Four Years

1995: This was me, back then. Those who know me now are always surprised by this, because I have little-to-no hair left at all, but for a couple of years back then, I was the hairiest man this side of Rasputin. This is a portrait of me as sincere young artist, long before I discovered defensive irony or snark.

1996: The beard is gone, but the hair remains; I’m the non-blonde, obviously. This is myself and good friend Alan Ross officially presenting other good friend Andy Barnett with tickets for a Sex Pistols reunion show. We were posing as if it was some celebratory presentation of a large cardboard check or something similar, but I have no idea whether or not that actually comes across in the photo.

1997: My desk in art school during the final year of my BA degree, covered with detrius and mess that I would struggle to pull together into a coherent show at the end of the year. Of note: The photo of the woman smoking on the wall? That’s my then-girlfriend. The boxing rock’em sock’em game? A stress-reliever that was often used.

1998: Specifically, January 30th, 1998, and to celebrate the anniversary of the Beatles’ rooftop concert, I videoed myself and some friends singing Beatles songs on top of various things: Buildings, trees, furniture. This is myself and friend (and, at this time, fellow MA student) John Welsh performing a “bitchin’” spoken-word version of “Tomorrow Never Knows,” made all the better by the fact that John had never heard the song, and was instead just freestyling on the bongos. At the time, I thought I could do something with this for my PostGrad degree, but the results were amusing but ultimately completely lacking in artistic value.

Related posts:

1. It Was The 90s
2. Tina, Circa 1997
3. One Decade Earlier
4. Coming Down Fast But I’m Miles Above You
5. She Fails To Cry Your Name