Image shows my left hand holding my father's CV in my studio.

Two sheets of A4 stapled together to sum up 70 years of life.
 
His funeral contained no poems, eulogies or hymns. It was a very brittle and sombre occasion with a meagre gathering of friends and family. His only sibling in attendance was his brother Paul, who’d flown in from Australia, who was allowed to read a short piece he wrote – dispensation for the distance he’d travelled. A couple of obituaries were published by work colleagues who talked of his mentoring skills, sharp wit, drinking and smoking habits, but their authors were not present.


                                                                                                                The experience lacked any ‘experience’.


 
The CV is something I have grown fond of. It is short, factual and aspirational. At the top of the page he writes:

 
                                            ‘Born 1941. British subject. Married with three adult children. Clean driving license.’
 


                         
                                                                                                            So much space around the events. Expanses of blank.

Extract from performance talk, Spike Island, Bristol, 2019

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