“Some years ago we had a foreign exchange student come to live with us. We found it very difficult to pronounce his name correctly, but he didn’t mind. He told us just to call him ‘Eric’. We had repainted the spare room, bought new rugs and furniture and generally made sure everything would be comfortable for him. So I can’t say why it was that Eric chose to sleep and study most of the time in our kitchen pantry. “It must be a cultural thing,” said Mum. “As long as he is happy.” We started storing food and kitchen things in other cupboards so we wouldn’t disturb him. But sometimes I wondered if Eric was happy; he was so polite that I’m not sure he would have told us if something bothered him. A few times I saw him through the pantry door gap, studying with silent intensity, and imagined what it might be like for him here in our country.” Link.

“Refused an interview at the local art school he entered the Naval Dockyard at Chatham as an apprentice stonemason. During the following six months (the artist’s only prolonged period of employment), he produced some six hundred drawings in the tea huts of hell. On the basis of this work he was accepted into St Martin’s School of Art to study painting. However, his acceptance was short-lived and before completing the course he was expelled for his outspokenness and unorthodox working methods. With no qualifications and no job prospects Childish then spent some 12 years “painting on the dole”, developing his own highly personal writing style and producing his art independently.” Link@bc.com

“The small ranching community of Marfa is located on a Chihuahuan Desert plateau in the Trans-Pecos area of west Texas. Supported mostly by ranching, and more recently by tourism, it is surrounded by vast mountains and is Texas’ highest incorporated city.”

“Marfa is known primarily for its famous Marfa Mystery Lights and as the location for the shooting of the classic movie “Giant,” with Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, Dennis Hopper and James Dean.”

“Marfa also stands as a gateway to nearby border towns of Mexico and Big Bend National Park.”