Auxiliary Progress…

Since arriving here in Stockton my time has been spent exploring not just the local landscape but also my current limits of my practice. I came here looking to examine how I install current workings of sonic works and how I can develop or bridge the gap that I find between what I am making and what I am trying to offer.

The first few weeks were spent contemplating speaker architecture and how installing speaker drivers within a form that dissolved or collapsed whilst it functioned worked.  Drawing on the inspiration of the local area and its regeneration hopes/plans.  I have been thinking heavily about addition and reduction as methods of creation both in sound and process works.  Glitch process that I have been known to use is a perfect example of how regeneration seems to operate, existing ideology is rehashed the result is urban planning that though clearly considered it is not until it is implemented you realise the functional errors of such planning.

The focus on heritage and community, the life and death of generations that have called a place home.  The time that passes by and the marks those leave on a place last longer than structures in many cases.  Replacing old is not something that should be done without consideration and awareness for those that live within it.  The Auxiliary residency is based within a community that is exposed to many different social factors.  It is an opportunity to live within a place that is struggling to come to terms with how it should function.  The oddity is that with all the trials and time that it takes to rejuvenate a place it somehow still continues, functions without much thought.  Time will change the nature of a community however daily this is not something that is really brought to your attention as each day was like the last.

Mid way through this residency my father has a stroke which alongside my research here at the Auxiliary has given me a new perspective.  Seeing a parent go through a life changing moment in their existence brings reality home.  I have recently been back and forth between the residency and my parents to see how my father has progressed with his recovery.  Even though I have not been making as much as I would of hoped it has provided much needed reflection, thinking more about the sound works that have been started yet not finished.  The last few weeks here in Stockton I hope to realise some new works with little or no focus on completion yet more or presenting something that is mobile/fluid and evolving.  

 

 

The Auxiliary – Artist Residency

I am finally settled into The Auxiliary here in Stockton-on-Tees, UK.  I flew back from NZ last week and traveled north on the Thursday.  I am here working on some new modes of output for sonic works.  Realising how I can install some of the glitch sound pieces and working on new processes at the same time.  Anna and Liam who run The Auxiliary have been great hosts and offer heaps of support both with introducing me to the area and equipment.  The next two months should prove to be fruitful and I am excited to see what I can accomplish in this time.

Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop Residency

Today I arrived at the Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop where I will be artist in residence for the next three months.  It’s exciting times with this residency fitting in-between the Into the Wild residency at the Chisenhale Art Place.  After working handout overseas to fund this six month period of research of making it has finally arrived.  So far so good and I can only say the next few months should prove fruitful with a new body of work in the making.

I will have time to update this blog which for the last year has not been given much attention.  For those that are also interested in what is offered here at the Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop please follow the link as its an amazing facility.

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BEYOND TINTED – 19-23 NOVEMBER MODERN ART MUSEUM YEREVAN

Beyond Tinted – Մգեցված ապակիներից այն կողմ

Beyond Tinted
Dickie Webb

A new body of work by artist Dickie Webb brings together intermedia works that investigate our current connection to the Yerevan landscape and beyond. These experimental works draw from liminal sites and objects that are used to manage space. Webbs’ process abstracts and subverts these findings, utilizing photography, sculptural elements and new media technologies; it is the anthropomorphic qualities that underscore the works. Just like liminal space these works exist in an unknown state, straddling both real and virtual, Webb does not imply directly what they mean rather he suggest they are a means to reflect on the potential of what could be. These works challenge especially that part of local people that have to reconsider their present landscape and gain some form of clarity out from behind their tinted view (tinted glasses of the big cars of nоuveau riche). The final works vary in fabrication and are part of a wide palette that enables Webb to present intimate moments, to view our present existence from an altered perspective and reflect on our own being.

Artist Statement:

Dickie Webb operates his art practice from the position of a wanderer, moving consistently over the years, dislocating himself from societal norms. With few constants Webb’s peripatetic lifestyle means he has had to adapt and rethink our connection to landscape, altering his comprehension of what is considered home and the role of society’s expectations.
Examining our existence Webb questions that which is real and what is otherwise virtual within our landscape, utilising Marc Auges’ “non-places” and Michel Foucaults’ “heterotopias” as initial starting points. Webb uses these imaginary and transient sites as a means to reveal anomalies, inaccuracies similar to those displayed within human personalities.
This connection to space through its anthropomorphic qualities prompts Webb to consider space as representational of current issues experienced within both the individual and collective. Using space as a metaphor and as a medium Webb looks past the architectural structure and explores the liminal qualities, discovering this blurred arena from an outsider’s perspective.

