WANTED

So they showed me a picture of Lisa and to my shock I was amazed to see that she wore the same outfit that I saw in the dream I had about Edith. Are women turning into witches now, or is it that every time they get close to someone like me they feel more powerful? Well, it could be, but then again it could have a hidden meaning like sex. Yeah, that might be it. Damn it, it was getting cold outside.

LISA

Lisa Stewart, so I heard was Fly's ex-girlfriend. That night of the exhibition I was moved by her dangerous ways, like the dark side always seduces me. She didn´t exactly live here; she came from sunny California yet she still bothered to come all the way up here dressing all skimpy and all. It was her idea, not ours. I love tenacious, bold women.

CLUTCH

This certainly seemed the perfect occasion to celebrate my newfound victory. Ever since I felt the need to work intensively I've lost the meaning of the word holiday and now it was starting to make sense. While the rest of the world feasted counting down the 25 days of Christmas and clutching every last shiny piece of merchandise like ravens down in SoHo we caught up with Fly to visit his domains in Brooklyn. He had an odd fascination for drawing and crafting insects, thus the name Fly. He actually made fun of my rabbits but I guess it could count as a very subtle icebreaker.

"Street art is cool," he said in a very light way. "But how did you manage to do it in that fancy neighborhood?"

"That was a shit load of time ago, my friend. The difference is I used to do it outside the galleries now I do it inside and much much better, do you know what I mean."

"Nah, he just likes the high profile crowds, but deep down inside walked down these hoods, see," said Mark kinda like backing me up.

Fly also liked to collect skulls. He showed me a huge one made out of what is called barro negro, which is a sort of black clay with a very handsome shiny finish. His family came all the way from Mexico and that technique was very popular, among other things.

"Are you afraid to die?" said Fly holding a knife made out of that same black material.

What a question. But yes, who wouldn´t be, especially in these crazy times that we live in?

"Back where my daddy came from the Day Of The Dead is quite something," he continued.

"Oh yeah, I´ve seen that before," said Mark.

"You can mock death, but you still pay a great deal of respect to it, it´s like another member of the family. Be careful and you remember the next time you think you´re gonna fall into its clutches."

Nice advice, but I´m not currently planning on visiting that relative.

PLEASED

"This has to be one of the most amazing works I've ever seen, and believe me I've been places. I'm Alice Morris, I'm an artist as well."

"I'm glad you're feel pleased..."

"Oh, come now, don't be shy! It's absolutely delightful, don't you agree?"

Ms. Morris came all the way from England. She looked impecable and had an extraordinary sense of humor yet she was very tenacious. She had worked for almost fifteen years in Tate Modern until she finally decided to show her work in downtown London; things roll very differently over there.

"The work sells for itself, darling. I'm absolutely sure that your success is guaranteed in Europe. Are you newcomer?"

"My lady, I've been here since the last decade, but I've gained fame roughly about two or three years ago. But um, quite frankly my style has taken a different direction yet I've always been a loyal follower of Expressionism."

"Yes! Absolutely. The simplicty reminded me of Basquiat, but even more naïve."

"It´s a huge honor to follow his footsteps. I like to connect with almost everything I interact in a very special way."

"Whatever it is must it a real gift then."


I know someone who was gonna miss this painting, and that wouldn´t me.

(continued):

CHAPTER 4: DESCEND

HAIL TO THE THOUSAND

So one of my ´children´ the oil and pastel large painting of The Thousand got its first big break as it became officially sold. The price? Well, it´s was for more than I expected it would be. What seemed more engaging however was the buyer. The name; Alice Morris, and though I rarely get the chance to meet the clients on this special occasion I was required. It thrills me because Feivel said ever so sarcastically,

"Alice is after the Rabbit."

The Thousand was simple yet introspective. It resembled a hole with several streaks of color and around it where the souls of many other critters guided by The Black Rabbit with the infinity symbol upon his head. Didn´t it make any sense that these sort of elements are the window or the portal to other worlds? Some ideas I even picked them by looking at the Tarot card called The World. I wasn´t intending to do magic honestly but just exorcise some demons.Who would have thought that those demons would attract so many interesting people? Indeed this journey has just begun...

INDIAN SUMMER

There's always a sign in nature that announces the end of a season; the first leaf falling, the invasion of birds flying south for the winter, and me covered in dozens and dozens of beautiful butterflies in my dreams, for I knew well that they meant that this was a sign of rebirth or a new journey.

I feel a tad shy to confess the bizarre mind trip I had last night because my girl certainly has a way of unleashing her dark side in bed. I've noticed that before but never quite like this. In my dream she appeared as an obscure character meanwhile I laid flat on the floor, half naked. She leaned for a while and pulled out a paintbrush where she drew a perfectly outlined black cross in the middle of my chest. Next she touched it and I felt a burning sensation like an open wound and practically saw black butterflies emerging. After the swarm cleared up the girl stuck her hand all the way down and pulled out what seemed to be...a rabbit? I swear he looked like Scraps but he was black with blue eyes, yet it seemed awfully suspicious that she exclaimed,


"There, that's where you were! Now come down and I'll make some breakfast."

The next thing you know I woke up having a feeling of déjà vu for some of the events in the dream happened in real life. For example, it was around 3:15 AM and I quickly rolled my eyes and nothing happened.

DEAR, IT'S 3 AM, YOU BETTER GO BACK TO SLEEP, THIS IS THE WITCHING HOUR.

Edith threw her arm over me and clutched me. In the morning she acted like nothing unusual happened...in fact I was astonished, was she possessed, or was it good old-fashioned lust I experienced? I'm sorry, but it was the first time she acted THIS strange, I wasn't actually complaining, it's just that I felt sort of dirty.

HEY, I HAVE AN IDEA...

Oh great, I LOVE ideas...

Next thing you know we were in this small, yet welcoming coffee shop down on Mercer Street. The ambient was rather dark and mysterious but not too quiet. She insisted that I tried the exotic teas.

I ALWAYS USED TO COME HERE IN MY FRESHMAN YEAR; I DON'T KNOW WHY I HAVEN'T INVITED YOU.

"I think you have; the difference is I didn't accept before." I said as a courtesy because I really didn't want to make her feel bad.

THIS IS WHERE I USUALLY CAME TO STUDY PEACEFULLY WITH MY FRIENDS.

"Do you miss them?"

SORRY?

"I said do you miss them?"

NO, OF COURSE NOT. I STILL SEE THEM. But then we started visiting other places, you know, until I met you.

"And what drove you to change your direction, then?"

