left, William Burroughs, Brion Gysin and Hamri. Photo by kind courtesy of The Sherifa Folklore Association of The Master Musicians of Joujouka
JA: I don’t know what the strange fascination that Gysin exerted over Burroughs was but Gysin spent much of his life trying to play catch-up on Burroughs’ charismatic trailblazing leadership.
Although he wasnt completly without admirers, was he?
JA: His followers tended to be creepy meatbeaters like Genesis P. Orridge, Coil, and Ramuntcho Matta. Genesis allegedly no longer has any meat to beat. By the end of Gysin’s life in the mid-80s the Burroughs/Gysin friendship had clearly waned. Burroughs stuck by the deal, though, and was still doing his best to push Gysin when the Here to Go Show came around in ‘92. I think an unstated aim of the Here To Go Show, as far as I was concerned, and as far as our sponsor Gordon Campbell was concerned, was to do something about Terry`s status as a novelist.
FR: Terry was in touch with Gordon Campbell who was interested in financing a Gysin related art show. It began there.
JA: It’s no joke trying to make it as an obdurate investigational novelist or even trying to get your work into print when you do the kind of work that Terry does. Terry also gave us access to his remarkable archive and collection of Gysin paintings. As did Felicity Mason, a formidable old lady who is somewhat forgotten right now but who deserves to be remembered. She was one tough dame and I liked her a lot. She was terribly ill at the time of the Show but she really got involved and was a great supporter. She said me and Frank were, ‘two charming Irish terrorists.’
FR: ( below right - by Maki Kita ): I think as so much of this work also relates to Morocco it is worth commenting a little on Paul Bowles' role. He did give material for the show and recorded interviews with me and video with Joe Ambrose.
Though a great writer, Bowles was often a destructive force in the affairs of Moroccan artists. He used his influence to try and steer people away from people like Choukri and Hamri; or others who he had fallen out with. Hamri insisted I visit him in 1994 and I must say he was charming and incredibly intelligent but a real tricky man too. He began meddling in the affairs of Joujouka/Jajouka in the late eighties which was bad for the village. Bowles was a great writer but his malevolence and debauchery informs that art and must not be ignored if his art is to be understood.
Article comments