Homepage of Zachàr Laskewicz

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My name is Zachàr Laskewicz and I was born in Western Australia in 1971. Although my unusual name reflects a largely Eastern European family history, I've learnt to become wary of attempting to find personal meaning in 'history' as inculcated in both social and familial contexts. The complex process of resculpting my sense of self into the person I am today was made possible thanks to my time in Belgium. This country is an interesting one to live in and I'm also fortunate that the people here have respect for creative artists.

Recent research through my films and music has helped me realise that the sociocultural conventions one feels comforted or trapped by are in fact artificial and can be unlearned and replaced by acquiring knowledge or exploring new cultures. My work in all its apects questions the complex linguistic, social and cultural ways of behaving or experiencing the world that unite people as much as they make each individual unique. As a creative artist I've felt necessited to use this aspect of my work to help me make sense of the absurdity which surrounds me...

I've been a composer, a performer and a lecturer in places as diverse as China, Finland, Indonesia and Denmark, although I've settled permanently in Ghent, a truly beautiful and interesting Belgian city to develop my work as a composer and film-maker.

"I am as frenetically creative as ever. In retrospect, I've always applied my creativity to sculpt a sort of lense through which I can gaze at the world in an attempt to understand it better. The bitter pill of experience has taught me that this sword cuts on both edges; although on the one hand I long for people to return my gaze, I always fear that the focus-providing glass on my side will not produce the desired effect in reverse. All the same, I've realised that those who find what they see unusual would probably understand me better if they realised they were looking in the wrong end of a telescope!"

This site contains a lot of personal property over which I maintain the ultimate copyright. I kindly request that you credit any references you make to my compositions, writings or films. Telling me about how you may have interacted with my work or this site would be an extra added bonus. My email address is zachar@nachtschimmen.eu.

20 February 2018 - New ADHD [Absurdly Denotative Heading or Description] added at the top of this home page: LUDICROUSLY EMBITTERED PRISONER replaces “DANGEROUSLY ERRATIC MULTITASKER”
I’ve all but imprisoned myself on the relatively new mezzanine floor bedroom work space looking over my recently self-renovated loft. From here I’ve been doing my best to avoid facing my problems and often sit here too terrified to answer phone calls and to head out into a city which has still tied me up in an administrative nightmare because of the work of a legal and bureaucratic system which I’m inadvertently on the wrong side of. I’m pretty dissatisfied with the dreadful things that have happened to me but even more with the way they have influenced my desire to interact with the world and create things has pretty much been silence. My impending blindness doesn’t help things much, but there is a beacon of hope out there (if only I could see the bloody thing)…

16 August 2017 - Graphic Design example from the new website I've designed for the Belgian Officially Recognised Voluntary Organisation called SALING ASAH [see http://www.salingasah.be/index.htm] has become the new artwork in the Rubric 6: IN EXHIBITION. It's replacing "PRIZED PENIS PICKLED (2 July 2016)".

8 July 2017 - ZACHAR-O-METER in the left column has finally gone up one point from 5. FRENETIC to the wildly diverse state of 6. BIPOLARITY. It's a tricky situation balancing a nightmare with the Belgian courts and an impossibly difficult home which is an unfortunate paradox for the Belgian legal system and incredibly hard to live in, with the comparatively wonderful joy of playing now regularly for the summer festivals at the Balinese Temple in Namur, as part of the world-famous 'Pairi Daiza' Natural Park, leaving me racing between emotional extremes.

7 July 2017 - Anecdote added to RUBRIC 2: Dixit Zachar below and the Anecdotes & Aphorisms page [on getting cheap thrills from strippers...]

6 July 2017 - New ADHD [Absurdly Denotative Heading or Description] added: DANGEROUSLY ERRATIC MULTITASKER replaces “OVERWHELMINGLY INEFFECTIVE RENOVATOR”
No longer satisfied waiting for professionals who consistently don’t show up because they’re not going to earn enough or are scared off by the imtimidating prospect of working on hard to define and completely full renovation nightmare currently being lived in, I’ve decided to take up the task myself. Recently that’s included ripping down walls, planning and installing electric installation and lighting, plumbing, furniture design and [finally after I could get absolutely no one to come who wasn’t going to be paid full price for costly brand names and design plans] the installation of a mini split airconditioner.