I FELL IN LOVE WITH THESE STREETS...I REALIZED I WAS MISSING OUT ON SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT...and if I didn´t pay attention to it my life would have been just like anybody else´s. So then I stumbled upon this little place where they did palm and Tarot reading and that´s how I found Ava. She told me,

"You´re whole life is about to change...you will meet someone who´ll show you the way. He will heal you and you will heal him."

It seemed pretty outrageous at the time, but not anymore. She said, "You are a Virgo; your symbol is The Hermit, you are a healer."

"And you believed that blindly? Do you think that fate gives some kind of obligation to stay with me?"

NO, BUT I REALIZED THE TRUTH because I was blind for many years, running away and now I, I found home.

And I guess that explains why she thought about me that Thanksgiving weekend, for it seems that the reason she felt homesick was actually unfinished business at home. So she settled it, but something tells me she´s growing more distant from her folks than ever, especially since the loss of her father last year.

We´re all broken in the end; fixing each other is what life is all about.

BABY'S ON FIRE

The following event took place before I went to sleep.

"What's wrong Edith?"

NOTHING'S WRONG WITH ME; IT'S JUST THAT YOU MANAGE TO COMPLICATE SOMETHING SO SIMPLE.

"I think it's the other way around isn't it? Because I need you to be with me on this; if you don't want to then it's fine by me."

FINE? SO YOU CAN HANDLE THINGS FINE WITHOUT ME?

"I'm just giving you some freedom because I can. I wish I could give myself the freedom to do other things but I'm very solicited."

YOU'RE SOLICITED, SO THEN BECAUSE I'M NOT INDISPENSABLE I CAN EASILY WALK AWAY FEELING I NEVER MADE A BIG CHANGE IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE?

"Why are you talking like this? It's so not you."

BECAUSE I DEMAND TO EXIST. I MAY NOT HAVE YOUR TALENTS BUT I DESERVE TO BE NOTICED SOMEHOW.

"What do you mean you don't have TALENT? You're so smart, even smarter than I am; we complement each other, you fill in the gaps, I'd crash without you."

AND IF I DIDN'T DO THIS FOR A LIVING WOULD YOU STILL NEED ME?

"You'd still have that capacity to understand and help people."

AND IF I DIDN'T HAVE IT? DO YOU FEEL THE CONSTANT NEED TO QUESTION EVERYTHING THAT'S UNUSUAL IN YOUR LIFE?

"Isn't that what any ordinary human being does, question the secrets of the universe?"

YEAH, BUT NOT OBSESSIVELY LIKE YOU! I realize that there's great power in what you dream but paying too much attention to it can only end up in a nervous breakdown. But you're not like that, are you? Remember we had this discussion before and you cried?"

"No need to remind me."

THEY'RE JUST FEELINGS, OR CALL IT BOTTLED UP FEELINGS, but the point is that eventually they get resolved when you learn how to identify them correctly. When you misinterpret something and take it literally then you become more anxious and then it starts getting bigger and bigger until it becomes this huge monster.

"That's great and all but I'm not asking you to heal me, honey...I, I just need you to be with me and make this less difficult."

ADRIAN, I THINK IT'S DIFFICULT FOR US TWO. A PART OF YOU HESITATES BUT THE OTHER ONE IS MOVING FORWARD. I MAY JUST FEEL NERVOUS FOR HAVING TO BLEND IN WITH NEW CROWDS.

Why was this becoming such a huge ass of a deal? I felt like I was losing a limb or something. So a part of me refuses to go, like I probably may have written here some time ago, but that was normal. Edith also said that dreams are exaggerated sometimes in order to pay attention, but not too much. And now that I'm starting to pick up the pieces it's just common jitters! There was absolutely nothing to fear, was there?

So we tried to relax a little bit. She laid her head upon my chest and shrugged as I was some sort of comfy pillow; after all she was shivering and in the end she whispered in her sleep, "Stay with me, please...I don't need anyone else but you."

I wasn't her first boyfriend exactly...yet, for some goddamn reason I was the one who inspired more confidence. Out of all the skanky, lovesick, utterly suffocating ladies I've encountered she's the only one who's actually trying to talk some sense into my system, so maybe that's why it hurts. That reminded of a phrase,

"It has to hurt if it's to heal."

A sort of flagrant sensation invaded my neck...hmm; I could clearly sense my baby was on fire...

"Her temperature's rising, but any idiot would know that."

THE BRIDE FACTOR

New day, new shit, new everything...which day of the week was it anyway? ah, Thursday! I didn´t really keep track of time until I was done doing work. I took Mark´s advice and found out that I had a sort of full agenda. For example, this weekend we were busy rummaging through my stuff selecting which pieces were gonna go into the art book. The author was an artist as well; his name was Fly and he looked like the kind of person who hangs out in metal bars, but less harmless. He was sort of bulky and bald; great tats by the way but I still can´t drive myself to have one; Edith worships my virginal skin.

I also realized we kept sending each other telepathic signals in our dreams about the same theme: weddings. Now don´t get me wrong, we live together but she doesn´t look like the kind of girl who wants to settle down. Edith is just ready to fly somewhere else, but I don´t she´ll able to follow me everywhere unless I stay here. There will be a moment in which we will both have to go on our separate ways. She knows that very well but that doesn´t automatically give the right to do whatever the Hell I want, like I remember when I began to live alone I used to party harder than now like any young person would...but when I get these huge wake up calls like the one last month and then realize I should take it easy.

Before she went off to college Edith told me she had this one other dream;

She was a teenager perhaps and her family wanted her to get married. So then they set her up with two, yes two prospects. You know when they do those arranged marriages in India? This one was, I guess sort of like the same thing. She was heavily concerned because she claimed to be too young for this. She saw both men and one of them of looked like me...yes, me. The other one, I dunno, must have been some losery guy. Still, she managed to call the wedding off on time. Her mother told her, "you can always do that as long as you´re not wearing the dress, honey."

How was this supposed to make sense in real life? It never does, but it´s actual proof that Edith might still be unsure about certain changes in our relationship. I´m starting to think that this whole idea of living in Chelsea is turning out to be a very hostile situation; was it that in the end SoHo was home after all? Being there was strictly business, not just because; if I had the chance to choose I would never leave but you can never treat an artist like a caged bird; you have to be where the action is. We need to have a more serious talk.

