces in corporate environments.

The tiredness had been piling up for a long time — social, corporate and technological pressure to perform and achieve became almost a sci-fi anti-utopia: humans turn into machines, creators become factories and tech feeds addictions. Engage often. Decide fast. Or else…

All these little things settle in as a kind of mental sediment that weighs you down and doesn’t leave much room for clear thinking.

Then war, pandemic, and cracks in social fabric put it all into even more dramatic perspective, and the price of those rushed actions and missed opportunities rose to real lives and happiness of those I care about. But the answer isn’t always more doing.

A good metaphor for this is “life is a highway”: the faster you drive, the less time you have to choose your direction, make a turn, or even just enjoy the view.

So the studio itself became the medium and gave me time to explore whatever felt fun, alive, human. Cutting lino prints and doodling live turned out to be a logical setting for the slowdown: leaving marks, keeping mistakes, taking time. I also started ending each stream with an improvisation on a groovebox, and some of the sounds felt like they were speaking the same language. So the message crystallised.

For me, slowing down isn’t even about the body or the activity in the moment. It’s about noticing the excessive internal pressure to achieve and perfect — and letting it out. The shoulders relax, the gestures become smoother, and the eyes seem to see more.

It’s not always easy to remember to slow down at the right time. So this release is just a reminder.

Inhale

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Exhale

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Notice.

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