The RULES:
Unique Art Objects

The RULES: Manifesto

The RULES:
Call To Action

The RULES works have multiple layers but they are first and foremost about HOPE.
The hope that humans can agree across cultural, societal and geopolitical barriers underlies this work.
 
This is part of the RULES collection. These works have multiple layers but they are first and foremost about HOPE.
The hope that humans can agree across cultural, societal and geopolitical barriers underlies this work and those like it.
 
Da Vinci believed his scientific contributions would be why he was remembered. Yet, it is his portrayal of beauty that people have come from around the world to embrace for centuries. Similarly, the RULES are grounded in ancient teachings and science but it is their beauty that will allow them to connect. Plato believed that the only path away from the pursuit of glory and conquest is the pursuit of beauty. This has been my salvation that I wish to share.
 
The RULES are a body of work in balance; speaking about what it means to be an experiential being. They are meditative, playful and bold. The RULES help us remember,
we share being alive.
 
The specific RULES here are threefold and follow the three phases of existence as I understand them.
Birth - Life - Death
Start - Middle - End
Creation - Journey - Transformation
 
The process making each piece is unique for that specific work (pre-planned from sketches, instinctively all at once, evolving over time, etc…). But, each is unified by three RULES, a visual translation for the three phases.
1. White and Black - the mysteries of the before and after
2. Black in White; White in Black - every beginning is an end, every end a beginning
3. Colours
In Greco-Roman mythology, the rainbow was considered to be a path made by a messenger between Earth and Heaven.
In Chinese mythology, the rainbow was a slit in the sky sealed by goddess Nüwa using stones of different colours.
In Yogic theory and hindi philospohy, the rainbow represents the chakra system working from red at the root to violet at the higher frequencies..
Colours are the bridge of our reality. Everything we experience as our universe is mostly empty space held together by energy. This energy is seen to us as colours and light. Yet, it takes only a simple prism to break light into smaller parts. How flawed our perception that sees light as white. We are vibrating energy spheres of colour and balance.
 
Creating and championing RULES with current political climates, societal changes and growing fear around the world is no coincidence. There have been great upheavals with the technological revolution, the sexual revolution and the normalisation of longer/healthier lives. The game has changed and people feel lost. We need new RULES to play by.
 
If you play a game and there are no RULES, it is not fun, cheaters win. If you have a market that isn’t protected by RULES (the RULE of law), criminals take what they want and everyone suffers (including the criminals). For decades, trust in RULES has been eroded by changing biological norms, specific agendas and unhealthy individualism. A lack of RULES has allowed cheaters to win too big for too long and people have lost faith. We must come to accord so we may take positive and meaningful action. Time is running out.
 
Abuse starts at the top and the RULES are a manifesto against those who would not submit to the RULE of law. A manifesto against those who would not pay their share back into a society that allowed their life to be possible. A manifesto against those who would strive for immortality, forsaking all our future generations. Some humans have one set of RULES and other humans have another. From top to bottom, everyone must be held accountable for actions and inactions.

Had a fantastic time talking about the RULES with
Martin Evans on BBC Bristol. Catch it on the I-Player here.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p085mldz

The RULES are a call to action. We have broad agreement that the climate crisis is imminent and yet we allow greed to put our children at risk. This cannot continue.

We have generations of evidence that vaccinations are a clear path to a safer future yet we allow individuals to put us in jeopardy because of fear and misinformation. This cannot continue.

We have countless empirical, observable and scientific proofs that the earth is round yet there is a growing number of people who spread lies that it is flat. This cannot continue.

We, as a society, have lost our faith in those in power because those in power have abused it for too long. It is time for a reckoning. We must all be held accountable for our mistakes and accountable to society and the RULE of law.

The days of questioning are past, we now need answers. The days of mistrust are past, we now need consensus. The days of making it up as we go along are gone, we now need a plan.

It starts with understanding. These three examples are not isolated. They are connected by a mistrust of power, misunderstanding of the scientific method and the desperate need for attention. Anti-vaxxers, flat earthers, and climate deniers all gain something by being the person who breaks the RULES. There is glory in rebellion but sooner or later we all need to grow the fuck up and be responsible. These are not matters of fact but issues of psychology.

It is time we come together and stop humouring these ideas. The climate crisis is here, the crisis in capitalism is here (no one needs any more stuff), the crisis of overpopulation is here. The RULES are a framework to approach these crises with calm and purpose. Lets get some things straight;

Gravity is a RULE
The earth is ROUND
Vaccines WORK. They may cause some harm but are BETTER THAN THE FUCKING DISEASES THAT KILLED AND MAIMED HUMANS FOR MILLENIA.
Climate Crisis and rising water level are coming.

Universal RULES are universally applicable to all humans and will effect us all together, no matter your station or identity.

No being is free of all RULES. The joy of creating within a strict set of RULES is something we must learn to enjoy as our freedom to be wrong is diminished due to the risk of catastrophe.

Since I was in school, I was told my generation would have to make sacrifices and innovate to solve global crises such as climate, fossil fuels running out, plastic waste, pollution and more. This has been consistently drummed into me and my peers our entire life. Understanding that although RULES are restricting, that very restriction can lead to greater freedom of expression and peace is paramount.

The RULES aren’t shackles, they are reality. A reality that is beautiful and full of potential if you just look past the restrictions.

Come. Look past your own history without losing it. Find your own RULES and make them Universal. Let’s make this world a better place.