3 March 2017 - Because of a lawsuit received today from the Belgian notaris POPPE, I've removed all references on this website to the years of personal misery which I attributed to him and the Belgian notarial system.
It should also be noted that today is the first I have heard of any litigation being served against me, although they're saying a writ was served in 2015. It wasn't, and the documentation a received today was only by the questionably good fortune of taking it out of the wrong post-box before the neighbours got it.
I'm being sued for in excess of 100,000 euros for potential loss in income.
The irony is that I'm reminded every day of the incompetence of the firm who drew up the official notarial documents for the pristine set of identical apartments which will never exist and the invisible central set of stairs, and of the fact that I was forced into a legal battle where I had to convince the state that it was impossible to bring 'back' into existence what only existed on paper, when I actually live in a barely legal hovel which is falling apart and which I long ago lost the desire to do anything about improving.
If it's a sad day for the freedom of expressing opinions or telling the truth, for me it's truly abysmal.

3 November 2016 - Important change made to the Title Navigation Bar. I realised that one of the 'places' which this navigation bar is primarily supposed to be used for didn't include a link to 'personal writing'. Fortunately, I rectified this and, after a period of more than three years, access is finally possible to writings that often involve my personal reaction to current events. The first 'personal writing' was written the night before Obama was elected!

28 October 2016 - PDF document 'ZIZBILIT presents ... the Disinformation Collection 2' uploaded to describe the contents of a torrent which will be available via this site when I'm able to develop each of the TRADING POST sub-links. Click the image below to open a blank copy of this document which can then be saved to your computer :

20 October 2016 - Major changes made to the TRADING POST place. Initially, insecure about it's future, it included an unsure mixture of possibilities. Now three definitions in the form of sub-headings are included: [1] Downloadable Ebooks, [2] Torrent List, [3] Purchaseable items. Although the TRADING POST page has been developed and linked to pages, each of those pages still needs development.

18 September 2016

[PREVIOUSLY - PRETTY PATHETIC PENPUSHER, PRESENTLY - POTBELLIED POOL PATRON]

It feels like I’ve plagued myself mercilessly with a rather fatalistic nihilism. Because of being figuratively thumped repeatedly on the head with a lead cattle prod by the Belgian government, I sort of gave up. Recent events, however, would seem to suggest that there are further changes afoot. In my last State of Things declaration I suggested that I had no reason to explain my sudden artistic inspiration which resulted in the Zachar-o-meter rising to 6. Frantic. Well in truth that came to a pretty sudden end when I received a further fine from the city of Ghent for the same crim : leaving a property (the one I live in) vacant and allowing it to fall into disrepair (something attributed to the last owner). Since then, however, the first 15 thousand euro fine was completely revoked, and I assume that the city of Ghent will have to follow suit. Not only that, there have been real changes to the immediate environment. A room downstairs has been completely renovated giving me an immediate respite from the attic room I was using to isolate myself from what appeared an enormously unfriendly and largely indifferent world. And although this may not appear much to people who don’t know what a nightmare it is to have Bulgarian plumbing zig-zagging willy-nilly across the building you live in, today saw that nasty long and winding link to the sewer replaced with a hygienic route direct down a single large pipe which will be hidden behind false walls. Perhaps the most surprising thing of all, however, is that I suddenly decided to start swimming, i.e. do exercise of my own volition and for no purpose other than knowing it would be good to do so. After swimming a few laps at a public pool, practicing all the styles I could remember, I got quickly exhausted and stumbled home in the late afternoon heat happy that I’d done it. Now we just have to see if I’ll keep it up: as if to encourage myself I bought a ticket valid for ten visits. So who knows – maybe I’ll actually do it. The remarkable thing is that I went outside at all.

From this homesite, the six major areas of my work can be viewed from various perspectives by clicking on the icons here to the left which indicate the major ways I have of interacting with the world and to help me make sense of reality: [1] music composition, [2] film design, [3] graphic art, [4] performance, and [5] writing - both fiction and non-fiction. I believe that any sort of exchange of knowledge, from musical, through conversational, to sensual, is equally valid and enriches us every day if we stand open to it. Each of these individual sub-pages has a set of 4 or 5 active links to a profile for that category, a 'complete list of works' page, among other possibilities depending on the nature of the skill - composition, for example, has a link to the music-box.

