Nikki Coates

@nikkicoates.bsky.social

232 Followers 242 Following

Someone told me the type of brain I have means I have a poor sense of self so expecting me to write this is very ableist actually. SE London.

On a work bench, two piles of postcard sized riso-printed flyers depicting a fox looking at a bin and the text ‘What would you thank London for?’ and www.londonisfine.co.uk. Next to the piles, a3 proof sheets of the same thing.
Newspaper screenshot reads: HELIDON. Sunday, August 19, 3 p.m. A MEETING of navvies was held in the Railway yard this afternoon. There were about three hundred men present. The following resolutions were carried:— 1. That the misery entailed upon the unemployed required instant relief. 2. That excessive immigration be immediately checked. 3. That a march be made to Brisbane for the purpose of asserting their rights, and to make terms. The whole affair was a ridiculous failure.
Story about a small museum in Essex receiving a grant contains the sentence ‘Brown said the village's accolade was "academically recognised as the most documented village in England" due to the work of a resident vicar in the 1600s.’ I mean I can guess what they were trying to say.
One of those signs with tear-off tabs, only one of several remaining. Text reads: “RISE UP against domestic abuse [campaign name in top right, body text follows] Does your partner: / Control who you see and where you go / Monitor your social media Criticise you and put you down / Humiliate you Punch walls or break things / Take out loans or credit cards in your name Your local helpline number is:- 0800 977 5690 Help is available. The freephone, 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247
Two monochrome tetrapak prints of a wood pigeon I saw on the Strand
Dry point print of a swan-necked lady with a ridiculous rococo pompadour.l wig
A charming and persuasive black and white cat - his name is Bam! - who doesn’t look he is starving to death but who am I to doubt his word?
A large black and white cat - Bam! is his name - sprawls at maximum length along the middle of a red sofa. At the other end, my husband. In the bottom right corner, my leg, which disappears under the cat.
A Zenit-B camera with its lens attached and another lens. Haven’t even worked out what the focal lengths/apertures of either are yet cos like I say when Fate is making the decisions you don’t quibble.
Packaging of Japanese mugicha: black soybean barley tea
Bam!, a large black and white cat, and Lina, a small tortoiseshell and white cat, have a tussle on the living room floor that looks as formal as an Olympic judo bout. Please ignore the box of craft supplies in the background, I have excuses.
Who is there who can harness the need for a real opposition to a Tory government that has just accidentally driven the country into a wall? I don't know, nor even know that such a person exists. And yeah, I am worried that the Party is going to learn all of the wrong lessons from the referendum if they do manage to winkle Corbyn out: move a lot further to the right, pander on immigration and retreat into tribalism. There's 48% of us who didn't want to leave the EU but it seems that our votes are useless to everyone except the Lib Dems, who are not my party for a different set of reasons. What I want, really, is what this piece from January talks about: a coalition of
Stairs beneath a huge pink lighting panel lead down to blank unfinished space probably intended for retail
An orange lambswool jumper. The white dot is just a reflection of the spotlight above.
