Peter Walker

Art is just a word, like the word love it has an infinite amount of meaning that is dependent upon conditioning, social position, ones very location within the world, context time and place. It could be said that art is humanity, and humanity is art, the motor that drives our species beyond the mundane, distinguishing us from the animal kingdom.

I like to see art as a puzzle, a giant picture made up of an infinite amount of pieces, all fitting together forming a picture and that picture is humanity. No one-piece of the puzzle is more or less important than another. Picasso, Daedalus, Graffie, Kosuth, Grayling, Clapton, Churchill, a retired lady painting watercolours, a three year old child splashing paint on news paper at nursery, or a carpenter, who takes great care and has great pride in the work that he produces. If a single piece was missing, the picture would not be complete.

Peter Walker

In 1981, at the age of seventeen, Walker began his “big adventure” with the purchase of a one way ticket to Aberdeen, leaving the mass unemployment of Liverpool behind him. For a while he slept rough in Aberdeen train station until he found work as a labourer. For the next few years he worked on a number of oil rigs before buying another one way ticket, this time to London. He slept on his sister’s floor before gaining employment at a construction recruitment agency where he met his future wife. In 1987 they finally settled in Salisbury and Walker began to develop derelict or rundown properties. From modest beginnings the business grew into a success. This was perhaps due to his ability to teach himself every process of the business from scratch. Walker felt the need to understand the ‘nuts and bolts’ of each building or restoration technique as it was needed. This persistence and self reliance paid off and the business grew rapidly as he progressed into shop fitting and commercial design.
After studying at night school, to fill in the gaps from his schooldays, he began a degree in the History of Art, Architecture and Design from which he graduated in 1998. This interest had grown from watching his artist mother as she worked when he was a child and from the years spent restoring period buildings and furniture. A deep interest in classical and traditional art and design laid the foundations for his understanding and appreciation of modernist values. Walker has a special interest in multi disciplinary artists like Da Vinci and Brunelesci who are known for their work in science and mathematics as well as the visual arts. Today’s society however seems to look down upon those who are multi skilled or whose ideas cross many creative disciplines, it likes to label people and fit them into neat categories in order to understand them. Peter Walker cannot be easily labelled.
After many years developing residential and commercial properties, and with his theoretical studies behind him, Walker began developing his ideas for cutting edge bar design. His conceptual ideas were heavily influenced by his study of art history and sociology. Walker wanted to take art ideas out of the gallery environment and present them in an accessible way to everyday people. He wanted the bar to be a living, breathing and evolving work of art, where a community of artists could contribute to its evolution. During construction he encouraged the builders, electricians and plasterers to be creative and take pride in their work, and to know that their part in the process of value. In late 1999 ‘c+bscene’ opened and was a great success. Nearly all of the fittings, mirrored wall mounts and UV light boxes were designed specifically for the site and changed on a regular basis. Designers and artists came from London for inspiration and his ideas and theories were published in trade and design magazines.
Salisbury, however, was not the right place for such innovative ventures. Over a number of years the initial hopes and ideals deteriorated as cold, hard business issues began to take over. Although he had been involved in the design and construction of other similar commercial properties, Walker owned and managed ‘c+bscene’ himself. By 2003 Walker’s energy for management was exhausted. He had become disillusioned by the commercial depravity and corruption within the business.
He returned to his previous property developments as legal problems associated with the decline of the bar and other projects began to snowball. This intense and turbulent period also saw the breakdown of his marriage. It was decided that the children would stay with their father who, despite his problems, continued to put their needs above his own or that of his projects.
Walker has always recorded his thoughts and feelings in the form of drawings and photographs, often manipulated through Photoshop. He had also kept personal journals for many years, but now writing became an important part of the process in the restructuring of his life. Poetry became a cathartic exercise for him as he worked through this difficult period. A gift in the form of an acoustic guitar gave him another unexpected emotional outlet. He began to write simple songs on the guitar and covered the walls of his home with pages and pages of poetry. Many months were spent recording songs, poetry and thoughts on the Cubase software. The decision to perform some of this work was a brave and logical progression. It was at a local poetry group that I first saw him perform. His confidence was unshakeable, even if the same could not be said of his guitar playing. I was, however, greatly impressed by his stage presence. He had intensity along with the ability to laugh at his own situation. His natural and passionate way struck a chord with the small audience and I knew that I would need to raise my own game or bow out gracefully. We watched with interest as his performances evolved dramatically over the following months. Each time he would surprise us with a new twist or increased confidence. I admire his complete lack of inhibition. He has no fear of failure. Maybe he has known worse and lived through it. My only regret so far is that I missed the first performance of “Life” in which he literally beats himself up on the stage / boxing ring while reciting the work. I hope to be there for the rematch.
Walker’s problem solving abilities and fascination with the ‘nuts and bolts’ of whatever task he is immersed in has assisted his rapid development from journal scribbler to performance poet. He has performed many open mike nights in the UK and has spent a week in New York performing in several venues. In February 2006 he battled through to second place in his first slam poetry competition at the Green Mill in Chicago. Early 2006 has been spent establishing his own publishing company and adding the finishing touches to his website.
Watch this space……