A TALE OF THE SWARM

And he was right: he was so goddamn right. The moment I opened the blog section of my website a huge swarm of comments came along even I had some from last week. I can even tell you what sorts of things they had the nerve to spew:

"You might not know this but I often have dreams about you Adrian. They're not offfensive or anything so don't worry. It was so real. I was in a large gallery just like the one you were in Chelsea but even larger. I can even recall there was a hardwood floor and it had many levels. I saw you and the owner of the place promised us we could talk to you in person, however that became incredibly difficult. Do you know how it feels when you're waiting in line outside this very cool nightclub and no one will let you in no matter how hot you look? Same thing.

After a while I discovered that I wasn't gonna able to meet you; I felt so down and out and broken hearted. So then I went with some friends over to the lobby and then they left me all by myself...The place was huge and pretty neat by the way; I could even recall these beautiful ceiling lights that looked like spheres and everything. So anyway I was leaning against a banister doing nothing, just thinking of my poor luck when out of nowhere I heard a voice that said:

"I believe you were expecting me..."

So then when I turned around it was you! You looked so great, all dressed in black and leather. So then I gave you a great big hug and then you told me, "We're friends, right?" And then you left. Just some stuff I thought you'd like to know because I remember the last thing I stared at when I went to bed was your the image of your painting called The Thousand, so then I said," this is the most amazing thing I've ever seen."

"Oh crap, that's so sweet," I said as I made faces to Edith and Mark. "You know, the place she describes looks an awful lot like the Guggenheim Museum, although I haven't been there in a long time...how symbolic even." Lindsay.

SO A GIRL WRITES YOU THAT SHE'S HAD DREAMS ABOUT MEETING YOU?

"You can probably say it's only an innocent fantasy, but I still don't find anything really special about it."

OH THAT'S SO SWEET, WHAT ELSE IS IN THERE?

"Oh well, there's another guy that describes a dream in which I was hanging out with him in some bar in his neighborhood while we gabbed about Dali and how he changed our lives, blah, blah... Do you remember that time when you told me you had hallucinations after watching Ritual, Edith?"

YES, AND YOUR POINT IS...

"See, this thrills me, but I can't stop thinking that there's a pattern in here somewhere. I still don't buy this deal that everybody describes lucid dreams in which they see me; how flattering, but how ass-kissing of them."

ADRIAN...YOU KNOW, I´M THE ONLY PERSON WHO HAS DISCUSSED THOSE THINGS WITH YOU OPENLY.

"Are you sure? Cuz I could tell that was starting to become some sort of trend."

NO, IT´S NOT. YOU HAVE MANAGED TO FISH OUT OF YOUR UNCONSCIOUS THINGS THAT ARE PART OF THE COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS.

"Come again?" asked Mark in a sort of more serious attitude.

"You see, if everyone sees the rabbit as an element of the unconscious mind on the real world then as you dream you will reveal your true self to others. Did you know that in a way the rabbit represents in some ways strong intuition because he can find the way even in the dark?" explained Edith.

"And exactly how did you find that out?" asked Mark.

I´M A FUTURE THERAPIST, I´M APPLYING THE ANALYSIS OF JUNG. NOT THAT HARD.

"Wait a sec...so let see if I get this straight, what happens if my man right here keeps painting rabbits?" asked Mark again.

"Yeah, tell us Edith and you said you´re no psychic..." I said.

THAT YOU CAN EXPECT FOR THESE COMMENTS TO FLOOD YOU FOR YEARS, THUS PEOPLE WILL BUILD A BOND WITH YOU, LIKE THEY´RE PART OF A FAMILY OR SOMETHING...

"How do you stop it then?" I asked looking at her.

DEAR, WHILE YOU WERE READING I DID SOME SERIOUS THINKING ABOUT WHAT YOU WERE PRODUCING AND IT HAS POWER SO BE CAREFUL WITH IT OR ELSE...

"Or else what?" Now she starting to scare me.

THERE ARE VERY SENSITIVE PEOPLE OUT THERE AND THEIR IMAGINATION WILL SOAR AND START TO BELIEVE THAT WHAT YOU EXPERIENCE EVEN THOUGH IT´S JUST A DREAM IS REAL.

"Whatever, as long as it´s all in my head, right?" I said.

THE MIND IS A VERY STRONG MUSCLE; YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT CAN HAPPEN IF YOU STRETCH IT TOO MUCH.

Whatever, as long as it attracts followers.

BLOOD BROTHERS

"She can also perceive your frailty and that's what sickens her." Ava.

While we were putting books in their place we happened to stumble upon some very interesting titles. Edith thought the best place to look for lost things was in her bookcase. What an awesomely large bookcase she had; it reminded of the bookstore that guy Coreander used to have in The Neverending Story. After we settled our discussion about the supernatural we proceeded to enjoy to an extraordinary bowl of miso soup, I helped.

So as I felt the warmth coming back to my precious body I leafed through the pages another interesting piece of literature called Manual de Psicomagia or in plain English Psychomagic Handbook. It was certainly full of these sorts of twisted rituals, more like something a shaman would do. Edith said that while she doing her practices on NYU she had the pleasure of treating a Chilean patient and heavily recommended her to read this when handling toxic relationships; those I would have to say are the trickiest ones to recognize.

Apparently they start off as an innocent friendship with nothing but good intentions but in the end one of the parties who happens to have an unhealthy habit to live off other people´s experiences instead of his own will eventually consume you, like a vampire. There was a ritual in the book to get rid of them; just grab a picture of that toxic person and put black tape over his mouth as you out it upside down inside a freezer...now that did sound like witchcraft. I wish I could have done that with Lisa.

SO, DID YOU LIKE IT?

"What, the soup or the book?"

THE BOOK, SILLY. I SEE YOU GOT HOOKED ON IT AND STOPPED TALKING TO ME ABOUT AN HOUR AGO.

"Oh, it´s really something else, I gotta tell you that. However this one sounds more like black magic."

NO IT´S NOT! IT MAY SOUND UNCONVENTIONAL BUT I THINK IT WORKS. I´M NOT INTO VOODOO OR ALL THOSE DARK ARTS BUT THIS IS VERY INSIGHTFUL AND CHALLENGING.

"I´ll keep that in mind, especially this part about blocked artists. According to this, parents make you feel guilty for wanting to become a dreamer and eventually they mentally castrate you until you develop writer´s block. You know technically how that is cured?

YES; IT´S A SEXUAL THING, BUT IF YOU WANNA GO AHEAD, DO IT AT YOUR OWN RISK.

"Well, it doesn´t necessarily involve two people. But I think what I did yesterday was cathartic; you should try it too."

DON´T YOU HAVE WORK TO DO?

Again I could feel her discontent. "Sure I do! Now that I found my golden ticket I can work even easier.

