A lesson to self to travel light……. Arriving in Arles from the UK-via Marseilles in sweltering 52 degree heat, lugging too much luggage, then using my broken French attempting to find the bus to the train station, where I arrive to discover no toilet, shelter or anywhere to get water.
There I learn the next train is in 2 hours, and then my mobile suddenly stops working. So, by the time I rocked up to the prestigious Arles Photography Festival to meet my interviewee, an established artist, this paleface was feeling rather ill. And inwardly thinking - ill, really, not now! As well as - get a grip, these are 1st world problems; you are in Provence!
As soon as I got to meet photographer Vee Speers, observe her workshops and chat about her work, I determinedly held back the persistent nausea and dizzy spells, and was rewarded with a preview of what is truly inspired new art for an exhibition next year. Filled with humour, heart, subversion and unlike any of her previous presentations: It is a riot. Edgy and evolutionary, Speers is a chameleon. (And I can say for that day, art saved me! Sadly, it's all I can say, since the recent work won't be released until 2023).
