CHARIS ENTWISLE
COMPULSORY QUESTIONS BY
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IS MAKING ART ALWAYS A PLEASURE AND NEVER A CHOICE?
I think for me it was a pleasure first, then a choice, and then pleasure again, but it’s always a bit of a balancing act. It definitely shouldn’t be a chore, but nothing is constantly enjoyable, and I
think ‘pleasure’ in a weird way can be quite an unfair expectation for an artist; because fun is hard to measure and ideas of joy (at least for me) can quickly become concerns of whether you’re enjoying
yourself enough. And just on the whole measuring a process from a utilitarian perspective is misleading because you’d stop every time its tricky. That being said I think anyone whose making art, would’ve picked up the habit from an initial pleasure, otherwise why do it at all. Chuck Close said: ‘bad artists wait for inspiration whilst good artists get up and work every day’ and I think this might be the
best approach. Overall I’d I say pleasure first, choice second.
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WHAT ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW?
I’m really bad with reading so ‘right now’ is a generous phrase as I’ve nothing on the go but the last two books I read were His Mouth will taste of Wormwood by Poppy Z. Brite (now goes by Billy Z. Brite), probably my favourite book to date) and 10 Steps to Positive Living by Windy Dryden. Also currently listening to Bram Stokers Dracula on YouTube but audio books feel like a bit of cheat.
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WHAT ARE SUNDAYS FOR?
Doing very little. My girlfriend works out of London and weekends are typically our slot to see each other, Sundays in particular are always maximum laziness for both of us; the day usually revolves around films and food.
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BIGGEST EXTRAVAGANCE?
Literally nothing. At one point I might’ve said buying nice clothes but I constantly let them down with paint stains or tread marks from cycling, so now a days I rarely even do that. If I buy something extravagant I’m always thinking it has to be something I’ll have a long term relationship with, which tends to be M&S sweatshirts, in bulk, which sadly may well be my biggest extravagance. In a lot of ways I think I’m still very much in that primary school mindset that your clothes are your clothes until you outgrow them, obviously I stopped growing years ago but the logic seems to have stuck. Saw something the other day that said his wardrobe is full of things in multiple, like Bart Simpsons’ and it resonated with me too much.
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IS THERE SUCH THING AS A SELFLESS GOOD DEED?
There definitely is but maybe not for me. I’m quite superstitious and I think karma sometimes falls into that category, so whenever I do something out of my way nice, a bit of me is hoping fortune might bounce back.
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WHAT DO YOU DO FOR YOU BIRTHDAY?
As little as poss. Drink with friends or film with Mog (my girlfriend) is plenty celebration for me.
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IS HUMAN CONTACT DIFFERENT FOR THOSE WHO DIDN’T GROW UP WITH SOCIAL MEDIA?
Not something I’ve thought about much but it must be. Human contact probably differs wildly from generation-to-generation, iregard of social media.
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ARE WHITE LIES ALWAYS OK?
Probably yes but not for me. I’m so bad at lies (white or other) that I avoid them completely. For me it’s just too awkward, and I think I give away what I’m thinking very easily. I’ll actually confess to anything I’ve done before it gets the chance to grow into a scenario where I might have to lie, and sometimes if the truth is so unlikely that it sounds like a lie I’d rather just not say it.
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FAVOURITE SONGS?
Magnolia - J J Cale
Superstar – Sonic Youth
Cosmic Dancer – T Rex
June 2021