Processes:
Interactive installations, Arduino, photography, site-specific installation, sculpture, print, sensory based media light, sound and scents, interventions, casting, drawing, constructive and destructive processes.
Materials:
Paint, plaster, bronze, aluminium, soap, salt, concrete, sugar, ice, glass, steel, wood, resin, ink, milk and wax.
Objects:
Cardboard boxes, furniture, envelopes and car windscreens.

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Born in 1979, in Oxford, United Kingdom. Dickie Webb currently divides his time between New Zealand, USA and the UK. Webb studied for a BA Honours in Intermedia at Edinburgh College of Art; part of his degree was spent at the State University of New York, Purchase College. Prior to his degree Webb studied at Oxford Brookes University, UK. Since graduating Webb has continued travelling working in Japan, New Zealand and Chile whilst also undertaking artist residencies in Athens, Greece (SNEHTA) and currently here in Yerevan (ACSL). He has exhibited works in the UK, USA and Greece.

Recent Exhibitions:
2014 THINGS ARE DIFFERENT NOW – Art Athina, Athens, Greece
2014 Boundaries – Artscapes, Athens, Greece
2013 Unsettled Certainties – Aghias Zonis 1 Space, Athens, Greece.
2013 One Action, Ones Actions – Cultybraggan POW Camp, Perthshire, UK
2013 Newhaven Station – Edinburgh, UK

The exhibition is organized by the Art and Cultural Studies Laboratory (ACSL). This project is realized at the [Art Commune] International Artist-in-Residence Program (ACSL)

This project is funded by European Cultural Foundation

Special thanks to the Yerevan Modern Art Museum, director of the Museum Nune Avetisyan and its staff.

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Մգեցված ապակիներից այն կողմ
Դիքի Վեբբ (Անգլիա)

Արվեստագետ Դիքի Վեբբի Հայաստանում իրականցված այս նոր նախագիծը քննության է առնում Երեւանի շրջակա միջավայրի, դրանում առկա այլ քաղաքատեղերի հետ հընթացս կապերը: Բազմամեդիական եւ փորձարարական ոգով տոգորված աշխատանքները մտորումներ են քաղաքի կազմավորման շուրջ, սակայն իրերն ու դեպքերն այստեղ լիմինալ նշանակություն ունեն՝ նրանք գտնվում են իրականության նմանակումի եւ վիրտուալի, վերացականի սահմանin: Արվեստագետի մոտեցմանը բնորոշ է քաղաքային տարածքներում ամեն հայտնաբերվածի աբստրահումը, կամ տրոհումը՝ հիմքում պահելով մարդակերպական (անտրոպոմորֆական) որակները՝ դա է հոդավորում աշխատանքների շարքը. իսկ այս նախագծի իմացաբանական ըմբռնումը ամբողջությամբ թողնված է հանդիսատեսին:
Նախագծում տեղ գտած առանցքային աշխատանքներից մեկը՝ վիդեո-սլայդ-ձայնային ինստալացիան առաջին հայացքից “անշառ” քաղաքային դրվագների հերթափոխ է, որը սակայն գաղափարաբանական դասավորություն ունի՝ տեղի (տոպոսի) կարեւորությունը կապվում է “ու-տոպիական” մտածողությանը, եւ վերջինիս հետ սերտ առընչվող երկու այլ մոդուսների՝ դիս-տոպիային եւ հետեռոտոպիային: Վիդեոշարքի պատկերները, ըստ արվեստագետի, դասավորված են վերը նշված մոդուսների եւ ամեն մոդուսին ներհատուկ ձայնային կոմպոզիացիայի համաձայն: Այստեղ էլ հանդիսատեսը պիտի փորձի “ընթեռնել” ներկայացված տոպո-գրաֆիայի “փիլիսոփայությունը”:
Վեբբի պնդմամբ՝ նախագիծը մարտահրավեր է հատկապես ետ-խորհրդային տարածքներում գոյացած նոր հարուստների խավին, ում hամար շուրջ կյանքը երանգավորված եւ սահմանափակված է սեփական մեքենաների մգեցված ապակիներով՝ նրանք անհաղորդ են հանրային կարիքների նկատմամբ, եւ քանի որ նախագիծը հղում է կյանքի ավելի լայն “ներկապնակին”՝ Վեբբն իրավունք է վերապահում բռնվել հանդիստաեսի հետ մտերմիկ խոսակցության մեջ՝ ներքաշելով նրան գոյության շուրջ խորը մտորումների:

