Enough is enough

 A while back I decided that ENOUGH was my favourite word. It works on so many levels if you need a mantra to stop buying / eating / ‘treating yourself’ / overworking, etc etc. It also works when you get the shits with The Way Things are Being Run and How Things are Being Done.

In 2016, as part of a cluster of artworks for a group exhibition with a political theme, I set letterpress into a series about ENOUGH, and printed them on reflective red vinyl stickers. I put a set on the pole outside the gallery. The shop that sold me the vinyl said that it was hard-wearing, and the stickers did indeed last for years, progressively being peeled off by annoyed staff and punters. The stickers were also very portable. I took a couple of sets overseas with me and stuck them in urban spaces. 

I used silver ink to print the ‘enough is enough’ text onto a black tee, and that tee is now worn to rags. Just before COVID19 broke out, I was teaching a Typography unit to budding graphic designers, and we couldn’t get access to a letterpress studio, so I got some textile paints and crayons and encouraged them to make stencils to use on t-shirts, and mine was, of course, ENOUGH. 

I have enough. There is enough stuff in the world. If we suddenly stopped making crappy stuff that is easily broken or superceded by other crappy stuff, and started sharing the perfectly serviceable things that last well, there would still be enough for others. That’s what I keep telling myself, anyway.

There are certain things that I can’t say ‘enough’ to, and one of those is books. That is, I know I have enough books, but people keep giving me more, and they’ve also worked out that I hate Christmas because of all the STUFF but I’ll always love a book voucher. That is not a hint — I have book vouchers under magnets on my fridge at the moment, waiting for a book to tempt me. I just bought a handful of books by Jane Rawson. Hopefully you know who she is, because she’s good. I also have a very nice small independent book store within an easy walk from my house, so really, I’m a goner in terms of books.

I justify the book thing in my head by seeing my house as a bunker for the future. Patently ridiculous, because it’s a crappy little fibro house that won’t survive Extreme Weather Events (although I did like the fact that it was close to the local fire station…), but I also have a couple of good strong boxes and chests around the place that hold books and they might survive. One of them is actually dubbed the Zombie Apocalypse Box. It has a bunch of vintage books on How To Do Things. Practical things. Analogue things. I hope my son finds them useful… or at least hilarious.

You’ve probably had enough of me saying ENOUGH. I’ll just leave things there then. 

[This was originally published on Substack on 2 November 2025]