Keep Away From Idiots

Keep Away From Idiots
As seen on the cover of Design Week magazine. Photo by Nathan Whitham

Saturday, 21 January 2012

Family Holiday: My Prison in Paradise



This is how I felt the entire time

We were going on a highly anticipated, once in a lifetime, family+boyfriend holiday to Thailand, for one month over Christmas and New Year!!!!!

 Luckily I won't be able to bore you with all my 'amazing traveling experiences'.... because I had none. 


                                                             D.I.S.A.S.T.E.R 

It all went tit's up from day one. Turns out I'd booked my own mums name wrong on the ticket and she couldn't fly with us.... So my sister plus boyfriend and I had to wave her goodbye at Heathrow and hope she could get another flight soon. What kind of person gets their own mum's name wrong?
My brother (lets call him Bill) had been in Thailand for 3 months and greeted us when we arrived, then together we headed to the getto of Bangkok to wait for mother. . Less than 24 hours later my boyfriend suddenly and quite spontaneously decides he desperately needs to go 'find himself' and abandons me and the family holiday with no destination or explanation.
 Obviously I completely understand and let him go into the world without me, thinking after a week of soul searching he'll get board. 
Tumbleweed drifts by for 3 weeks........ All I could think of was my stupid boyfriend having a whale of a time, doing all the stuff we should have been doing together. But instead of love on sandy beaches,  I was trapped by my family and mentality in the arse end of Thailand, the English equivalent of Boscombe.
  Internal/mental/physical turmoil sets in.

To distract myself from this devastation, I spent my days as a recluse-locked away, customising postcards with religious paraphernalia as well as some of Phuket's finest entertainment and adventure brochures!
Some of what I was doing turns out to be actually very illegal and carries hefty sentences.

In Thai law all images of Buddha are sacred. Nothing bad can be said or done to do with the royal family either. We're talking 3-15 years in Thai prison here baby!

This is a personal favourite that
 never made it through the boarder.

Complete with topless model straddling Buddha for breakfast, offerings of massive fish, money and the King crowned with their ladyboy's famous head adornments. PHUK could have got me in a lot of trouble.

Phuket dosen't look like this. It's covered from head to toe in beach chairs and umbrellas and massages and restaurants and tourists. There are elephants but they don't go on the beach.
The crowning glory is the elephant fashioned into a penis.

BILL GATES

My brother spent 3 months 'traveling' Thailand. In this time he somehow managed to become what can quite simply be described as a sex traffica, escorting girls safely to their destination desired. What a good lad.
Apparently it's not as bad as it sounds, but what it sounds like is that my own brother (who has 2sisters +halfs) was delivering girls for sex. That is really horrible. He never got my paid rape theory, why it was wrong and stuff. 
Bill Gates
Considering we had traveled 6000 miles to see him and spent many months apart, he didn't really put much effort into being a good 'host'. Everything I wanted to do was rubbished, deemed too much effort or generally boring. I wasn't allowed to go out in the morning on my own because it was too dangerous, I wasn't allowed out at night on my own for the same reason. I wasn't allowed a mo-ped because even that was too dangerous, and I definitely definitely wasn't allowed to touch or even seem remotely interested in anything dead.
I must mention that my brother had come off his bike quite a few times drunk with 'deliveries' or  involving stray dogs, which have a tendency to appear in the road snarling rabidly.
During my 'amazing' trip to Thailand, I sent 27 postcards, collected 7 squashed toads, a lizard, numerous comic books, religious and royal images +pretty stones and rocks. Only a few postcards made it through the boarder.....

On the 27th of Dec I was officially dumped. 
I was officially 100% dumped by telephone conversation.
 I swiftly made my plans to escape and I was back home safe in the arms of London the very next day!
So all in all it was pretty crap really.
I'd go as far as to say it's now at the top of my worst holidays ever. Previously the title was held by Australia in 2000. My second to last family holiday.
Remind me to talk about it when I see you.
Love from
Charlie Gates
x




Thursday, 12 January 2012

I AM ON YOUTUBE

Today was a big day...
CHARLIE TUESDAY GATES 
The 3D Experience   
I am now on Youtube where I shall be posting very random and off the cuff things that I do in the privacy of my own home. Today I did this... 
Lizard Fingers
video
After the worst holiday in Thailand ever I came back with a bag of squashed toads and a part decomposing lizard. Everyone was shocked when they saw the booty so I was lucky customs didn't catch me. I am also lucky that I left that place alive after totally insulting Buddha and the King himself via postcard customization.
I sent out 27 postcards and so far only ten have made it back... 
When I have the pictures I will tell the tail of how I escaped with my life.