Graffiti on a wall in Vilnius which shows a pair of round black-rimmed spectacles and the words “one day I will draw Hockney’s portrait but now it’s only his glasses”
Poster from 1973. 3 caricatures of an older red-nosed man looking disgruntled. Beneath that “Disgusted, Binchester” in yellow script. Then the small text reads: “The Race Relations Board have commissioned a seven-minute cartoon film which may be hired from the Central Film Library. Made by Nicholas Cartoon Films Ltd. for the Central Office of Information, the film takes a look at some of the lives and times of Disgusted, the man who is always writing to the newspapers and protesting about some new law or other. If there had been newspapers in the reign of Henry II, Disgusted would have been the first to protest about the introduction of the royal courts, which first gave Englishmen an alternative to the rough justice of barons and bishops. It was Disgusted who led the opposition to the Elizabethan Poor Law; who protested against the abolition of slavery and saw no reason to prohibit small children from working in coalmines. When universal compulsory education was introduced he expected revolution to follow. Needless to say he did not have a good word for the Race Relations Act 1968. The odd thing is, that all the reforms Disgusted can be counted on to protest about have at least one common feature. They become part of the accepted landscape of society so quickly that if anybody subsequently attempts to interfere with them, Disgusted will be among the first to protest about that too. Disgusted will always be with us, but the Race Relations Board believe that if he can be seen in the perspective of history, so can the Race Relations Act 1968. *Central Film Library, Government Building, Bromyard Avenue, Acton, London W3 7JB. Scottish Central Film Library, 16-17 Woodside Terrace, Charing Cross, Glasgow C3 Central Film Library of Wales…”
screenshot which contains following text: "Reddit would like your feedback. Which of the following payment card brands have you heard of? Question 1 of 4 American Express Mastercard VISA PayPal None of the above"
Two framed silvered glass pictures, one of a beetle, one of a telescope goldfish. The ground is near-mirror silver, the figures are black. I didn’t know they were called telescope goldfish until I was looking for a picture to copy. Also apparently there is breeding politics about goldfish these days, like there is for pugs
A4 printer paper sign stuck to concrete that reads: ual: central saint martins Notice On Tues 26th May There will be a private event in The Crossing 6-9pm. Please do not dance in this area. Thank you
Me & my phone blurrily reflected in a piece of - ahem - verre eglomisé (foiled or gilded glass, silver foiled in this case) with a floral picture on it.
Lina the small tortoiseshell and white cat relaxes in a sunbeam on the living room floor
Ashley Book of Knots, text from p29: “ 141. To untangle a snarl, loosen all jams or knots and open a hole through the mass at the point where the longest end leaves the snarl. Then proceed to roll or wind the end out through the center exactly as a stocking is rolled. Keep the snarl open and loose at all times and do not pull on the end; permit it to unfold itself. As the process is continued the end gradually emerges. No snarl is too complicated to be solved by this method; only patience is required. 142. To break twine or small cord, lay the right forefinger across the standing part and revolve the finger exactly as the marlingspike is revolved in making a MARLINGSPIKE HITCH, but pause when the cord is in the position shown in the first diagram. Hold the cord firmly in the palm with the thumb and fingers. Grasp the upper end with the free hand, and jerk cither with the right hand, the left hand, or with both. The method is used with varying technique; often the thumb is employed instead of the forefinger. Do not allow the cord to slip while jerking, or a cut finger may result. 140 141 142
Video of 4 connected electronic music-making devices: Pocket Scion, Roland S-1, Pocket Operator rhythm, Bastl Kastle Alchemist. In defiance of the dreams and hopes of their creators they are not making music. The Pocket Scion’s sensors are connected to the leaves of a dark purple tradescantia.
Little Simz wearing an Arsenal shirt at Cross the Tracks (via a screen!)
In the foreground an ice cream cone covered in hundreds and thousands. Behind and blurred, a London festival: people standing and sitting, big colourful flags, that sort of thing.
Picture shows part of a map of London (As far west as Hyde Park, as far east as Victoria Park) with pins marking locations and orange tape trailing from the pins out of the picture to the right.
A black and white cat - it is Bam! - sits on a large wall map of London which is spread on the floor. He is perched on Holborn & the City, perhaps drawn to the legal area of London to reflect his very powerful advocacy skills, often deployed in service of getting more biscuits. Two minutes after this was taken the little bastard stole half a sausage from a chopping board and then growled at me when I tried to get it back.
A small tortoiseshell and white cat named Lina wearing a ‘yeah? and what of it?’ expression
Two cyanotypes hanging in my kitchen to dry. On the left a picture I took of an English alabaster relief in a museum in Lille which shows the Last Supper (Mary Magdalene is under the table washing Jesus’ feet with her hair, so is a big dog gnawing a bone and a tiny dog watching him). On the right a picture of my mum as a new mother of me a tiny baby.
Face-scanning instrument at the end of Powis St SE18. Apparently we had the right not to walk through the area, which is kind of the Met.