As far as seeing individual examples of my work is concerned, the 'complete list of works' pages contain a set of links to individual pages, to either listen to, watch, download, read or admire in some other way my writings, music and design. Links for the major complete lists are included below :

In addition to the five categories to the left, however, reading further will demonstrate my most recent projects, both finished and unfinished, including poetry, interesting and/or remarkable events and even anecdotes, aphorisms, recollections or other bursts of written inspiration which form as a result of the constant motion inherent in 'the incessant cycle spinning away inside my head'. Seven separate 'places' which often cohere with a particular website with all the collected set of that category, are used as points to show recent developments in my work. Therefore the bars which seperate the seven categories below also provide a link to a seperate page.

Here I try to reflect my rather ironic way of looking at things by presenting short anecdotes, recollections, aphorisms, opinions or short poems; they are generally the most recent things I've been heard saying (or claim to have said). The Anecdotes & Aphorisms page, however, contains the complete collection heading back to the first time I made a record of something I said in 1998.

[on getting cheap thrills from strippers...]

“A well-learned lesson for the innocent among us designed to shape our prille encounters with the world of home and work. If someone brings home for your personal enjoyment a cheap stripper it may end being far less than you had bargained for. Although it may come in attractive packaging you'd be best to check it out thoroughly before the performance can start. Cheap strippers can lead to unsatisfactory thrills and an unexpected kick in the ass as you fall down after having accidently slipped and touched the live wire. Don't economise on electronic tools just because you for some incomprehensible reason confused them with floozies. Electroction is dangerous and could cause real damage to you and any actual women on the trade who may still be in your immediate vicinity..."

[on the insecurity of age]

“ My mother called me today to remind me that as of this day I’d been in existence for a total of 45 years. Ultimately unsure about my age, I’ve been saying that I’m about 45 years old for at least the last five years, so reality has finally caught up with me! ”

19 March 2016
Zachar Laskewicz, Ghent

[on BREXIT: or how we evoked an ultranationalism fervour in order to personally enrich ourselves]

“There is no doubt that ultranationalism is being used as a smokescreen in what has become reductively referred to as the BREXIT referendum which essentially involves wrestling The United Kingdom out of the restrictions of the European Union, making it, in other words a non-contributing member. Ultranationalism is a political tool which found its earliest expression and most blatantly fictitious expression in enticing young soldiers to murder people for no good reason. It is in other words just a form of propaganda without apparent logic that attempts to make you feel united with your compatriots against the ‘other’; it sets a dangerous precedent in a toxic debate. The Tories (a conveniently pleasant sounding reductive name for an increasingly more conservative Conservative Party), are essentially responsible for bringing about a referendum to decide whether or not the United Kingdom should continue participating as a member of the European Union. That some of the Tories are using ultranationalism as a basis for the ‘leave campaign’ is both underhanded and desperate. Remember that this is a party whose members ultimately believe no matter what they may say to the contrary – that an elite group of landed gentry should remain as wealthy as possible. It is problematic precisely because it comes from a group of elitists who couldn’t really give a toss about Britain, England or the United Kingdom. The actual agendas of the wealthy have a lot more to do with making sure they keep stockpiling as much money as possible than with anything as banal as nationalism. There are those who have long been against the threat of further regulation enforced by a centralized Europe. A ‘Brexit’ ensures that further regulation of banking be at least delayed and more likely streamlined to the advantage of the industry itself. Worse still, there are those hoping to profit from the turmoil created by the economic calamity this would bring about. In such an environment investment bankers would be free to continue whitewashing the dirty money of Russian politicians, and attention would be diverted from the funneling of enormous funds into personal accounts scattered across the various tax havens around the world. It surprises me that despite the recent shocking revelations of the Panama papers, the propaganda system Britain is so good at disseminating is selling a such a nasty fiction to so many fools, and more embarrassing still that so many of them seem to be believing it.”

Zachar Laskewicz
7 June 2016, Ghent

Here I provide links or information surrounding new works that are finished or have been recently uploaded; something that could possibly be downloaded.

