On giving up epoxy...

I suddenly had an idea for what I want to do for the final show (sorry, still gonna call it that)... More on that after the ad break... but ironically at almost the same moment, I realised I need to give up epoxy. Needless to say, the initial incarnation of my final show idea used a load of the stuff.

There's not grand reason why... I haven't developed massive lesions on my skin, the cat didn't drown in my latest project, I did not have a dream where David Attenburough and a troupe of baboons beat me with a tyre iron. Instead I just started to ask myself if something so toxic to the environment is compatible with my art practice. My use of natural materials in unnatural plastic was ironic, but it was also, perhaps, a bit tasteless.

Of course, rationally it makes no sense... Uncured epoxy is unpleasant, but so is paint stripper, and drain cleaner. Cured epoxy is extremely inert, and harmless, but completely non-biodegradable. But you can go onto insta or YouTube and see hundreds of videos of people pouring whole floors of the stuff, or giant ugly tables, each of which probably uses more epoxy than I will in my entire life... The end of the world will be us beating each other to death with animal bones, surrounded by a landscape of pristine blue swirly table tops incorporating shells, fake ferns, and cheap plastic dolphins.

I hate tokenism, but I am also (though I pretend otherwise) concerned about nihilism. Sometimes token gestures are worth making, for the gesture alone... So I'm going to use up the last of my stock, judiciously, and not buy any more...

But darn I miss it already! It's so versatile, and while I can find other things to replace coloured epoxy, I don't think I can replace clear epoxy - there is simply nothing like it that's readily available. The ability to trap or freeze things was becoming a core part of my practice - it was like 3d photography. I guess the challenge of how to do that without epoxy will push me to be a better artist.

PS Cured epoxy is harmless (to humans) but epoxy dust is not... If you are going to sand your epoxy creations, for the love of everything pure, wear a mask...