The challenge this week was to create a shocking piece...
I enjoy a lot of "shocking art", but tend to roll my eyes a bit at shock for shock's sake... perhaps because not much shocks me anymore... but mostly because I'm unmoved by what sometimes seems to be an anxious attempt at a reaction - any reaction. What I am moved by is work that makes me freeze in front of it and, once the initial 'holy crap' moment of silence has passed, gets the little hamster in my head all excited. Such work is often political in nature and sometimes comes from a point of utter frustration on the artist's part... a point where it seems only the most graphic approach will get an idea across, or bring an issue to light.

One such issue for me is the diamond trade. The information is out there... everywhere... there was even a hollywood film made about it.. and yet, still, people seem surprisingly, sadly, depressingly, unaware of the violent and horrifying story of the rock on their finger. Though there have been many efforts made to regulate the diamond trade, such as the Kimberley Process, it is still very hard, if not impossible, to be certain of the origin of any one diamond.