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Դիքի Վեբբի արվեստագիտական պրակտիկաներում ներկա է թափառականի հայացքը՝ երկար տարիների հետեւողական տեղարշարժերի ընթացքը մղել են նրան հասարակական նորմերից դուրս: Գտնվելով ապրելակերպի պերիպաթեթիկական (արիստոտելյան) մի քանի ձեւերի մեջ՝ նա հետազոտում է շրջակա միջավայրի հետ մարդկանց կապերը՝ ձգտելով փոխել պատկերուցումները “տուն” եւ “հասարակության սպասումներ” եզրերի մասին: Քննելով այժմյա գոյության խնդիրները, Վեբբը հարցի է դնում քաղաքային լանդշաֆթների իրական եւ դրան հակադիր վիրտուալ գոյությունը՝ հիմնվելով Մարկ Օժեի “ոչ-տեղերի” եւ Միշել ֆուկոյի “հետերոտոպիաների” տեսական պնդումների վրա: Երեւակայված, կամ
չ-անձնավորված, անցողիկ տեղերը նրա համար անոմալիաների եւ անճշտությունների բացահայտման միջոցներ են: Տարածության գաղափարը՝ օժտված մարդակերպային հատկանիշներով, դրթում է Վեբբին դիտարկել այն որպես ընթացիկ խնդիրների ներկայացման հարթակ՝ թե՛ անհատականի, թե՛ հավաքականի դիտանկյուններից: Վեբբը օգտագործում է տարածության գաղափարը “միջավայրի” ասածի տեսանկյունից՝ հաճախ ներկայացնելով այն փոխաբերական լիցքերով լի: Նա բնավ տարված չէ ճարտարապետական կառույցներով, այլ հետազոտում է տարածքների անցումային, լիմինալ որակները՝ բացահայտելով այդ մշուշոտ արենան աութսայդերի հայացքով:

Դիքի Վեբբը աշխատանքները հիմնականում վերածվում են ինտերակտիվ կամ տեղին հատուկ ինստալացիաներ, թվային աուդիո մանիպուլացիաների, լուսանկարների, քանդակի, տպագրության, սենսորային լույսի միջամտության, ձայնի, բույր, գծանկարի, կազմման եւ ապակզմման ընթացքների եւ քաղաքային տարածքներում ներխուժումների
Օգտագործվող նյութերն են՝
ներկ, բրոնզ, ալյումինիում, սապոն, բետոն, աղ, շաքար, սառույց, ապակի, մետաղ, փայտ, բլեկնախեժ, թանաք, կաթ, մոմ
Օգտագործվող օբյեկտներն են՝ ստվարաթղթե արկղեր, կահույք, ծրարներ, ավտոմեքենայի առջեւապակիներ

Դիքի Վեբբը ծնվել է 1979թ. բրիտանական Օքսֆորդ քաղաքում: Մի երկրից մյուսը հաճախակի տեղաշարժերի հետեւանքով՝ նա բնակվում է ներկայում Նոր Զելանդիայի, Միացյալ Նահանգների եւ Միացյալ Թագավորության միջեւ: Վեբբը բակալվրի կոչում է ստացել Էդինբուրգի Արվեստի քոլեջում՝ համատեղելով ուսումը Նյու-Յորքի Պետական համալսարանին կից գործող Փրչեյզ (Purchase) քոլեջում՝ մինչ այդ նա Բրիտանիայի Օքսֆորդ Բրուքս (Oxford Brooks) համալսարանի շրջանավարտներից էր: Վերը նշված ուսումնառության տարիներից հետո նա սկիզբ է դնում շարունակական ճամփորդությունների եւ աշխատանքային այցերի դեպի Ճապոնիա, Նոր Զելանդիա եւ Չիլի՝ հընթացս ներգրավվելով արվեստագետների կացարանների ծրագրերի մեջ Աթենքում (SNEHTA կացարան, Հունսատան), այժմ էլ Հայաստանում գործող “Արտ կոմունա” արվեստագետների միջազգային կացարանում (ԱՄՀԼ):

