- Oliver Guy-Watkins
-
Oliver Guy-Watkins (born 6 October 1979) is a British writer and artist.
Contents
Background
Guy-Watkins was born and raised in Gloucestershire, England. He attended Beaudesert Park School and St. Edwards School in Cheltenham, before moving onto Gloscat to study English and Drama. [1] He would move to London in 2000, where he would attempt a career in the music industry, before following his love of art and film.
In 2007 Guy-Watkins curated the Ruhe Bewahren exhibition in Tacheles, Berlin. The exhibition was attended by actresses Susan Sarandon and Christina Ricci.[2]
In March 2008, Guy-Watkins was enlisted by American artist Marc Horowitz to assist in the writing and guest booking of 'The Me And You Show', an interactive exhibition, broadcast live on the internet from The Hayward Gallery in London.
Postcard To Brooke
Following on from both of these experiences, Guy-Watkins began work on a 'quest' entitled 'Postcard To Brooke',[3] a project based around the poem Doubts by English poet Rupert Brooke. [4] The work involves Guy-Watkins filming individuals reading the verse to camera, those who have contributed include Nobel Prize winning poet Seamus Heaney, artists Patrick Brill (Bob And Roberta Smith), Adham Faramawy, Marc Horowitz and Jessica Voorsanger, Mary Archer, actors Ryan Sampson and Glen Conroy, celebrity DJ Jodie Harsh, comedians Mark Thomas, Tony Allen, Dylan Moran, John Seagrave, Media:Chris Neill, Angus Lindsay and Tony Green, authors Patrick McCabe, Victoria Mary Clarke, Damain Barr and Ciarán Carson, as well as the poet laureate of Vancouver George McWhirter. During the period of March to September 2008, Guy-Watkins filmed these and over one hundred and fifty other individuals for the quest.[5]
Postcard To Brooke was exhibited in 2008 at The Art Car Boot Fair,[6] on Brick Lane, London; Miss Micks in Berlin, The Old Lodge, Minchinhampton Common, Gloucestershire; and The Flat Lake Festival,[7] Clones, Co. Monaghan, Ireland. Guy-Watkins has also documented visits to Dymock, the University of Gloucestershire archives and Grantchester in order to research the life of Rupert Brooke.
In October 2008, Guy-Watkins began to use Postcard To Brooke as a means to document groups and individuals that exist within the social fabric of the early 21st Century, by visiting GEAR Projects, a homeless shelter in the English city of Gloucester. During this visit, Guy Watkins filmed a number of individuals who utilize the facilities offered by GEAR Projects, some of these people would also ask to read their own poetry to camera alongside the Rupert Brooke verse Doubts.
During November 2008, Guy-Watkins visited the British Humanist Association, to document the organizations staff.
Journalism
Guy-Watkins has also written for a number of magazines and held the post of UK Editor for Big Shot Magazine from June 2007. [1]
Dubai Incident
It was widely publicized that Guy-Watkins was detained by Dubai customs officers on a visit to the UAE in late 2008. Articles have claimed that officials searched him after finding balls of mud in his suitcase, and threatened him with arrest, however he was released without charge shortly after. [8]
External links
Postcard To Brooke [1]
Postcard To Brooke at The Flat Lake Festival YouTube Film [9]
References
- ^ a b http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/entertainment/doubt-genius-Brooke/article-289932-detail/article.html
- ^ http://whitehotmagazine.com/whitehot_articles.cfm?id=1197
- ^ http://archive.herefordtimes.com/2008/6/2/96339.html
- ^ http://www.dazeddigital.com/article/255/1/oliver_guy_watkins_postcard_to_brooke
- ^ http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/unplugged/Writer-s-seeking-voice-war-poet/article-185253-detail/article.html
- ^ http://www.artcarbootfair.com/008pages/artists.html
- ^ http://www.theflatlakefestival.com/2008-programme
- ^ http://www.inthemix.com.au/news/intl/40638/Lily_Allen_stripsearched_in_Dubai
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5IZaXOfYak
Categories:- 1979 births
- Living people
- British writers
- People educated at Beaudesert Park School
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
