Prelude:

I was 8 years old when Avril Lavigne released her first studio album in June of 2002. I used to have this theory about Avril that the lifespan of her career could be told through the title of her albums. For many years this theory held true. It went like this:

Let Go (2002) - Like a bird being freed and ‘let go’ out of her cage, the world is finally introduced to Avril Lavigne, Canadian punk rock sensation.

Under my Skin (2004) - Second album. We go a little deeper, learn more about Avril. We go ‘under her skin’ if you will.

The Best Damn Thing (2007) - It did actually include the best damn thing. I could make the argument that the song ‘Girlfriend’ is perhaps one of the greatest pop songs of the 2000s.

Goodbye Lullaby (2011) - At the twilight of her career, Avril is starting to fade out. As such, the fourth album is aptly named ‘Goodbye Lullaby.’

Avril Lavigne (2013) - The eponymously named fifth album. In essence, this felt like the nail in the gravestone of her career and thus it was only fitting that it would be named after her.

Recall that after the release of her fifth album in 2013, due to health problems and other complications, Avril was very much out of the spotlight and it felt like her career was over after a little over 5 years of inactivity. It was during this time that I came up with the theory listed above. Of course, this theory was dispelled when in 2019 Avril released her 6th album. On Tuesday October 1st, 2019 I ended up seeing Avril play live at Pier 17 here in New York. This is the first time I have ever publicly disclosed this theory.

Write Up:

Okay so let’s get one thing cleared up. Here’s the story of how I discovered Joanne. I was scrolling through Twitter and on my timeline one day appeared a girl with really blue eyes. And when I say really I mean realllllllly blue. Blue eyes fascinate me. Mine are brown. I followed. Let’s carry on.

Well, as I eventually learned, Joanne happens to be quite the photographer/artist. Let’s view the image I collected below:

Okay so the thing the reader must understand about me is that I like the cold. I also really like the dark. Yes, I am that loser that loves when in mid-fall we move the clocks back such that it gets darker earlier. Sorry, it’s just the way I am. I also like really crisp and clean looking images. I’d argue this photo falls into that category.

I can tell the story of my life through recollections of seemingly trivial moments which for whatever reason are actually quite memorable to me. In each of these memories, it is either cold or dark, or both. The memory that I am conjuring in my head as I write this is driving down the Pacific Coast Highway in Northern California in October of 2017 at night with the windows down while staring at the Pacific Ocean. The music was pumping and the wind was bursting into the car. In that moment of chaos, I felt very free. In fact I remember consciously thinking in my head at that very moment that I’d look back on it and remember everything.

Two times in my life I’ve sat in the audience of an event and had this sudden discomfiting sense that I needed to get up and go do something. In May of 2016 at my college graduation and in May of 2018 at my second cousins wedding while waiting for the ceremony to start while a rendition of ‘Crazy in Love’ (originally done by Beyonce) by Daniela Andrade was playing. Now exactly what the desire to get up and go do something entails I have no way of explaining to the reader. Though I must’ve looked perturbed in May of 2018 as my mother took notice and asked me if I was okay. Maybe it was just a desire to do more. In 2016 I was two months away from working a corporate job that I did not want to work and in 2018 I was two years into working said job. Same feeling, same job. I actually quite loved the feeling I experienced, but it almost felt like it was all for naught because in those two very moments, it did not feel actionable.

I like the log cabin. I like how the snow perfectly covers the roof and how the snow forms an almost perfect moat around the house. I like how the setting despite being so cold feels so serene, so tranquil that it almost feels surreal.

The name of this photo is ‘Solitude.’ I think it’s very fitting. From, the house sitting alone with seemingly no one inside or around and the overall cold, moody vibe of the photo, it definitely elicits the feeling of solitude. In the description, Joanne describes the photo as follows: “Solitude - is creativity's best friend, and solitude is refreshment for our souls. I created this piece whilst in lockdown here in New Zealand to reflect the feelings of isolation and disconnecting from the rest of the world. In solitude we find peace within ourselves. A Cabin on its own surrounded by snow, a place where one can relax.”

In his acceptance speech after winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, Ernest Hemingway declared that “Writing, at its best, is a lonely life.” I quite like Ernest. I like him so much that I chose a random quote of his so that his name would be there next to mine in my high school year book my senior year. In ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ Hemingway tells the story of a poor fisherman and a young boy. The one thing I remember from the book is that the fisherman catches a huge marlin (I believe it was a marlin) and the boy while excited for him is a bit disappointed that the other fisherman didn’t get to see this catch. The old man replies something along the lines that he didn’t care that the other fisherman didn’t get to see his catch and that it was enough for him that he himself saw the catch. This begs the disconcerting philosophical question of whether or not our accomplishments are enough if only we are aware of them. To this day, I am unable to answer this question.

Postlude:

Joanne originally listed this piece of Foundation for 1 ETH on September 19th, 2021. On December 4th, 2021, the day after I turned 28 years old she lowered the price to 0.55 ETH. On December 9th, 2021 after waiting roughly 1 hour and 15 minutes for the transaction to confirm I placed a bid on the piece and on December, 10th 2021 it was mine. Provenance.

Joanne Hollings is a talented Photographer based in New Zealand.