Վերջերս նա մասնակցել է մի շարք ցուցահանդեսներում ԱՄՆ-ում, Միացյալ Թագավորությունում եւ Հունաստանում, որոնց թվում են՝
(2014) ՀԻՄԱ ԲԱՆԵՐՆ ԱՅԼ ԵՆ, Արտ Աֆինա, Հունաստան
(2014) Սահմաններ-Արվեստատեղեր, Աթենք, Հունաստան
(2013)Չամրագրված փաստեր, Aghias Zonis 1 Space, Աթենք, Հունաստան
(2013) Մեկ հայտարար, միանվագ հայտարարներ, Cultybraggan POW ճամբար, Փերթշիր, Միացյալ Թագավորություն
(2013) Կանգառ Նյուհեվանում, Էդինբուրգ, Միացյալ Թագավորությւոն

Ցուցահանդեսի կազմակերպիչն է
Արվեստի եւ մշակութային հետազոտությունների լաբորատորիան (ԱՄՀԼ)
Նախագիծը իրականացվել է [Արտ Կոմունա] Արվեստագետների միջազգային կացարանի ծրագրերի շրջանակում (ԱՄՀԼ)

Նախագծի հովանավորն է Եվրոպական Մշակութային հիմնադրամը

Աջակցության համար հատուկ շնորհակալություն ենք հայտնում Երեւանի Ժամանակակից արվեստի թանգարանին, թանգարանի տնօրեն Նունե Ավետիսյանին եւ անձնակազմին

Passing Weeks..

These last few weeks have been spent exploring all parts of Yerevan some intentionally and others purely by accident.  One day this week even was comparably to my days on my snowboard.  Using the bus like a chairlift to take me to a point in the city with a line back to house which I walked capturing many elements that I had over the weeks hope to experience.

These random wanderings and planned excursions have allowed me to interact with architecture and accidental sculptural objects.  They have created conversations within my practice that I am now exploring and will continue post residency here.  I spend time photography and field recording the sounds I encounter not always for later work but to use the process of recording as a way to explore the moments that I have experienced.  Some of these elements naturally appear in the work but sometimes it is me focusing on something that i see a metaphor amongst or pausing just so the brain absorbs and allows the senses to filter completely.  Though the sounds and visual elements are important it is all senses that inform my thoughts.  If only to have a machine to record the smells both pleasant and not so.  The aromas here are strong and really striking.

Certain themes are constant within my travels such as looking through but seeing behind in reflective moments or the attraction to controlled and protected spaces.  Here especially where traffic cones are not so common the ways in which people mark space is intriguing.  One thought that is common with my travels here though is to do with vacancy as a positive.  The building of vacancy, i.e. in the sense of building glass and marble buildings that seems to be for something that only they know about.  With these buildings not necessarily fitting into the landscape rather standing alone amongst the tower blocks of Soviet era.  I see these new buildings a positive in one sense and nod to a new era or at least optimism.  This in comparison in other cities that I have lived recently where new construction has stopped.

As for work I am currently working on a new digital work, a step on from the Athens Arrival work I made in Greece last year and also some new photo and sculptural works.  These are all due to be exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art here in a couple of weeks.  So for now the walks and excursions are more precise and studio time has increased.  I will update from the studio in a few days prior to the show.

YERAZI

As I wrote in a previous post about Building the Dream.  ErAZ van was known as the Yeraz or the Dream.  The term Yeraz or Yerazi is also used to refer to a Azerbaijani sub-group also.  The Azeri people are a clan of Azerbaijani’s from Yerevan.  The word itself can refer to those people who are not from Yerevan, I guess like myself though I am not Azerbaijani.

This interplay of words really draws me in as the idea of Yeraz which the people of Yerevan fondly refer the to ErAZ also has links to Azerbaijani clan that is predominate in Azerbaijani politics.  To this day there is an ongoing war between Armenia and Azerbaijan.  My thoughts keep reflecting on this now closed border between these two nations and the two countries with ancestry that is spread across these lands.  The mobility of the ErAZ the Yerevan dream whilst the Yerazi a displaced clan that even though not in their birth land they are still dominant in their nations organisation.  These are resilient dreams.

