By Tomasz Wojcik

Ham Solo

Being single you feel differently. This feels like loneliness. Dah. You no longer have creative sex with another person. Therefore either you go celibate or start pleasing yourself. I guess I am more inclined to choose the flute solo option. In other cleaner words it means that self-stimulation is needed for happy times on your own. You owe it to yourself to spark a creative tension in you being no longer reliant on your partner to do it with you. It isn’t supposed to be hard. And it is. It may be daunting but there is so much more up for grabs. So where’s the beef?

You just do more. Hopefully. You need two things for that: determination and even better time management. And lots of stimuli to feed your brain. Working on it.

Marc invited us not to come to school on Wednesday and look for inspiration somewhere else. Taking my not so trustworthy in dim-light conditions camera that’s exactly what I did. Walking through the streets of Brixton after dusk made a massive impact on me. This time I did not rush anywhere, there was no force that pushed me in one or another direction. For those two-three hours I was a master of my own time and space, totally ensnared with flashy and kaleidoscopic themes of Brixton.

I like to observe people, normal people in mundane situations. Brixton on Wednesday was a perfect spot for that. So much you can learn, so much of everything in everywhere. Under a different light.

My walkway began. Firstly I approached library and noticed couple of homeless people hanging around. Decided to take picture of them in front of the library. Seeing that one of them has just woken up from an afternoon nap I took the chance to grab some pics even though it became dangerously obvious that I was not shooting a library building or a bust sculpture nearby anymore. A lady smelling of strong booze mixed with enduring mature camembert-like fragrance approached me with a look of accusation and shrilled – “we are homeless, if you want to take pictures of us, you need to dish out couple o’ quid per head”. Perplexed I quickly evaded and zoomed in a picture of library in the very same moment she looked at camera’s LCD screen. “See, I did not take pictures of you”. I got away with it. Reflection came after. Those homeless people instantly took an initiative, not very efficiently but definitely tried. Something that I can learn from them. Lesson taken – embrace every, even smallest opportunity to your advantage. I made my way through Brixton main road. Noticed two really young street artists. Twins. Extremely cheerful and handsome. Talented. Lesson two taken. My thought – be brave to show what you got in the public. Lastly, incredible guy practicing Tai-chi in the front of The Brix. Moving calmly and gracefully he seemed aware of everything around him and yet was in a fully meditative state. I waved at him, he did not even blink though I knew he had noticed me. Lesson three taken. Exist in a state full of emergency, be mindful and focused. Learn how to relax your mind.

From there I stumbled upon the last windmill in the inner London, right in Brixton. It was getting dark. Beautiful colours of the night surrounded me. Took pictures. Streets oozed with a nostalgic feeling. The dark made it all eerie and wonderful. Very different than I imagined it to be. No people in sight, cold was a bit scary. More pictures done – a play of shades of dark and light took me away. Lesson four learned. Just like a mirror of your own reflection is not always what you see so are you and your environment subjected to change if only you have the time and energy that allow you to discover it.

All those things I’ve seen and felt meant a lot to me. A very positive boost. That bit about inspiration – you never know when it hits you. Be open to it, sponge everything that surround you. More so if you do not have the opportunity to look for it in your partner’s eyes. You make your own bold move, take initiative. Learn how to blow your own mind. Start self-pleasing that state of solitude. Be vulnerable. Enjoy feeling like a fresh meat. Wake up. Ham Solo. At your service.