Eu não sou portuguese, tolo

The Inka Trail, Peru

I grew up being told I was part Portuguese (a twelfth, if you're interested.) I'd never been to Portugal, but I felt a small connection to the place. I'd learned a little bit of the language, I vaguely supported Luis Figo and the rest of the Portuguese football team. I even planned one day to make a pilgrimage there and discover my roots.

A few months ago however, inspired by David Baddiel on the TV documentary Who Do You Think You Are, I was exposed to some more extensive research into my genealogy. And as it turns out I'm not remotely Portuguese, I am in fact part South American.

This is good news. South America is much cooler after all. As a friend of mine said, it pisses all over Portugal. It's got glaciers, deserts and rainforest, the Incas, the Amazon river, and cool films like City Of God.

A Lake in Peru

Suddenly Luis Figo had nothing to do with me. But when my friend made his comment I couldn't help feeling a sharp twinge of hurt on my, until recently, spiritual homeland's behalf.

What all this demonstrates is how utterly arbitrary it is to feel any claim on an ancestor's country, however much fun it might be. Still, I can't wait to discover and assimilate everything good from my brand new Latin American culture, and start planning a new oh so meaningful pilgrimage.

Filthy Majestic

There is a house nearby. An old house with no roof on a steep green hill, surrounded by trees. Some of those trees are growing from inside the house - branches stretching out through the broken windows.


They shouldn't rebuild it, and they certainly shouldn't knock it down. They should keep it there for me to look at. I've even set a future book there. I need it.
It is a former hospital (mental, I've decided) which was gutted by fire seven years ago.

I hear it's going to be transformed into flats, so it'll still be there, but it won't be the same. No more boarded up windows, no more broken glass, no more trees in the living room and no more ghosts, lost amnesiacs or escaped criminals hiding within its crumbling walls. I wouldn't want to be forced to use my imagination.

Acrylic Influence

I recently sold a few paintings, I'll post a few of them here. Of course the colours are sapped of any brightness online. Or perhaps it's my scanner...

These are my interpretations of comic characters, or paintings inspired by pop artists. So please don't sue.