Building The Dream – Շենք երազանքը

As I start to get a handle on Yerevan ideas are starting to be considered, circulating my daily thoughts and bouncing off different aspects of the interactions I am encountering.  One which feels quite poetic is to do with the now abandoned ErAZ Automobile Factory here in Yerevan.  Yerevanskiy Avtomobilny Zavod (ErAZ) was founded in 1964 and closed in 2002.  The reason this factory feels quite poetic is due to the flagship van th ErAZ factory produced.  The  ErAZ 762 which become widely known as the Yeraz – Dream (The ErAZ 762 was based on the RAF-977 was a Soviet (now Latvian) van made by Riga Autobus Factory (RAF). The Yeraz or Dream as it translates was an incredibly successful van and even though it has been over a decade since the factory was in business you can still see these mobile dreams roaming the streets of Yerevan and no guess the countryside of Armenia.  You also see shells of these vans everywhere I guess stripped for their parts to keep these dreams alive.  Parts are surely getting harder to find as some of the dreams are held together by any means necessary.  However like most things here in Armenia things work with little or no fuss.  People do not hesitate to get on and work with what they have.  Problems here seem to be just an everyday occurrence so people move and solve these as they do each day.  I guess without having this attitude its hard to fulfil or even attempt to reach your goals. The factory at its height was producing 12,000 a year and in 1982 produced its 100,000 vehicle.  This was partly due to the factory being equipped with a production line in 1975 one of the first in the Soviet Union.  For me the idea of a production line being created to build dreams is quite appropriate. The factory now is a shell with security watching over the vast site I guess similar to a lot of vacant land here it is owned though is currently void of any development until the owner decides what they wish to do with it.  As with all things comes down to money however we all know money cannot always buy your dreams. From the ErAZ website there is some good documentation of the legacy this factory had on Yerevan and Armenia.

	ԵրԱԶ 762 (762Ա, 762Վ)
	ԵրԱԶ 762 (762 ՎԳՊ)
	ԵրԱԶ 762 (762 ՎԴՊ)
	ԵրԱԶ 3218
	ԵրԱԶ 3730

The ErAZ has even made it into video games such as Grand Theft Auto! However the ErAZ website continues to feed my thoughts, on the English translation of the site you are greeted with this message. I guess for some dreams we will have to wait.  In future posts I will write about some of my research into the word Yeraz as this also has some interesting links and keeps bouncing off ideas that I am considering.

Initial Process – How does one start?

What is a starting point or how do I find an IN?  A week ago I arrived in Yerevan, Armenia and within this week I have to find my bearings as well as figure where to begin.  Though I have current and ongoing themes within my work I change, my location changes and especially the landscape I experience.

Firstly my process is simple I go get lost.. Not in the moment per se but in a place.  Public transport is easy to do this in a new country.  Just get on and do not worry about the direction just travel.  This here in Yerevan is perfect as the whole experience is totally different from other countries I have experienced.  The majority of the transport system is run by small minibuses similar to Ford Transit vans.  I am 6’4″ so even getting into these at times is a challenge.  Especially in rush hour, oh yes just like elsewhere in the world the transport system still gets crowded and these minibuses are full.  Standing room only and you would be surprised at how many people these buses can carry.  Its an impressive feet in itself.  However the whole process is calm and collected considering the horns being used by other road users and taxis.  The public just get on with it without any complaint or quibble.

Anyways back to process.  My approach is I guess similar to the Situationists – Guy Debords’ dérive.  I use my one and one approach with the city to experience the infrastructure and witness the makeup of the city.  I am not directed as to where I head and would rather each left and right decided when it is met.  By passing through districts, suburbs and communities you can get a feel for what atmosphere and people live in a space.  This interaction with the landscape creates a dialogue that builds the more I walk and the further days spent doing so.  I start to question or be drawn into errors, repetition, oddities, familiarities and characteristics.  Its certainly not just the physical or visible that appeals, though sometime its the sense of smell or piercing sound that leaves a lasting impression.  I find my experience of space similar to how I read people and their personalities.  The anthropomorphic nature is something allows me to form initial ideas.  What are these ideas, well I have no idea until I start to delve into these dérives.  How do I know when I am onto a idea or something that is worth investigating further I do not know at first.  However I could compare it to tennis.  If you think about tennis and the shots that win matches or serves that are aces.  These are not ideas that appeal to me as they are either one of, one liners or too literal in their representation of an idea.  The ideas that I am interested in I would compare to the rallies that build and sometimes keep on going.  These rallies I would compare to the discourse that the ideas created within my own research and investigations and those that I speak to regarding the work.