A few hours later Mark arrived so he could give me a hand with the material we were going to select for the book. I kept staring at him because he was so bundled up and puffy he looked like the freaking the goddamn Marshmallow Man. I could only see his tiny brown eyes.

"Yes, what´s up, dude? It´s so ridiculously windy outside," he said.

"I don´t feel nothing. You must be allergic to this New York weather," I answered sarcastically.

"Hey, I´ve been talking to Feivel the other day and he´s got some very interesting folk you might wanna talk to, you know...he says you haven´t checked your mail either."

"Whaddaya mean?" I asked feeling slightly indifferent.

"Don´t you know? This shit was amazing! I mean the exhibition attracted so many followers."

"Oh, followers! I know what you´re talking about."

DON´T TRY TO REASON WITH MARK, HE´S FIXATED NOW ON DOING RITUALS.

"I know that, the whole thing about sleeping in empty houses? I should have gone with you, by the way. Isn´t that what a brother´s supposed to do, be there all the time?"

"S-s-sure...whatever you say, bro..." How adorable; I never officially had a brother or sister, so it´s fun when other people are willing to offer to fill that tiny void. The great thing is that you can finally pick on someone no holds barred, so every single time that I could I channeled my sarcasm on Mark. It´s in our nature to destroy ourselves.

LIVE PAINTING

As soon as I got to my place I gave Edith a very intense welcome. She was slightly surprised.

OH WELL, YOU ACT LIKE YOU HAVEN´T SEEN ME IN AGES...YOU SHOULD DO THAT MORE OFTEN.

"Do what more often?" I said as I swirled her shoulders. "Oh yeah...it´s better than getting high, trust me."

"You say that because you´ve done it before, haven´t you? That´s why I asked you last night about it. Any way, now that you´re done with little experiment shall we move to the ´thing´?

She was referring to the sketchbook.

"Yup, the thing...the thing. I may be no psychic but I still need you to give me a boost..."

"Fine, fine," she said as she continued kissing me. "Under one condition..."

"And that is?" I said as my curiosity increased.

TELL ME EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT...WITH FULL DETAIL.

That request sounded hard, but not that hard. Anyway, I narrated the events in the order in which they appeared, highlighting the part about the walls. In the end, Edith said it was stepping into a live painting.

"But um, tell me something, baby...who was that blonde girl you were talking about?" she said as she was putting some books in their place.

"I´ve seen her before...in another dream, but I´d like to think it´s you."

AND I SUPPOSE THAT´S MY OTHER SIDE, MY ALTER EGO, IS THAT IT?

"You asked me to tell you everything! Besides I never dated any blonde girl before; they all had a complexion similar to yours." I was saved for a while.

"If that´s the case, then do you...do you think I wanna commit and take the next step?"

"Woman, it was just a vision; is that the way you think I perceive our relationship?"

I´M NOT PUSHING YOU TO DO ANYTHING; I LOVE THE WAY WE LIVE RIGHT NOW.

"Ah, there! I found what I was looking for. It was on top of a shelf..."

ADRIAN, LOOK AT ME...WHAT DO YOU THINK?

"Oh, damn! I´m tripping with the same goddamn stone all over again..." I felt paralyzed for a while. "It seems like it´s a better opportunity for us, you know this idea of moving on...and my visions are not to be taken literally, even you know that. I can tell that you´ve been tense. So yes, you are being rather pushy Edith. Yet, there´s nothing to be afraid of, really...it´s actually me who doesn´t want to leave, so a part of me is nostalgic. I worked very hard to get here, therefore it has a huge significance."

BUT IT´S NOT SO FAR AWAY FROM CHELSEA, SO RELAX.

So there you have it; she single handedly unraveled my dream. It was just a reflection of apathy and nostalgia for Mercer Street...so did that mean I was some negativity or was it a premoniton?

HELL-O, HELL-O, I´M BACK AGAIN

ADRIAN, ADRIAN, PLEASE WAKE UP! IT´S 11 AM.

"Not now, Edith, can´t you see I´m trying to make the pain go down..."

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, DO YOU HAVE PERMISSION TO BE HERE AT THIS TIME OF DAY?

Uh oh...that wasn´t my girl; it was a manly voice.

"Oh damn, I´m sorry. I´m Adrian Black. I volunteered to watch the place for the night, so it´s cool, no harm done."

"Wehehell, the place is pretty much in ruins there son, I´m Gil Wyman, I´m one of the contractors; we´re gonna work on the walls today so if you need anything just let us know."

"Funny, you paint walls and I hang stuff in them. I should be going now, 'got work to do as well..."

As for me, I sort of had an appointment back in my headquarters in SoHo. The Playground exhibition paintings were selected to be part of a collective art book conveniently named "HELL-O" which featured artists which work was a tad controversial and daring. I already had chosen some works but I also wanted to pair them with some preliminary sketches. But the madness I experienced yesterday was too good to be true. So I rushed to the elevator from the five story building and jumped into my BMW and headed back home.

There was a song in the back of my head, very remote, but since I had nowhere to play it I just hummed it on the way:

"Hello, Hello. It's good to be back, it's good to be back.

Hello, Hello. It's good to be back, it's good to be back."

That´s right, I was sucker for oldies and for some goddamn reason they turned me on, among other things.

"Hello, Edith, are you there?"

I´M JUST ABOUT TO GO INSIDE THE APARTMENT, SWEETIE. SO WHAT HAPPENED THIS TIME?

"Nothing. The contractors arrived on time, but this Wyman is supervising the whole thing...something about the walls in the living room."

YOU WERE IN THE LIVING ROOM; ISN´T IT GREAT? I FOUND IT FAR MORE COMFORTING THAN THE ONE WE HAVE HERE.

"Uh...sure, whatever you say, girl. Listen, I need to tidy up my studio because I´ll some very important people coming over, is my black sketchbook there by any chance?"

OH HO, I THINK I´M GONNA HAVE A HARD TIME FIGURING IT OUT; I HAVEN´T SEEN IT EVER SINCE YOU LOCKED YOURSELF UP PAINTING LAST MONTH...

Shit.

"Well, I´m trying hard to not get so eccentric on you but I´d prefer to have that one. Besides, I need it so they can use some material."

OK, JUST CALM DOWN; LET ME SEE WHAT I CAN DO, BUT I CAN´T PROMISE YOU ANYTHING.

Inspiration had hit me like never before and I couldn´t afford to lose it. I had to make a mental picture of where I put that sketchbook. But since it was somewhat late I couldn´t think straight on an empty stomach.

