I made a few collectible artworks for sale after my show 'Toy Stories'. They were relatively successful so I was trying to come up with something new. The concept was an A i art consultant that people could buy and hang on their wall. They would be amused by the irony of the art subject dictating good taste to the buyer. I thought everyone would want an artwork that said nasty condescending remarks about the quality of art in their home. Apparently they don't - there was very little interest. The artwork also took too long to make so the price was going to be prohibitively expensive when trying to sell it out of an old suitcase after a show. The idea was consequently shelved. 
 
​The first parody used my own face with a pretentious voice. When I showed the prototype to my friends the feedback suggested that instead of sounding like a 'parody' of an art wanker', I just sounded like me being myself. Demoralising on more than one level.  I dispensed with myself and replaced it with a recognised psychopath 'Putin'.

I felt a bit cheated by the A i app I used. Putin rarely speaks English so the voice is impossible to compare with the real thing. The app seemed to just add some reverb for grandiosity and deepen it slightly. I had to do the Russian accent myself by  doing my best Sasha Baron Cohen 'Borat' impression as I sat in the shed. It felt like A i where I had to do most of the work myself.

Materials: Jam jar, art theory book, photocopy, mosfets, sound device, nails, small pump, a rubbish A i voice app. ​

An image of me in a jam jar trying to make myself look as pretentious as possible. No film here as the results were far too self revealing

​​​There was a period where I spent far too much time on Twitter, it's become a bit of a right wing freak show/car crash and I couldn't seem to stop looking at it. One of the weirdest things is that you have to wade through lots of posts by Elon Musk who owns the social media platform. His new algorithm means its mandatory to have his bullshit statements on your feed.

Normally people save their self indulgent thoughts for their autobiography. Their cronies buy the book, put it on their shelf and 9 times out of 10 never read it. Its kind of the perfect depository for this kind of crap.

I decided to design a book in my shed for Elon Musk. It's a talking, pop-up, bullshit book.  I used this Einstein biography because I found it on a list of Musk's top ten books. I liked the contrast between this acclaimed physics theorist who I always think of as understated and modest compared to Musk - a brash billionaire control freak with some suspicious claims to greatness. Maybe Einstein is someone he aspires to be? I'm not sure what Einstein would make of Musk though. Einstein, famously an anti Nazi and Musk, either consciously or subconsciously someone who appears to think he is the embodiment of Nietzsche's superman. 

I have put this film on Musk's Twitter feed a few times but there was no response. He did however Tweet once afterwards saying: " There are a lot of people on social media who are trying 'yank your chain' and if you respond 'they' win. " 
It was a weird sanctimonious yet stupid tweet because obviously by making the Tweet he 'had' responded...I took it as win anyway lol.