Monday, 9 January 2012

Singing Badger

I'll let the badger explain what happened....
 
This Badger is called Clare Farrell. She's been on the T.V and is being loving looked after by her name sake.

Saturday, 17 December 2011

Thailand

I am in Thailand...... Beautiful scenery.
We've driven past numerous cats and dogs that are everywhere dead by the side of the road, there was this incredible snake on the beach with a noose round it's neck...And all I am allowed to do is look....from afar. Because of course I am on the first family holiday in ten years and not an adventure of a lifetime. There's loads of jaw dropping roadkill here and I can't do anything about it.
All I'm allowed to do is pick up dried squashed toads.
I have to keep this secret from my family and hopefully eventually customs. 
Where did this image come from
Obviously I haven't brought a camera to one of the most beautiful place in the world so have nothing to show of my 'adventures'
Any images I use are not mine-But the things might have looked quite a lot like that.
The places I have seen have been full of bloody tourists. I haven't seen one of those beaches that are clear of people. I don't think it's true. But if there is none then I have never been that fussed with the beach. I would rather be doing something than nothing. However I am currently with child (family of 3) that need constant care and attention.
I'm going to try and learn about Phuket now. Any advice greatly appreciated. 
 
If you would like a postcard then send me your address and the brief message you would like to appear on the back- along with design inspiration. You have until January 4th to get those orders in.
  charlietuesdaywinnergates@gmail.com

Thursday, 24 November 2011

BIZARRE TAXIDERMY

Alix Fox from Bizarre Magazine came round a few months ago. We had a great time at the bottom of my garden, opening up children's toy trunks full the dead things things I like to make sculptures out of... Somethings are obviously deeply offensive but viewed with a massive sense of humour it's fine. 
 I also showed her the ropes in regard to this D.I.Y Taxidermy stuff. Here we are in my studio having a gay old time. You really can do it yourself with things you have at home. Just use your imagination! ...That's all I had to work with.
It was really strange having people round poking fun at your stuff and taking hundreds of photos. It's hard letting people into the deeply private world of me and my animals.  My art means a lot to me.... You'll have to dig a little deeper to find out why but it's in here I promise. I cover a lot of things up with humour- that's because I'm afraid I won't have anything intelligent enough to say. Comes from being surrounded by (') at university. That's right, I actually went and got an education. Amazing.

Many massive huge thanks to Alix Fox (puns of Steel) & Bizarre magazine and the photo man that I can't remember the name of (sorry). It really was a pleasure. Sorry if I came across as uptight.

***Available for all interesting offers of work- especially exhibitions,  Live D.I.Y Taxidermy performances, T.V, film, weddings and bar mitzvah's!

Love from
Charlie Gates
x

Wednesday, 16 November 2011

Artist Talk: Verbal Diarrhoea

TONIGHT! 
(Wednesday 16th Nov 7pm)
The Doodle Bar
33 Parkgate Road
Battersea, SW11 4NP


'From the creator of D.I.Y Taxidermy LIVE we bring you a special event.

Charlie Tuesday Gates, ‘Taxidermist’, sculpture and performance artist will be talking about the inspirations behind her work and warped imagination.

This is a story of triumph over absurdity. 

From humble beginnings growing up on a Army Camp rubbish dump, to big dreams of working on the shopping channel- Teaching herself taxidermy and then bringing it to the stage….all in the style of a crazed substitute teacher.….Who’s possibly maybe drunk.

This is a no holes barred talking & pictures event!

So if you feel like getting inside the mind of Charlie Tuesday Gates and experiencing verbal diarrhea of an artistic kind, then come on down this Wednesday 16th Nov. 7.15 pm
The Doodle Bar

This talk is FREE!

Love from
Charlie Gates
x

*** There will be no big words, lots and lots of pictures and of course booze.

TWITTER: 
http://twitter.com/goodnessgates
FACEBOOK:
http://www.facebook.com/tuesdaygates


Thursday, 3 November 2011

Artist talk at the Doodle Bar 16th Nov

For those of you who feel like getting inside my brain for one night then come on down to the Doodle Bar 16th Nov!

I'll be regurgitating it- talking about the who's, what's, where's and how I  come up with all these obscenities. My inspirations, what happened to me when I was young, deep and apparently meaning full stuff delivered with my own brand of humour.

So if you were to scared to see a live show, now is your chance to just come look and listen very safely. You can even ask questions to my face.

Follow everything all the time on  TWITTER & FACEBOOK!

Love from
Charlie Gates
x