OF ROYAL BLUE BLOOD

I didn't fall asleep completely; I just rested my head over what seemed to be a yellow pillow on a white leather couch. As I closed my eyes an unfamiliar feeling took hold of me and lifted me. The ambient was tinted blue and every single one of my movements went in slow motion.

When I woke up I found myself in what seemed to be my bedroom, which was very poorly decorated, except for a simple round mirror. I walked over to it and felt the need to extend my arm, as if I was touching it and hoping to get to the other side. Ha, ha, Adrian went through the looking-glass, how amusing.

The so-called other side wasn't the exact opposite of my bedroom yet it seemed more like a tunnel to a hallway although now that I recall it looked more like a gallery. I walked crestfallen as I crossed to the other end, tears were running down my eyes. And so down was I that I didn't even stop to take a look at the paintings hanging on the walls. I felt like I was going into a goddamn emergency room.

I made it back into the living room somehow and I was still lying on the couch. Did the dream end? I wasn't sure. However the next site wasn't pretty. The tall brick walls looked like they were painted in Hell, all scraped or rusty.Suddenly before my eyes a black cross began to appear...I was lucky enough not to see blood, though. Little by little the cross was defining the shape of a human chest and as I kept staring a beam of light coming from it blinded me...

...Now, where was I, an operating room? Some funny-looking doctors wanted to examine me and perform surgery on me; they looked like moles with headlights...oh, that was no cross I saw, it was a fucking incision in my chest, what were they after? Aghh...I felt a slight sting. I turned over, but I didn´t wake up just yet.

Another vision...A beautiful blonde girl was getting dressed and prepared for her wedding...waiting, someone what tightening her corset way too much...she wept. I...I felt like I knew her, that I´d seen her before...

Aghhh...now I woke up for real because I felt a stabbing pain in my left side. Okay, enough mind-blowing shit. I needed to go back home. "Edith..."

ADRIAN; IT´S 2 AM, IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT? YOU SOUND AGITATED...

"It´s alright, it´s alright...I´ll see you in the morning. It´s just that there´s something about this place I gotta tell you..."

SO IS IT HAUNTED FOR REAL?

"Yes, yes...no, no, no that. I just have to be more careful, that´s all."

YOU DIDN´T HAVE ANYTHING FUNNY BEFORE YOU CALLED ME, RIGHT?

"I´m not that kind of guy! Anyway...I´ll see you in the morning." I hung up and I plummeted in the couch. I was definitely going to like this house...

MEDIUM FOR THE NIGHT (continued):

I didn´t want to press my luck but I went on ahead and visited my new ´lair´ on a Wednesday night, located in the heart of Chelsea, Manhattan. The weather was becoming harder to stand in the first days of December, so I went prepared; quite frankly 40 degrees make me laugh. We weren´t going to move there yet; we were waiting until after the holidays.

This nifty spot had a 20 foot high ceiling and like Edith said previously the brick walls needed some serious attention, but that was exactly one of the aspects I intended to conserve the way it was; probably just give it a face lift, you know. We were working on that last part actually. What was in great conditions but was the least important was the hard maple wood floor. I installed myself in what was going to be the living room and a restored stone fireplace. It needed to connect with the surroundings so I could get my six senses impregnated. The darkness invaded me that was for sure. I really didn´t feel bad being alone this time. The reason why my girlfriend didn´t overreact was because she knew I did this as a ritual.

So technically I waited until 1:11 AM to see effectively if these numbers conducted to anything supernatural. I wasn´t hoping this place was full of ghosts. You see whenever I spent the night in old buildings I had powerful visions, ever since I was a runt.

I had very limited use of technology; just a mobile phone. 2:00 AM, and the silence went on, enjoy the silence little boy...

(continued)...

MEDIUM FOR THE NIGHT

I specifically asked Edith if I could spend the night at place in Chelsea, and she took it rather well because she said I was nuts...

AS IF, YOU´RE ACTING AS IF IT WERE A HAUNTED HOUSE. WHAT, DO YOU THINK THE WALLS ARE GONNA BLEED OR SOMETHING?

"No, but actually that would be awesome. No, it´s just this one time, I swear."

Edith crossed her arms and grew puzzled, "are you allowed to do that yet?"

I answered way too cynically, "No. That´s the beauty of it; I´m trespassing like in the old days...I´m just kidding!"

"Nah, I didn´t believe one minute of it. So, is he supposed to keep me company then?" she said as she lifted Scraps.

"He´s so much better than a watchdog!"

She said in the end that I was out of my mind and that she wouldn´t talk to me...for about an hour.

So I took a few things with me in a backpack and proceeded to go my adventure. Apparently deep down I was starting to behave like a medium. When did start exactly? Who cares but the truth is that it felt like falling slowly to the bottom of the rabbit hole...

(continued...)

BABY GOAT

Edith said once that when the body goes through a healing process you have the most awful dreams that you can ever imagine. That's what happened last month and now it happened to her. She kept complaining about this very intense headache and that would explain why she was sort of suspiciously moody yesterday.

So we sat together in our ever so comfortable living room back in my place on Mercer Street. She threw herself on my lap like the naïve little girl she was sometimes and she began telling me her wacky story.

"I think I´m better now. As soon as we came back home I stared at one of your pastels, what was it called?"

"Oh, you mean the one in the foyer? Yes, it´s called Home, it makes sense; what about it?"

"Well, then you see I failed to talk to you for the rest of the night because I had this humongous headache that I began to see blurry..."

"And why didn´t you tell me that?"

"Just because. Anyway, I wanted to tell you I had this very weird dream; well, they´re always weird, otherwise you wouldn´t pay attention to them, right? So then I saw myself younger, like about twelve years old and then I was wearing a party dress, like in pink pastel color and black. It was going to be like a wedding or something and my mom was supposed to pick me up, but the thing is that it was going to happen the next day, so I dressed in advance..."

"And why the Hell would you do that, to save time?" I said while I was caressing her face.

"I suppose. The thing is that before the wedding I helped around the house, so I was in the kitchen. Then I saw an aunt of mine who was mincing some meat and as soon as I saw it I noticed it was baby goat."

I just frowned.

"She used to cook it all the time now that I remember. So then she passed me a small bowl and she said, "Here, see what you can make of this head". It was a goat´s head! Accidentally I spilled some of the blood that came from the meat and I stained my dress. Now that I think of it this pink gown I had used it several times and it was wearing out..."

"You had nothing better, were you poor?"