So by using this kind of dérive or active losing oneself I create an instability that aided by the new location or country sparks my engagement.  I move and navigate the new spaces without plans though attentive to that which is around me.  Over time my mind starts to read that which is around me in new ways and dialogues start to happen and it is these that I use to form the basis for new work/projects.

     

Understanding Some Of My Process.

Here is a post by The Creators Project which outlines some of the techniques that I am employed to make my recent digital works.

Here’s What Happens When You Edit Photos Like Music

By Emerson Rosenthal — Jul 24 2014

Re-post from The Creators Project – click here for original post.

What’s known is that all digital files are made up of raw data: open any image, sound, application, or otherwise in a program like TextEdit, and you’ll see the Unicode alphabet representation of your chosen file. What’s unknown are the results of opening, say, a .txt file in a video program, a sound file in a word document, or playing an image file in a sound editor… More often than not, importing files into applications they’re foreign to will produce an error message and possibly crash your open application. Sometimes, however, using applications to manipulate non-native files results in beautiful art.

Masuma Ahuja and Denise Lu, of the Washington Post, put these ideas to the test by editing images in Audacity as if they were sound files. It’s called databending— the process, according to Ahuja and Lu, “of manipulating data in an editor traditionally used to edit media of another format,”— and the simple results are as colorful and sublime as they are inspiring.

Seen with an echo effect, the Eiffel Tower lives up to Paris’ name as “The City of Lights.” With fades and a reverse effect, the bleak southwest Iceland seaside becomes awash with cotton-candy waves. With a little reverb, the Brooklyn Bridge gets a throwback to the color stylings of Do The Right Thing. Below, Ahuja and Lu’s results are as mind-bending as they are data:

Ready to try databending your own image files? Check out Jamie Boulton’s tutorial on using effects in Audacity, andAntonio Roberts’ beginners tutorial on importing image files into the free sound editing software. Share your artworks with us in the comments section below! h/t FlowingData

Considering Stasis Whilst Refused Exit.

Just over a week ago I returned from Chile.  I was there teaching snowboarding which is my other profession which helps fund my art activities.  It has taken me a few days to come to terms with the last few days that I spent there as they were not like the rest of the season.  When I tried to leave the country I was denied, refused exit.  This is the first time in 16 years of travel that I have had an issue with a visa and it was a huge learning experience.  Add to this that I may have learnt some Spanish in my time there but I am no way near fluent and going through this process of being denied by the check in agent to then being asked to speak to immigration followed by the police was quite a traumatic experience.

It turned out the company I had been working for had cut a few corners and had decided to not actually pay for the correct visa and had only process a token one month work visa even though they knew I was working for them for three months.  So when I got to the airport and tried to explain that I had a visa, that I had paid tax and paid a visa fee.  It took a while for an official to explain what had actually happened.  The company I had been working for thought there would be no issue as most instructors left before their tourist visa was up.

So once I had been declined I had my passport confiscated and told that I would have to go to the main Ministry building for immigration on the Monday to see what fines I would have to pay.  This is the first time in all my travels that I have been without my passport or been left in no mans land.  It was an odd sensation and I am not sure how I feel about the days I spent in Santiago waiting to find out what the Ministry would say.  It made me consider the issues and thoughts I examine within my art practice.  These liminal states, borderless zones and wastelands where nothing but everything happens.  This time where I was unable to go or do anything however I was there experiencing this quite unique process.  It was real, very real to me, however I was also in limbo and these were nothing days that to everyone else really did not matter.  This stasis I felt like I had little if no control of my fate or movement which compared to the fortunate life I have lead is quite the opposite.

I am not sure I have really come to terms or understood what or how this may affect or influence my work.  However I leave for Armenia where I will spend the next six weeks on residency.  I feel that some of the experiences I have undergone may start to filter into some of the investigations I make in the coming weeks.