The Neighbourhoods of Imagination

Once memory begins the resurrection of childhood experience, priority is determined by consequence; I remember first what I was caught doing. Imagination is arrested in these particular memories, replaced by a recollection of fear & reprisal. It was in these times that the enthusiasm of play & the longing for adventure drove permitted boundaries into the forbidden so authority interceded. These crimes of childhood define the key events of my youth.

Like the stars of a particular constellation, periods of time when I was friends with one particular gang are organized by the punishments we received for excess & trespasses. Life was drawn with hard lines which were regularly tested; freedom was the virtue easily altered to respect the displeasure of authority. Imagination began to understand practical limitation — street lights & their illumination terminated all outside play.

Imagination began to find quieter forms of inspiration. I can recall being drawn into a water stain on the wall or the front cover of a horror novel. The drooping power lines which sagged, hung between poles that lined the highway—rising & falling like a skipping rope or stormy waves in the sea serve as a focal point for long, anxiety-riddled flights of imagination on family car trips.

Porcelain figurines frozen in mid-dance fascinate & the bric-a-brac tastefully spread around our living room begins to develop secretive, magical properties.

Closed doors house forbidden knowledge.

{Artwork by Mo Tunkay}