Bereford Sq: lovely plants, a colour-changing fountain (look it wasn’t my idea), plenty of public seating, revamped buildings
A b&w Polaroid picture of my husband wearing a (really nicely made by the way) scarf while laughing but the deal here is that the picture looks comically Polaroid-hipster-lofi due to the age of the film: uneven streaks, unexposed patches, mistiness
Packaging of a Polaroid I-type film: the darkslide (this is the piece of card that covers the unexposed film in a new pack) has ‘Working class heroes.’ written upon it. Like that, with the full stop.
Bam! the black and white cat is lying on his side with his head raised to look at me. Very green eyes. A diagonal ray of sunshine glosses his hindquarters and tail
V rough sketch of Lina, the tortoiseshell and white cat
4 aspects of Bam!, who is a burly black and white cat, represented here in 4 watercolour sketches showing him curled up napping in black, turquoise, magenta and yellow respectively. The yellow one is not that bad a likeness of the shape he was making at the time but I admit that you would not know it was a cat unless I told you.
The back of a leaf of Begonia Black Knight, which in the sun on my kitchen counter looks a remarkably vivid red: not the colour of cherries but of cherry flavour
A pen & neocolour ii drawing of the head of a black and white cat. It is Bam!, who should not be further encouraged in the idea that he is kinda a big deal round here
a large black and white cat - Bam!- and a small tortoiseshell and debit cat - Lina- both curled up in a basket on a cat tree probably intended to hold one medium sized cat. Doesn’t look that comfortable tbh.
3 instax pictures (2 on gimmicky coloured surrounds) of tulips at the Keukenhof laid out on a white hotel duvet cover. Not pictured: 16 other instax pictures of tulips. Don’t know what I’ll do with them but I brought this camera here and I was darn well gonna use it
Very poor picture of the steps leading to the ICC taken through the right rear window of a Toyota Corolla
A pink-orange sunset in a huge sky over a sandy beach. In the middle distance the silhouette of a couple sat looking out to see. In the far distance a fishing boat
Old Flemish painting of the Madonna holding a spindly baby Jesus on one leg while he reaches across to the book on her other. They sit in a walled garden. The textures of the plants - including an iris and maybe a wallflower- at Mary’s feet are very closely observed and shown. Two cherubs hover holding a crown above Mary’s head. As your focus shifts to the distance you notice the detailed green (what we love of what we have now), shifting past the grey of the enclosing walls to an ethereal blue: light at the horizon, darker towards the heavens (the hope we still sustain of yet better things to come)
Strongly visible rainbow against a grey sky. Trees in the middle distance are picked out by late afternoon sun & their boughs glow yellow-green
B&w picture of the trunk & major limbs of a London Plane Tree, strong shadows from winter sunshine (if you remember that)
A picture of open steel shelves about 2m tall cluttered with - or efficiently filled with - many many different types of spices, dried foods in jars and condiments in bottles
Black & white photo showing my long shadow on the ground, then a tiny squirrel that you can hardly see in the centre of the frame sitting at the foot of some sort of pine whose dark leaves fill the top half of the frame
I think auto readers will be able to read the text in the doc above but if you do have any further Qs it is first-name-as-here DOT last-name-as-here AT gmail
Lina, a small tortoiseshell and white cat, is sitting on a windowsill facing the camera. If you didn’t think it was ridiculous anthropomorphism to say so, you might say that she reminded you of a very beautiful, very sarcastic, very brittle young lady
Statues at the Hill of Crosses, Lithuania. Mary is holding Jesus out towards us but he has been absolutely swamped by the rosaries hung round his neck.
Greenwich park from Observatory hill, looking towards the Isle of Dogs, on a day that was simultaneously sunny and stormy
Our dinner table tonight: pink pickled onions, black beans, green rice
Bam!, a black and white bruiser of a cat, contemplates his detested foe, Christmas Hedgehog
A Christmas tree, decorated with lights, many straw stars, and our returning friends: Christmas Guy that looks like the Partick Thistle mascot, Christmas Hello Kitty, Christmas Rosa the Cat (RIP), Christmas Juju man, Christmas robots, Christmas soy sauce, Christmas hula lady, Christmas goat and others
A mini monstera growing the full length of a pole approx 2.5m in length in its new home in houseplant corner