"No, not really...oh c´mon you know my family, Adrian. So then I knew I had to clean up or something so I took the dress off carefully. My mom came in and she said to be ready in about an hour. So when I stared at the mirror I noticed that I didn´t like what I was wearing; I had a black sweater on, so I removed it and afterwards I removed a black laced top that seemed to match with my stockings."

"Oh, keep going cuz maybe you´re a closet Goth..."

"I am not! So that was pretty much it, what do you think of it?"

I tried to remain as serious as I could but also wanted to cheer her up, "You have a dark side! Cool. But then again I could also have a little bit of that. Maybe it was because of what you said yesterday, you know, about me and my good luck charms...does that bother you?"

Edith was silent for a while. "I don´t know; remember how I told you to not get so fixated on that?"

"Yes, but that´s what makes life extra spicy, right?"

"I suppose so. I may be a little bit crazy but I think your paintings are a bit suggestive; they trigger something in the unconscious."

Why didn´t I find this part amusing anymore?

MAD WORLD (continued)...

Did you ever had that moment that as soon as you wake up there´s this one particular song in the back of your head? In my case it was Mad World by Gary Jules. I played it in the living room until it made sense:

"And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad

SO THEN WHY DID YOU PLAY THAT SONG ADRIAN?

"Because if I didn´t do it then it would stay in my head the whole day, Edith. It´s the unconscious. Do you know why that happens when you dream?"

She sat on the couch, very thoughtful as she crossed her legs. "Freud once divided the levels of the mind; from the subconscious you jump to the unconscious as you wake up. So in reality we dream in the process of becoming conscious, not after we fall asleep. Maybe you were associating a feeling with the lyrics."

"Nope,  that´s not it, but thanks anyway."

WELL, DON´T GET SO UPSET WITH ME.

Besides, it makes sense nowadays with all the violence out there and the one inside me. 

This weekend I shut some doors, symbolically speaking. I said goodbye to Adam with a sense of relief, but on the other hand I wish he could be a part of my endless journey. He didn´t seem to be too excited about going back to Elyria; after all, the town has suffered too much in the last five years.

I also headed down to Chelsea to start conditioning my new studio. It turned out to be even more amazing than I thought. It used to be a warehouse and now we would turn into a goldmine. What we loved the most is leaving some very specific details; round, tall windows, different levels. We even planned to make like a small office strictly for business. Well, after several hours I was talked into the idea because I´m a very messy person; I think I said that before.

The place was older than I thought; they call it prewar. And basically that was how I spent my Monday; all messed up on the outside, not so sure about the inside.

After I became so goddamn tired I laid flat on the hardwood floor with Scraps on top of me. I placed my hand upon his head while I made faces with him, "I´m such an idiot, man, you need a girlfriend real badly cuz you´re getting bigger..." 

WHAT ARE YOU DOING DOWN THERE SWEETIE, HAVING FUN?

“I´m just chilling out; can´t I do that every once in a while?” I answered while I kept twitching Scraps´ big ears.

I NEED YOUR HONEST OPINION ON THIS ONE...

“Whatever you say sweet raven…”

WE MUST DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE WALLS TO MAKE THEM MATCH THE PREVIOUS DÉCOR.

“Do you think they don´t go?”

NO, ALTHOUGH, THERE´S SOMETHING WE CAN KEEP. I SEE THE  BRICK WALLS COULD BE A NICE ACCENT, OR SHOULD WE JUST REDO THEM?

“They stay. You know how I hate to disturb old houses…” I said as stood up.

OH, IT´S BECAUSE YOU WANT SOMETHING OLD, ISN´T IT?

“It´s the only way I can actually connect with people. Objects leave traces behind…”

Edith got kind of upset and slightly hit me with a magazine she was flipping for decoration ideas on lofts.

“You always do that, but I guess that´s kind of like your good luck charm, isn´t it?”

“Absolutely…”

“Whatever; I´ll see you in a few minutes. Let me know when you connected with some dead people here.”

Edith walked away giving me the cold shoulder. I hate when she gets stressed.

The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had

I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take

When people run in circles its a very, very

Mad world, mad world."

CHAPTER 3: MAD WORLD

Things will change, I believe so, things will change. It´s a mad world after all, so smile..

CROWDED HOUSE

So I sat down with Edith this Saturday afternoon as she continued to analyze my complex dreams very carefully. As soon as she graduates she´ll become a pro, but that didn´t mean that her advice was OK, after all, you can´t self-medicate and get away with it.

And just to prove that I wasn´t insane Mark and Dad where there too as witnesses. We discussed all these strange episodes after a swell Thai lunch.

"Have you ever had these crazy visions and later on they become real?" I asked Mark.

"No man, but that all sounds like some serious black magic over there..."

"Of course not!" exclaimed Edith. "The truth is he has become aware of another side of him that´s more spiritual. It´s nothing to be ashamed of."

"Like, can you give us an example, son?" said Adam.

"One day, I was here dozing off and for, I dunno, let´s say a few minutes something flashed in my head and I saw a woman who took her kids in to this house along with others that weren´t hers."

"Like orphan children?" asked Edith gracefully.

"Yeah, that´s it!" I said as I sipped some red wine. "The weird part is that she was like seeking some refuge and she found this place."

"Well, it has to make some sense son; these parts are full of history cuz they used to be factories of some sort."

"And that´s why I find living in old buildings way more comfortable. What do you say, honey, do you think those people actually existed?"

"You know we should do a séance before we leave this loft," said Edith with a slightly sarcastic tone.

"Isn´t that were you contact the dead?" said Mark.

"Oh yes, that´s it!" she laughed out loud.

"Stop making fun of me or I´ll give a horribly fucking hard time! You don´t play with these things," I said.

"Then how come you didn´t use this stuff on Halloween? That would have made plenty of more sense than now," said Mark tapping the table.

"I just can´t figure that one out, my friend. Maybe it was already there but it was waiting to show up at the right place at the right time..."

"That´s OK bro, I respect you. The thing is people don´t talk about their dreams because they sound stupid or it embarrasses them. I had lots of dreams where I´m flying without wings. But then again I was too high that day...” said Mark with a sense of guilt.

"Well, may these visions of yours bring you good luck, my boy!" hailed Adam.

"Oh, they already have, they already have. But I still have a sinking feeling I can´t explain...I studying the Tarot cards now. Maybe I´ll become a psychic."

"That´s one thing you don´t see every day; a psychic artist." said Edith.

