Rashes, welts, bites and hives. My body is 90% covered in them. Why would I get bitten on the elbow? I don’t know, but it’s happened. I’ve also crushed a snail the size of a tennis-ball, seen spiders the size of dinner plates (almost) and encountered all manner of vile insects that are straight out of the ravine scene in that King Kong remake.
From the villages we’ve visited so far, It’s clear that Gambian people are very sociable, and happy to embrace foreigners into their daily lives. The residents of Kubuneh; a village we’ve been painting a lot, are always smiling. They live to simple means, but are rightly very proud of their village.
Since I’ve been in Africa I’ve tried to embrace the environment that surrounds me when making work. This is difficult when the environment has 90% humidity, is baking hot, and is trying to eat me alive.
I’ve been painting patterns on small huts, logs, leaves and trees… But today Xens and I painted a proper obnoxious London banger… The villagers loved it (sort of).
Aside the rashes covering my skin, and the 100% Deet insect repellant actually removing parts of my tattoos (seriously), the thing I’ll take away from Africa is a sense of overwhelming positivity and community from its helpful, astute and incredibly charming residents.
It just goes to show how beautiful a community can be without getting fucked up by ridiculous shit like blackberry, stupid television shows, twitter and TV. God I miss that shit.
– Mysterious Al.
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