You can find her on Twitter Here

Her work can be found on Foundation and OpenSea

Prelude:

I was 8 years old when Avril Lavigne released her first studio album in June of 2002. I used to have this theory about Avril that the lifespan of her career could be told through the title of her albums. For many years this theory held true. It went like this:

Let Go (2002) - Like a bird being freed and ‘let go’ out of her cage, the world is finally introduced to Avril Lavigne, Canadian punk rock sensation.

Under my Skin (2004) - Second album. We go a little deeper, learn more about Avril. We go ‘under her skin’ if you will.

The Best Damn Thing (2007) - It did actually include the best damn thing. I could make the argument that the song ‘Girlfriend’ is perhaps one of the greatest pop songs of the 2000s.

Goodbye Lullaby (2011) - At the twilight of her career, Avril is starting to fade out. As such, the fourth album is aptly named ‘Goodbye Lullaby.’

Avril Lavigne (2013) - The eponymously named fifth album. In essence, this felt like the nail in the gravestone of her career and thus it was only fitting that it would be named after her.

Recall that after the release of her fifth album in 2013, due to health problems and other complications, Avril was very much out of the spotlight and it felt like her career was over after a little over 5 years of inactivity. It was during this time that I came up with the theory listed above. Of course, this theory was dispelled when in 2019 Avril released her 6th album. On Tuesday October 1st, 2019 I ended up seeing Avril play live at Pier 17 here in New York. This is the first time I have ever publicly disclosed this theory.

Write Up:

Okay so let’s get one thing cleared up. Here’s the story of how I discovered Joanne. I was scrolling through Twitter and on my timeline one day appeared a girl with really blue eyes. And when I say really I mean realllllllly blue. Blue eyes fascinate me. Mine are brown. I followed. Let’s carry on.

Well, as I eventually learned, Joanne happens to be quite the photographer/artist. Let’s view the image I collected below:

Okay so the thing the reader must understand about me is that I like the cold. I also really like the dark. Yes, I am that loser that loves when in mid-fall we move the clocks back such that it gets darker earlier. Sorry, it’s just the way I am. I also like really crisp and clean looking images. I’d argue this photo falls into that category.

I can tell the story of my life through recollections of seemingly trivial moments which for whatever reason are actually quite memorable to me. In each of these memories, it is either cold or dark, or both. The memory that I am conjuring in my head as I write this is driving down the Pacific Coast Highway in Northern California in October of 2017 at night with the windows down while staring at the Pacific Ocean. The music was pumping and the wind was bursting into the car. In that moment of chaos, I felt very free. In fact I remember consciously thinking in my head at that very moment that I’d look back on it and remember everything.

Two times in my life I’ve sat in the audience of an event and had this sudden discomfiting sense that I needed to get up and go do something. In May of 2016 at my college graduation and in May of 2018 at my second cousins wedding while waiting for the ceremony to start while a rendition of ‘Crazy in Love’ (originally done by Beyonce) by Daniela Andrade was playing. Now exactly what the desire to get up and go do something entails I have no way of explaining to the reader. Though I must’ve looked perturbed in May of 2018 as my mother took notice and asked me if I was okay. Maybe it was just a desire to do more. In 2016 I was two months away from working a corporate job that I did not want to work and in 2018 I was two years into working said job. Same feeling, same job. I actually quite loved the feeling I experienced, but it almost felt like it was all for naught because in those two very moments, it did not feel actionable.

I like the log cabin. I like how the snow perfectly covers the roof and how the snow forms an almost perfect moat around the house. I like how the setting despite being so cold feels so serene, so tranquil that it almost feels surreal.

The name of this photo is ‘Solitude.’ I think it’s very fitting. From, the house sitting alone with seemingly no one inside or around and the overall cold, moody vibe of the photo, it definitely elicits the feeling of solitude. In the description, Joanne describes the photo as follows: “Solitude - is creativity's best friend, and solitude is refreshment for our souls. I created this piece whilst in lockdown here in New Zealand to reflect the feelings of isolation and disconnecting from the rest of the world. In solitude we find peace within ourselves. A Cabin on its own surrounded by snow, a place where one can relax.”

In his acceptance speech after winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, Ernest Hemingway declared that “Writing, at its best, is a lonely life.” I quite like Ernest. I like him so much that I chose a random quote of his so that his name would be there next to mine in my high school year book my senior year. In ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ Hemingway tells the story of a poor fisherman and a young boy. The one thing I remember from the book is that the fisherman catches a huge marlin (I believe it was a marlin) and the boy while excited for him is a bit disappointed that the other fisherman didn’t get to see this catch. The old man replies something along the lines that he didn’t care that the other fisherman didn’t get to see his catch and that it was enough for him that he himself saw the catch. This begs the disconcerting philosophical question of whether or not our accomplishments are enough if only we are aware of them. To this day, I am unable to answer this question.

Postlude:

Joanne originally listed this piece of Foundation for 1 ETH on September 19th, 2021. On December 4th, 2021, the day after I turned 28 years old she lowered the price to 0.55 ETH. On December 9th, 2021 after waiting roughly 1 hour and 15 minutes for the transaction to confirm I placed a bid on the piece and on December, 10th 2021 it was mine. Provenance.

Joanne Hollings is a talented Photographer based in New Zealand.

You can find her on Twitter Here

Her work can be found on Foundation and OpenSea