In this era of increased mental health awareness and amplified cerebral noise, nice people doing nice things are more important to our generation finding its inner peace than ever before. Us ne’er-do-well millennials - us of the Generation Y – we are all in need of a release from the monotony of social media in favour of more authentic channels for our curiosities.
This is particularly valid for those of us bound by the shackles of walking, talking turd syndrome. Whirring covertly beneath a veil of mood-stabilising prescription drugs and smiles, this affliction demands that you spend many of your waking hours feeling like nothing less than an absolute turd burglar. A petty criminal who steals turds – there’s nothing worse.
A mental battle that’s often invisible to the untrained eye, it’s important to remember that those of us struggling with feeling shit can carve out patterns of escapism to minimise the impact that the fleeting stench of turd holds over our lives. As such, there are countless coping mechanisms. Some return to the present moment with yoga and much meditation; some quash their minds into submission with ultra-marathons and gym beat-downs. Others post topless selfies on Instagram for a quick fix of dopamine and self-esteem. The most adept of sufferers write self-important articles and disguise them as something altogether more philanthropic. Horses for courses, my friends.
Art can be a fantastically immersive route into a different perspective, detached from any negative mind-farts. If you yourself want to caress your curiosity, one such pathway can be found in the exploration of the canine odyssey of Jack Mears. An up-and-coming artist buoyed by boundless zane and a good slice of humour, Mears has centred much of his art around his trademark dogs who set out to “cheer you up with their silliness”. Morphed and moulded into mind-bending forms, his trusty doggos hold an uplifting sentiment that we could all use a little more of. I caught up with him to talk feelings, fun and art:
“My inspiration for the dogs actually comes from not having a pet dog and wishing I did. Dogs’ emotions are so easy to read and most of the time they are having a great time, which is something I aspire to. We all need to remember to have a fun time.”
A big sunny window into the fun life of dogs for those of us who don’t have one as a pet, us bastard millennials can surely benefit from such a wholehearted and humorous focus on having a good time. When digging through the Jack Mears catalogue of human life à la canine, some of his more aesthetically complicated creations seem to hold the most simplistic ideals:
“I like to create dogs merged with human bodies to help remember that – even though we are people and we have to uphold responsibilities such as having a job and earning money, we are still animals who have to exercise regularly. And poo poo.”
Not to have faecal matter as too much of a recurring theme here, but there’s enough literal poo involved in everyday human life to make accepting the presence of a metaphorical turd burglarism a complete overkill. We’ll all be pooped out. Instead, allow your mind to fiddle and flex with art to help free up a little bit of time for you to really enjoy yourself in your brain. You deserve it.
Here, Mears’ art again proves exemplary in its ability to help you escape feeling crap. This is highlighted no better than through his own glowing testimony to the personalities of his dogs. It’s enough to make anyone smile:
“Each of the doggies don’t have a bad bone in their bodies. They are all friendly and nice. If they could speak, I know they would say something nice like “you bring light to my life mate”, then they’d hit the play button and a very good song would come on the CD player.”
What musical delights await you when meeting the dogs? Cotton Eye Joe by Rednex? DJ Casper’s Cha Cha Slide? You’ll have to have a look and find out for yourself.
So, take inspiration from Jack Mears and his doggos. If you’re feeling rubbish, get off your phone for a bit and give your artistic curiosities free roam. Say hello to the dogs. Enjoy some canine hedonism. But don’t roll in any poo.
Jack Mears is set to release a new zine in collaboration with Roys Room in October 2018.
Rory Haworth Galt
Jack Mears Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jack_mears/?hl=fr
Jack Mears website: https://www.jack-mears.com/