Ever since I first read Susan Jeffer’s book ‘Feel the Fear….and Do It Anyway’, I have tried to find ways in my life of doing exactly that. The book promotes the idea that when the feeling of being ‘comfortable’ creeps into your life then that is the sign to change that aspect. Therefore ‘comfortableness’ becomes a driver to push you to seek diverse and fresh experiences.
Being centre of attention in public by standing on a plinth with it streamed around the world by the internet is the antithesis of being comfortable for me. I despise having to give any sort of presentation or demonstration to a large group or even dress up in fancy dress to a fancy dress party such is the overriding desire to avoid feeling and looking like an idiot!. So applying for One&Other was my way of Feeling the Fear….and Doing it Anyway!
I currently plan to raise awareness of two areas related to my theme of ‘Water’ that through my academic background (Marine Biology and Oceanography and postgraduate degree in Aquatic Resource Management) and career (Water Company) I have become either involved or interested in.
The first half an hour will involve me dressed in a ‘poo’ costume. I will be highlighting how improvements in the number of people who have access to ‘wholesome’ water and adequate sanitation can improve public health around the world and more importantly what a critical step this is in helping lift people out of poverty. This will involve a link-up with the Charity WaterAid (which I used to be a representative for) and highlighting the work involved on UN Millennium Development Goal (UNMDG) 7 Target 3.
The second half an hour will again involve some form of dressing up, this time as a fish! I will be using this visual aid to highlight the impact of over-fishing on the world’s fish stocks. I hope to provide useful information on how the public can help (like knowing how to choose fish from sustainable stocks for dinner!) as well as to links to work on UNMDG 7 Target 2.
Combining the two aspects is my attempt to link with the main aim of the project, the ‘democratisation of art’, whereby the solutions to these problems isn’t for a select few people to solve but something that we ALL can be involved.
