Phil
Mouldycliff

At school I was good at creative writing and at home my father encouraged me to listen to music of all kinds. I have never possessed a particularly strong retentive memory but have always been fascinated by knowledge. To this end I have sought to make connections between subjects, trying to link together the things that I have learnt, to develop wider contexts. It is has never mattered to me that I do not have all the pieces of the jigsaw, the mystery of the unknown and unknowable has drawn me like the metaphorical moth to the flame.

As my creative practice has developed, I have revelled in the continual shuffling and reassembling of those elements at my disposal. I have no formal training in music, but I can record and manipulate sound. I am no more than a competent draughtsman, but find I can develop interesting imagery through collage.

I enjoy writing both poetry and prose. Ideas come to me in the form of what I describe as conjectured operas, that is to say, mixed media works employing sound, words, and images. The subject matter for these pieces is invariably drawn from childhood interests relating to boyhood hero worship, unsolved problems, and alternative realities.

I do not commence a project with any clear understanding of where it will take me or how it will manifest itself upon completion. I am at my happiest when lost in uncharted territory and consider myself fortunate to be able to be the first to bear witness to what I have accomplished. For me the act of creativity has become an end in itself, it sustains my well-being and offers day-to-day direction and purpose. Without it, life would go on, but I wouldn’t be quite me!