Maximum Irony, Maximum Sincerity

I looked at Andy Holden's installation "Maximum Irony, Maximum Sincerity 1999-2003: Towards a Unified Theory of MI!MS" after Paul suggested it might have some relevance for me, and after reading (on this page), "MI!MS is about the willingness to be lied to and the will to believe! It’s about the intense sadness of our unrealistic dreams, and the intense joy of our desire for them." From the MI!MS manifesto, I was struck by the poetry and familiarity of that attitude, and I recognised inside myself the idealistic joy of which it speaks.

Holden's installation is a vast testament to the collective named MI!MS (which he founded with friends), a loving representation of the history of the collective, both a museum and an artefact itself. It does remind me of ideas I had about creating an installation in the form of a sort of child's wonderland - a vision which is still present in my smaller and less ambitious work.

Like them, I've created a world, but mine is nestled inside my head and only occupies small spaces. The MI!MS world is lavish and bombastic, whereas mine is miniature, contained, and perhaps even guarded, only allowed out in small and specific forms.

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