Click the icon below to open in a separate window or tab aPDF document called "Finding Nieuwland 70 A". This single page document contains maps, photos, descriptions, streetnames, tramstops and other information which should make it easier to find my address:

Click the icon below to download the mp3 version of the audio poem composed in 1990 FROM A GABLE WINDOW, a composition influenced by the work of Lovecraft:

*Note that the file is a RAR-archive and requires the appropriate unpacker to open it

Click the link below to download the T-SHIRT TRANSFER which contains the 'Elio Di Rupo Loves Pussy' and 'Bart De Wever Loves Cock' images from an artwork known as ZONDER STAAT STRAAT more information about which can be found at the CURRENT PROJECTS page.

Click the link below to download the original piano music score to INDIA SONG PIANO BLUES composed in 1991:

Click the link below to download my book on music, epistemology, semiotics and the Balinese culture :

Click the link below to download the first episode of the 'Utterly Disgusting Projects' designed to introduce children to art and creative processes. It consists of instructions and a set of stickers for a jar which will contain simulated 'Used Ewe's Eyes':

Samples, ideas and discussions relating both to films currently in production and the other diverse projects I initiate.

This short film is intended to act both as a record of the existence of a multiform, dynamic art installation I created known as 'EVIL-I' as well as to show why the work was created and what I learned from the creative process. It demonstrates through a combination of images, text and animation how this installation concerning the human eye, looking and being looked at actually taught me to see things differently on two major levels. Firstly to reassess the disability and scarring caused by the mutilation of my right cornea (i.e. how I thought I was being looked at), but more importantly to change my vision of the human eye, the functions it performs and its metaphorical significance in art. . .

The complete text which is intended to accompany this film is included as a new WRITING at PLACES on this website. You can reach it by clicking the following icon:

EVIL-I

[or the sad tale of the anti-gravity jug]

Information about and/or examples from current linguistic experimentations, including poetry and word art.

...we are stunned into
an unnatural silence...

(there’s a group of us
here huddling together, you see)

We are sitting round the ash
of the dead fire, staring...

Unfortunately it burnt out
for far too ago -
the little warmth we do have
comes from the
uncomfortable intimacy
we're forced to share...

The only female in the group
The one who usually talks so much
Has nothing more to say;
Not that we wouldn’t listen now –
Although no one will admit it
We’re glad she’s here if only
Because she let her hair grow so long
That it provides a place for some to warm
Themselves; or even hide their faces
From their embarrassing lack of desire
To communicate with the others.

The horned one
That little lusty little devil
Stares with horror at the limp member
He uses to stimulate himself
Into obscene acts
We've spent so long
Trying to ignore his
Constant orgiastic dance
That we don't know what
To say to him now;
What we wouldn't do to spur
Even him into action;
The stupidest among us
Must realise its his dynamism
That helps the rest of us remain
Arguing with one another.
But we're all so stunned by the
Cold shrunken thing he's become
We just don't know how to
Answer his surprise and shock.

The dynamic created by the complex relationships
Which usually allow as all to live together
In a sort of uneasy truce
Have become irrelevant
As I slowly freeze to death
Inside this little cave
Where there is usually so much action
The different parts of me
So cold now that they’ve
Become brittle and breakable
Wait for the spark
Which will light the fire
And allow the constant stream
Of arguments, indecisions,
Embarrassing conflicts of interests
To keep us all warm and in action
To relight the source of central warmth
We’ve all taken for granted
Until the freezing wind blew out
The fire and left us
Here barren, infertile and alone.

For without the spark of creativity
That lights the fire
To stimulate this uneasy truce
We will all eventually die
And this frozen group
Uneasily but desperate
In their final closeness
Will be forever silence.

Perhaps
Its for the Best
My god,
We may have tried to make
A lot of noise
But no one heard
And although each of us blame
The other for allowing the fire to go out
In the end,
It’ll all hardly matter
As this cold dead group
Of me
Will dissipate
And blow away
Without hardly
A single soul
Noticing.

Zachar Laskewicz
30 January 2015
Ghent Belgium

Examples are included here of recent art-works, inventions, designs, sculptures or photos.

This is a screenshot for the homepage I've designed recently for the website SALING ASAH VZW/ASLB @ http://www.salingasah.be/index.htm. Back on the advisory board for this Belgian organisation which has now been in existence for 19 years, they had the good idea of asking me to update the site. It certainly needed updating; I hope I've been of some help - and I'm now responsible for keeping it up to date regularly. It's nice to feel useful.