Friend James’ latest exhibition at Gallery Alchemy, formally known as, Van Rensburg Galleries, is a show about acknowledging that how we approach the universe is how we are received.

A couple of months ago, at the same time as I was producing this work, a stranger tried to berate me in a very public place. I think she was looking for a fight, and I just happened to be there, enjoying my life with my friends. As I reflected on that encounter, and looked at the work I was making, I realised I just felt really sorry for her, and glad to be me.

I make work that is often about looking for clarity and possibility in what’s around us. It’s a self fulfilling cycle of looking for good things, and finding them, and that making me happen. I try to approach all things as a friend. Just a friend – period.

So this show is about the all the good things I see when I approach life from that place. I’d like to dedicate it to the woman who yelled at me in the middle of a pub in Newcastle. I hope she’s good, and that she saw that I come in peace – because that’s what I’m looking for.

Enjoy the show. Say hi. I’ll be your friend.