COINCIDENCE

There's no quicker satisfaction than the one that you get online. These were some of the reviews for Playground:

"It's the rabbit that came out of the hat full of magic tricks. Naïve yet cryptic imagery, the show gathers what would be considered the talismans for the young. The Rabbit of The Infinite Strength is one of them; a black rabbit with the infinity symbol on its back, loosely based on the lemniscate from The Strength tarot card. A man playing a boy playing with black magic? How inconsiderate, but at the same time so adequate to illuminate the darkest corners of our imagination." (Mary Bradshaw, NYC Art Magazine).

"There are a handful of artists that come to mind when I see work like this one; Marc Chagall, Dali and Miró who used the element of the rabbit in a more abstract context. Nevertheless, the need to prevail such mythology is more individual than collective." (J.B. Smith, Chelsea Daily Strokes).

"Adrian Black has been questioned for some years about his refusal to paint people most of the time, and with these recent works he reinforces out theory that prefers to surround his art in a more oneiric environment. With this it transforms into a genuine piece of work for any therapist of your choice.” (Morris, Modern Art NY).

SO DID THEY LIKE IT?

“Well, Edith, liking would be a very difficult thing to say in this case.”

HOW COME?

“You see, the more you know the harder it becomes to like something, especially if you´re a critic. But in a few words, it has they approved it. At least they didn´t hang me like in 2008. They already know my style. Sometimes you have to provoke because it´s needed.”

OH, GOOD THINKING.

Mark came over and he looked as partied out as I was but extremely excited to help me uploading material. He was one of my many partners in crime.

“So, whaddaya want me to do this time, bro?” he asked slightly yawning; it was like 10:10 AM

“Whaddaya mean you don´t know? I got tons of material to edit! By the way, what was that name of that girl, the one in the outfit?” I asked as I took that old familiar mild drug called caffeine.

“Lisa. Lisa Stewart,” he said.

“Oh, you have got to fucking kidding me; I used to date a girl called Lisa, but that was back in high school…damn.”

“Well, there you go. Coincidences…”

I hate coincidences, but what the Hell...

(continued)…

WHERE THERE'S A WILL, THERE'S A WAY

I should have known better than to be drowning in a sea of liquor, but before I hit land my mind navigated into new dreams. This time I traveled into a one story house far from the city and I was sitting in the living room. I was also dressed in black, but I think that seems sort of irrelevant since I do that every day.

On the other hand, I had several people around me, trusted ones while I was writing my last will. And this is where I stop. Again one of those apparently threatening situations that are inevitably tied to the process of dying. And if I effectively survived this weekend I wasn't able to understand which other danger was coming.

I'll have to say I suck at predicting the future. What I did know for sure is that next Monday I had to make plans for my new 'hiding place', A.K.A my new toy. 'Can't complain; 20 ft. high ceilings, wide open spaces, nice view of the Hudson River. Yet, there was still something about it I couldn´t explain; Edith said the other day that home was with me, and it makes sense since I´ve lived in several places it´s hard to say if any one of these has been welcoming enough.

I went upstairs to my favorite spot in the rooftop while the morning breeze literally pierced my skin; it must have been around 45 degrees, I´m not sure. I watched my old man enjoying the view of my dear neighborhood.

"Hey man, how´s it going?" I said slightly dragging my feet.

"Oh, hey there. I just came here for a moment or two to clear my thoughts, you know," he answered as I noticed he rubbed his bony hands.

"What was that all about with mom? She barely wanted to talk to me the other day..."

"Yeah, you know, she´s working too hard not getting better; she kinda stubborn after what happened to you last month. She practically paralyzed when she heard the news."

"I understand."

"No, but the thing is that she had to learn sooner or later that you just gotta learn to jump one of these days. I realize you´re strong but don´t try to prove anything."

"I ´m sorry I was such an idiot. Sometimes you just, you know, lose grip, that´s all."

"Sure, sure, that´s fine, but she just worries a little bit too much...Anyway, I´m really proud of you, son. You managed to do in so little time what I couldn´t do my entire life..."

"And that is?"

"Getting out of that hellhole, dammit!"

For once I stopped feeling sort of selfish and I approached old Adam and wrapped by arms around him. “You know what they say; where there´s a will, there´s a way…”

“Do you remember what we used to call you back when you were just four?” he asked.

“Man, I can´t even fully remember what happened last week!”

“Oh, c´mon; you were our little monster who did nothing all day but just sit in the backyard scribbling and scribbling until you burned holes in the paper. It runs in the family, I guess. Your grandma used to paint shortly after dad passed away. She did make a portrait, not too accurate though. But she always said that´s what kept her going.”

“I knew that already,” I said sort of puzzled. “But there was one freaking portrait I couldn´t get off my mind for ages. It was this sort of religious image of Jesus helping out a poor woman…”

“Oh yeah. She hated it though. She did it just because it was supposed to be a gift for a friend of hers, but in the end she kept it because she was such a perfectionist!” Adam laughed for a while.

“And I can prove it´s still there, isn´t it?”

“Yeah, that´s it!” Dad laughed harder. “She could never get rid of it, not sure why…But then I guess I taught you well; you´re free spirited as I was, so don´t let anyone stop you from doing whatever you wanna do.”

“Would you like to go and have something with me and Edith? She´s so goddamn adorable…”

BOTTOMLESS

The night rolled on with an endless parade of photographers, wannabes and whatnots and culminated with an incredibly sacrilegious reunion at the charming and dazzling Morimoto, and there we plotted to take over the world over some warm sake, why not?

There was Edith, Dad, Mark, Feivel, Mr. Blackwell and I. A woman blessed among men.

"The cryptic imagery is rather powerful, it has potential and I strongly suggest that you move forward with it, my boy,” said Mr. Blackwell. He looked serene. He looked like one of those old mans that hang around in coffee shops. It was strange how someone like him wanted to help out the young people like me; then again life is damn strange.

"What did I tell you? This is the beginning of a new era," said Feivel.

"Whoa, don´t you think you overdid that, Maus?" I said.

"Absolutely not. I can assure right here, right now, in this very spot that Adrian is my new golden boy..."

"See that; he freaking treats me like the goddamn Don King of art,"

"Wouldn´t surprise me; I saw him first," said Dad. What can I say, he´s made me proud. I used to think the only way to get out of Elyria was in a casket."

"Not anymore, you old dog, not anymore,” I said.

"You´ll love London. But this I must tell you. You´ll have to be prepared to listen to things as they come..."

For a moment I felt some déjà vu that took me back to the Tarot session with Ava that afternoon. I paused for a moment.

"Are you alright Adrian? You became silent all of a sudden," said Edith sort of concerned.

