Roger Lougher

1958 – 1960  The colonial years: I am a second wave baby boomer, born in the British Empire, in Northern Rhodesia, now thankfully Zambia; the Americans had the Cuban Missile Crisis, the fear of imminent nuclear annihilation wasn’t lifted until 1989ish.

1960 – 1969  The early years: we moved back to the UK to live with Nan, mum’s mum, in Rogerstone and then dad bought a house in Bassaleg. Nan had a radio as big as a cupboard. We had the Vietnam War for breakfast.

1969 – 1976  The big school years: I went to big school and the Americans landed on the moon; the three-day week; the Oil Crisis and Punk. Punk now feels like a howl that presaged the horror of the Blue Rinse. We thought it was because of how bad things were, not how bad things would get.

1976 – 1977  Foundation in Art and Design, Newport College of Higher Education. The beginning of me as an independent person. This is when I met people who gave me permission to be more me. It was also the first loss, I was moving and being moved outside the world I’d grown up in.

1977 -1980  BA Fine Art, Falmouth School of Art. Much more art and arty people and delight and learning.

(1979 – 1990  The Blue Rinse, the ‘her name will not be spoken’ era, the milk snatcher, the heroin peddler, the seller of our inheritance, the museum opener, hope shutter, the navy nanny, the one who denies community, the scourge of unions, the Eton cat’s-paw, homophobe, Azure Anonym, Cobalt Curse, the forgive-her-not-blue, smalt smug, mournful midnight blue before the red dawn of hope, bad egg blue, the blight).

1981 – 1991  Early London years; post college adjustment; birth of The Illustrated Guide to … a collectable encyclopaedia in parts. The Illustrated Guide …  on video. cycle messenger, Miners’ Strike, AIDS.

1991 – 1998  The London years in animation. I started working in animation. I was seduced by my ineptitude and the possibility of being paid to draw.

1998 – 1999  A brief sojourn in America, animation took me to Hollywood.

1999 – 2000  The Newport years redux; my father had died before I went to America and I wanted to be around if my mother needed me in her dotage, care work.

2000 – 2005  Cardiff years: continuing work in care, 9/11, Afghanistan War, The Iraq War, 7/7, assassination of Jean Charles da Silva e de Menezes.

2005 – 2007  MA Doc Phot, UWIN.

2007 – 2009  The mill years. I sold my house in Cardiff and bought a mill in west Wales.

2009 – 2019  Rhôd years. Being in an artists lead group.

2019 – 2020  What’s next?