tashi delek

I'm feeling nostalgic after my Dad sent me these photos of when we met in India and travelled together for a month with his Tibetan friend Bino and two Tibetan monks. I feel so blessed to have spent this time with my Dad. It took ten days in Delhi for our visas to be granted for the restricted area of Arunachal Pradesh where Bino's Mum lives in Mechuka a small mountain village near the border of China. There isn't much of a road there (although i see on trip advisor that they may be slowly constructing one...ha trip advisor!) and it takes about three days by 4x4. When we visted 15 years ago the locals told us that it had only been visited by tourists maybe ten times. It was remote and beautiful and the sustainable way they live up there continues to inspire me. All grain and crops were grown and water was collected direct from the river (we were told that the spirits would not be happy if you polluted the river in anyway...if a cow urinated near the water it would be sure to die shortly after) The toilets were away from the houses in wooden sheds and the ashes from the fires in the homes were used to neutralise the smell and create a compost for the fields. Cooking was done on a central fire in the middle of the room. Houses were timber framed. The staple crop was millet. The delicacy was a hard cheese made into cubes and would store for months. Up on the hill overlooking the village is a Tibetan Buddhist Temple visited by the Dalai Lama.  

a hindu festival celebrated in mechuka

Tibetan Pilgrimage. Wearing the traditional Chupa, apron and coral and turquoise beads ... i think the red bottle i'm carrying probably contained arak... local moonshine made from millet.

the hospitality was incredible but we were very drunk a lot of the time - the teapot was filled with arak and it was unlucky for a guests cup to become empty! 

stilted houses on the journey up the mountain

tatt-etch tools

One huge piece of copper and some new hand pushing tattoo needles... what more could a Printmaker  want?! My etching tool got lost in transit so Pops kindly made some for me.

PoPs

A recent discovery! This is my Dad, the photographs were taken in the late 70's...I think he must have been about 20 years old.
He's currently making his last ever batch of hand made tattoo machines, if you want one... quick click batwing ...

possible

I get a little bit nerdy when it comes to polaroids,...Thank you Impossible Project (you're amazing!), they've made it possible to buy polaroid film in shops again including Clock Tower Cameras in Brighton.

could there be anything more delicious in my fridge? (not sure you should put them in there... but must be better than getting them too warm?!)New Polaroids coming soon! You can view recent polaroids i've taken on my flickr page...

In October 2008 The Impossible Project saved the last Polaroid production plant for integral instant film in Enschede (NL) and started to invent and produce totally new instant film materials for traditional Polaroid cameras. In 2010 Impossible saved analog instant photography from extinction...

Since a little kid i've loved polaroid. An instant photo - something real to hold in your hand, a little moment captured, a one-off image never to be repeated, something refreshing in the digital age. My Dad took hundreds of polaroids in the 70's and 80's... arty pictures and family photos. I have memories of the polaroid camera, the noise it makes as you press the button and it ejects the small square image that slowly develops in front of your eyes as if by magic. My Dad used the SX-70 which I've now borrowed forever from him, thanks Pops ;). He has been a massive inspiration to me. He is still an Artist and has been a Tattooist for over 25 years http://jimmacairt.com/, he also designs and makes tattoo machines available to buy.

Here are some of his polaroids taken in the 80's.