Brendan Dawes
The Art of Form and Code

That Was The Week That Was — 16th October 2022

They say travel broadens the mind and I've been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to have my mind expanded and visit many places around the world, speaking at conferences, giving lectures, attending gallery openings or other such things. Over the years I've done quite a few for the OFFF festival including Barcelona, Moscow and Seville, so when the opportunity to speak at the Mexico City edition came up, it was an instant yes.

After a twelve hour flight, I headed straight to the opening drinks reception so I could meet in-person the organisers and the other speakers. My friend, fellow speaker and incredible illustrator Yuka Shimizu arrived just after me, and we then hatched plans to experience this incredible city together over the next few days. We went to markets we later found out was probably risky to go to (we were fine); we ate chocolate Scorpions (crunchy); we indulged in the best Churros the city had to offer; we experienced Mariachi; we jeered and cheered at the Mexican wrestling; we loved the flea markets and the walk around Roma.

The hosting and the organisation of this festival was second to none and was one of the best I had ever spoken at. As for the talk itself it seemed to go fine but to be honest, coming off stage, I realised I was kind of done with speaking at conferences. I'm bored with what I'm talking about so maybe it's time to take a step back for a while.

Whilst I had an amazing time in Mexico City, it was slightly marred by having my luggage stolen from the overhead as passengers disembarked when we landed in Frankfurt. It's crazy to think that someone could have the guts to do this, but after a thorough search of the plane after all the passengers had left, no case case could be found. Luckily I'm insured for such things, but I bloody loved that case, having been battered and scared with my earlier travels.