Russell Higgs - Naked Truth

Segregation Unit of Brixton Prison London

 

 

 

Russell wrote a letter about his imprisonment while he was in imprisoned with Vincent

 

Russell’s following letter was published in UK national newspaper “The Guardian”

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■ 2nd January 2001, Brixton Prison Segregation Unit

 

 

I am currently remanded and segregated in prison on two non-imprisonable charges of section 5 of the Public Order Act. I have been continuously unclothed since December 17, when I handcuffed myself to the gates of Downing Street. I was earlier charged with section 5 on December 13, wearing only a transparent PVC coat and trousers, whilst strolling through the West End with friends. In the cell next to mine is Vincent Bethell, who has been continuously unclothed since August 13. If I am found guilty, I cannot be sent to prison. However, while I remain innocent, I am in prison.

 

It is my belief there is no reason why clothing should be compulsory. It is simply my ordinary human body that is visible. We are criminalised because of prejudice against our appearance. Religious concepts of bodily sin and shame continue to inform our contemporary self-perceptions, while advertising exploits both our fascination with the body as well as our low self-esteem, through limited representations of ideal bodies. This campaign of public nakedness is a simple action that simultaneously invigorates numerous complex issues.

 

I am not a naturist, a nudist, a streaker, nor an exhibitionist. Labels are for clothes. My unclothed appearance is also not motivated sexually nor out of any gratuitous need to seek attention. I believe that while society continues to have a fundamentally negative relationship with the human body and appearance, we can never be a free or mature society. It's the 21st century. Time to evolve.

 

Russell Higgs
Brixton Prison, 2nd January 2001

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The Ideology of Russell Higgs

 

Russell the free man embellishes his views regarding nakedness and the future

 

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18th March 2009

 

Naked bodies in public force people to question their perspectives. Removal of clothing in public creates a transformation of perspective. There is another way of being. I want to find a way to make you realise that much of the anger and unhappiness in our world is likely to be created by our own thought habits. It's all a matter of perspective, namely the angle from which we choose to view reality, with ‘choose’ being the operative word. I believe that you will always have a problem for as long as you believe that you are seeing the truth. When you see negativity in other people you are seeing unwanted aspects of yourself.

Many people have influenced my life. Albert Camus is his book The Myth of Sisyphus gives us an interesting view. Sisyphus recognises the futility of his existence, and then rebels against it by being happy. He finds happiness in the details, the feeling of his muscles as he pushes that rock up the hill, the view as he climbs; the patterns in the rock, the fascinating thoughts and feelings that pass through his mind, a birdsong in a tree that he passes.

Another person who influences me is Krishnamurti. Krishnamurti was probably one of the most articulate and smartest people of the past century and we are lucky to have recordings of him speaking. I also find Thanissaro Bhikkhu very useful, very wise on the topic of Mindfulness. Thanissaro is a buddhist, but that isn't the important bit. Krishnamurti is against religion, he says there is no path to the truth. I find it useful to bring my attention to my breath at any time and any place where I am feeling or thinking negative stuff. Our bodies are incredible tools. The breath is so simple and so powerful. I also find it useful to focus my attention on simple abundant beautiful things, like the sky. The sky is usually available to us most places.

Every serious thinker must address the topic of transhumanism because the impact of technology upon our lives will be utterly revolutionary. Perspectives regarding identity are a key focus in my life therefore I am deeply aware of possibilities regarding human evolution from the perspective of ontological anarcho-transhumanism. In the beginning was the word and from that moment on there was no turning back. We are no longer apes, yet not quite gods. We are more like frightened children, trapped in a story about the world that we recite aloud to ourselves, over and over in the darkness. We want to go back to the garden. We want to go back to the womb. We want to go back. But our ambiguous future keeps calling to us and its time to grow up.

 

I seek political freedom from the tyranny of government. Our most precious gift is our freedom of choice. But choice entails commitment and responsibility and because individuals are free to choose their own path, they must accept the risk and responsibility of following their commitment through to wherever it leads. There is no natural. There is no purity. There is no separateness. There is no turning back. Homo-technicus is waiting. I pledge allegiance to the earth and to the flora, fauna, human and posthuman life that it supports. One planet, indivisible, with safe air, water & soil, economic justice, equal rights and peace for all. I am a Transhumanist artist and activist.

 

I currently have the appearance of an adult human male. I'm composed out of approximately 100 trillion cells and, as with most other humans, around 90 per cent of those cells are actually bacteria. I do not identify as Left, Right, nor Centre. I am Up wing. I value complexity and ambiguity. I value my time far more than I value the pursuit of money. I do not subscribe to any religions. It seems exceedingly likely to me that there is no almighty purpose to existence other than to explore the experience. However, I strongly believe in the concept of striving to love our neighbours. I believe that Love is the one fundamental Law worth honouring. From this one law all else falls into place.
 

Russell Higgs - London, 18th March 2009.

 

For more information see Russell’s website, or see Russell on Facebook.

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