"I´m sorry, you´re really great, all of you." I swung my half empty glass and said, "Whatever happens from here on can be only success."

DESCEND

A killer dusk announced what was to be the beginning of a beautiful afternoon. I had very few words to describe the scene, you know; the kind of people who had the huge need to come all the way down here to Manhattan. I attract all sorts of things, even vermin.

This time my expectations were exceeded by a landslide, as it seemed that many local and international fans-It was literally a zoo, or some kind of elegant carnival composed of down to earth folk acting like freaks for one night and tomorrow go back to their land of ignominy, which was school of course. Others swarmed from Brooklyn and SoHo, and some much unexpected from London. Or then again, I was wrong on that one. Ellis Baum came from the UK branch, started by Simon Blackwell. That also meant, in a few words that if everything went well tonight my work would go overseas.

The organic look of the M. Gallery mesmerized me. But what was even more eye-catching was the opening that took place in the lobby. You see, Mark and I prepared some background music; something soft and eerie followed by a performance. As soon as a carefully placed curtain that hung from the ceiling dropped it introduced us to a lady scantily clad in bondage and a slave ´rabbit´. It was a reinterpretation of Alice in Wonderland, naughtier of course. They would be the hosts of my show as they would walk us through every single corner until we made it successfully through the hole of paintings.

I arrived almost on time; I hate to be late, it´s an old obsession of mine. Dad and Edith were there too, looking beautiful as ever and of course let´s not forget our master of disaster Mr. Feivel Goldberg. I saw some old dogs from the art press just waiting to sink their teeth in this juicy steak of a show.

And in case you were wondering, yes, I did cut a ribbon and the vision of the falcon struck me for a matter of seconds but it felt more like vanquishing an old demon.

"Darling, this is fantastic! I really feel very drawn into this work!" That was the voice of Ms. Bradshaw from NY Art Magazine; she was hoping that this time I would fail. "Absolutely adorable, great show!" Even her embrace felt sort of rehearsed, but that was nothing out of the ordinary in these sort of events.

James was there too with some friends, but we barely had time to talk. Most of the evening was occupied by uneasy cameras.

"Beautiful people, I´d like to welcome you to the Playground. It´s an entirely new collection composed by twenty pieces done in oil, acrylic and pastel, and perhaps you might find there some unexpected blood...just kidding. These works represent some of my weakest moments but they´re all tied to a symbol, which is of course the rabbit."

TELL US MORE ABOUT THIS SYMBOL, IF YOU DON´T MIND, MR. BLACK...

"It´s has been there with me all this time. It represents the occult knowledge that dwells in dreams, especially in mine. It´s a new fascination of mine. Perhaps later on I´ll start reading cards just for fun."

RITUAL IS AN AMAZING PIECE, IS IT ALSO FULL OF THAT OCCULT NATURE YOU SAID?

"Absolutely. They explained me that the hopscotch is an actual image of the Tree Of Life from the Kabbalah. You can see the two critters playing with it as if they were Russian Roulette; where would they stop, no one knows."

WHAT´S THE MEANING OF THE 11?

I paused for a moment because that wasn´t an easy question. "You know, coincidence is one of those very few things in life that remind you that there is someone or something out there trying to reach you. The 11 or the series of 1´s happen most of the time to me. And no, for all of you geeks out there it´s not binary code, it´s actually numerology.

RISE...

RISE AND SHINE SLEEPYHEAD BECAUSE THIS IS THE DAY YOUR DREAMS COME TO LIFE.

Did I hear that while I was asleep; I can´t remember. No wait; it was Edith shaking me all over the place.

"Friday came too soon, didn´t it?” I said as I stared at the mirror. "I have to ride all the way to M. for some last minute touch ups."

THAT´S FINE, WHEN WILL YOU BE FREE?

"That´s...a very good question...," I slurred. Probably by four o´clock. I called my old man yesterday; he should be able to get here soon. What time is it?

SEVEN.

"Right. He said somewhere around 10. Mark said he drop by here as well. I feel so strange making everyone be here so early..."

WELL, IT´S A SPECIAL OCCASION. I´LL TRY NOT TO ENTERTAIN MYSELF TOO MUCH TO SEE WHAT I CAN DO.

"Being there for me is more than enough," I said as I held Edith by her waist. She made as though she wanted to help out more than she was supposed to; she sighed as well. I whispered in her ear, "You want to know a secret? I couldn´t have done all this without you..."

She was stunned for a while. "Well, thank you very much; what do you call that kind of help, a muse?"

"Well, you see, for you that´s not enough, I was going to say goddess..."

DON´T MAKE FUN OF ME, BESIDES DID YOU EVER FIGURE OUT THAT DREAM ABOUT THE THREAD?

"Nah, I´ll have to figure it out later..."

What was to be one of the longest days I´ve ever had started off in Chelsea over by 24th St. I could see many relatively young galleries; one that caught my attention in particular was the Gagosian. Many big names have paraded there, including Jeff Koons and unmistakable Damien Hirst. Remember how I mentioned Picasso was the gauge for modern art? Well, these guys, like Murakami are stretching art to become a major industry and they are recalibrating that gauge. But then again, back to reality.

I really wanted to surround this show in a lot of mystery so special attention was given to the lighting. I picked up the idea from a nightclub where I used to go. We started with some tracklights hanging from the ceiling then something dim, very dim and there was also light coming from within the paintings.I think it's known as contour lighting thanks to some very clever, not to mention quick ideas.

The gallery owner, Mr. Simon Blackwell came from the generation of Mary Boone and he had somewhere around three years already with the place, but had managed to reel in some very important young artists. So his scene was more juvenile. The building was cleverly concealed with the architecture of Chelsea, yet it was incredibly spacious. High ceilings attract me.

The order in which the works would be set would be as in the form of a journal; each painting was a representation of a vision, so it was indeed chronological.

An example of the ones I did between October and November.

Rabbit Monster

The Pool Of Fears

Easy On The Eyeliner

Ritual

The Rabbit Of The Infinite Strength

1:11 AM

Handle With Care

I Attract Vermin

The Tarot Man

1:11 PM

11

Nightmares Have Many Names

The Seer

The White Rabbit of Inle

The Bleeder

Pneumatic For The People

Drive Me

The Thousand

3:15 AM

Art As A Weapon

I also included a set of sketches of some of the monumental paintings, in the case of Rabbit Monster. Because I know results may vary when it´s finished.

There were some other exhibitions taking place since October, a collective one that included some very wicked low brow art. I was tempted to adopt that style years ago, but I liked old school tendencies; nothing more splendorous than Expressionism.