#291: Hope (Crushed and preserved)

A narcissus pressed and mounted.

#290: Commuter Coach Cartoons

Cartoon sketches of people onboard a commuter coach.

1: Wake-up buddies.

One commuter sits asleep while a second reaches over and taps them on the shoulder saying, “We’re here.”

2: Listening to Medúlla.

A commuter on the coach, in the dark, listening to an mp3 player, gently smiling.

3: Death of a favourite character.

A commuter reading a book on the back seat of the coach, looking a little angry, a tear rolling down their cheek.

4: “He’s asleep, then.”

A commuter fast asleep in their seat, snoring loudly.

5: Breakdown (of coach).

A line of commuters walking, heads down and tired, from one coach to another at the side of the motorway.

6: The scenery.

A commuter looking out of the window at a huge expanse of countryside heading off into the distance.

7: Still working.

A commuter in the dark lit up by the glow of their laptop.

8: The Tourist.

A view from outside the coach looking at one of the windows where a commuter stares out in wonder.

9: After the thud.

Commuters looking up at the roof in shock and fear.

10: Home at last.

A weary-eyed commuter smiling and chatting as they stand by the driver waiting for the coach to stop.  

11: Breakdown (of self).

A commuter leaving the coach early, sweating, the driver asking, “Are you sure?”

#288: Practicing Joy and #289: Performing Joy

Imagine doing something that brings you joy.

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Do something that brings you joy.

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Cave, Nick (2024) Nearly 300 Red Hand Files are in, and I feel you know us contributors a little... (The Red Hand Files #299).  Available at: https://www.theredhandfiles.com/where-or-how-do-you-find-joy/ (Accessed: 4th September 2024).

#287: Why do I have to scrub off where I come from in order to fit in to your vision of an equal society?

Oil on canvas triptych - all of the paintings are the same orientation but the ones on either side are larger than the one in the centre.

Left-hand side: A word painting of the following: “He said, ‘You’re part of the problem. You are creating a barrier between yourself and our society by putting that label on yourself. And we should all be leaving our religions and our roots at the door and living as equals.’ That’s a beautiful idea. But why do I have to scrub off where I come from in order to fit in to your vision of an equal society?” Dina Amer.

Centre: A painting where the canvas is full of figures that are identical shapeless blobs with blank faces.

Right-hand side: A word painting of the following: YOUR Utopia: a room full of blank faces and identical forms. 

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Rose, Steve (2023) ‘I buckled when I saw her remains’ – the biopic about ‘Europe’s first female suicide bomber’. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/jan/25/europes-first-female-suicide-bomber-hasna-ait-boulahcen-paris-attacks-dina-amer (Accessed: 26th January 2023).

#286: Every Generation/Movement (Optimistic View)

A GIF of a plant taking root, growing out the ground, flowering, spreading its seed and starting the process elsewhere.

#285: Every Generation/Movement (Pessimistic View)

A GIF of a footprint in sand that is quickly washed away by the tide.

#284: Education (It is what you make of it and what you do with it)

A cartoon showing the inside of a factory with one giant machine through which runs a long conveyor belt.  Children, joined in a chain, are loaded in at one end and come out of the other after going through five large box parts labelled, “Infants,” “Juniors,” “Secondary,” “Further” and “Higher.”  Various ingredients (Knowledge, Confidence, Ability, Skills etc…) are loaded into each one (and taken out too); and the children gradually get older as they pass between boxes on the conveyor belts.  

All are led away, individually, at the end, whether from the Secondary, Further or Higher box, to a door marked, “Exit,” where someone is ready to shake their hand and give them a certificate before they walk through into darkness.