Models

Following the advice of my tutor, I have made some models experimenting with the types of spaces I wish to create. This has been a useful exercise as it has helped me to imagine more effectively, how a enclosure of doors may feel. I am leaning towards the use of 5 panels to make a pentagon structure as I feel this is more satisfying than a square and has enough - but not too many - doors.

I was interested in what panels of fabric instead of doors would look like...

I like this model and am still deliberating over which type of space to make. I am aware that these panels are a lot more elusive and create a transitory experience whereas the doors (although not properly clear in the cardboard model) would be a much more solid, enclosed structure.  The door model looks rather shanty-town at the moment but I plan for the final finish to be meticulously clean cut - aiming to bridge the border between art and design. As you can see with the door model, I am experimenting with the idea of a plain white exterior vs. a vibrant 'colourful inside.

The mystery of doors..

I am considering working with doors to create a space which one can enter to be immersed in a world away from reality - reminiscent of fairytale dreams such as Alice and Wonderland. I hunted out a man with some old doors (how exciting!) at the university and have taken some pictures thinking about how this space will feel.

I have also done some small models playing with ideas of spaces which you can walk through/around/in. I am leaning towards using shapes which relate to the notion of a door but which are not so obviously symbolic - hence the rectangular structures seen below.

Clay slab building

This weekend, I had my first of two classes with artist and workshop owner, Linsi Ramsden at Manchester Craft and Design Centre. It was a full day and very interesting to learn all the processes of printing in clay as well as how to slab build! Made the box this week and next week we will paint and glaze it! I plan for my box to hold flowers. Check back next week for finished pictures!

New term

Sadly, Ive had to dismantled the corridor so no more fun times passing through the stringy world! Is all stored and ready for reassembly if I find an exhibition to put it in! :)

Finished pieces – Open Studios 2012

I am very happy with the finished pieces this semester, especially Untitled 1 (corridor). This piece was received very well by visitors at the Open Studios – creating a buzz of interaction and achieving a fantasy-like, ‘out of this world’ experience.

Feedback included: “fun”, “like being in another world”, “immersive”, “makes you feel happy”, “mysterious”.

There were other comments showing the piece had an opposite effect: “disorientating”, “makes me feel dizzy” which has helped me to reflect upon the piece. I didn’t expect these reactions but they have given me an interesting insight into how spaces can affect people differently. I still feel that these reactions were successful as it proves that participants felt immersed in the space and experienced a dislocation from the real world.

Coming together

Work in progress

My practice this semester continues with an interest in playful, participatory art and its means to evoke the sense of childhood within the participant. Integral to my work is the use of strong colour - particularly the primary colours, as I believe that these have a quality which alludes to and appeals to the inner child. Ernesto Neto remains a strong influence; his immersive and participatory environments are both ambitious and playful. Working to a large scale is central within my practice as I aim to immerse a viewer by creating environments which are as big as or bigger than the human body. I am interested in how experience can oscillate between the real and the imaginary. I am also attracted to the idea of making childlike environments in adult sizes. Helio Otticica’s work interests me and his colourful maze like installations are similar to the work I wish to create. Otticica induces many of the senses in his work, using materials such as sand and water in his pieces and often asking participants to take off their shoes before entering a sculpture. I am in the process of making a corridor like sculpture, which will have barriers of hanging fabric inside. This aims to immerse the viewer and create a sensory experience in which the fabric lightly brushes against the skin. The use of tassel curtains was inspired by Jacob Dahlgren’s The Wonderful World of Abstraction 2006 and I was keen to use the tassel fabric myself for its sensuous aesthetic quality and silky feel. I plan to incorporate the use of balloons into my work as I am attracted to their simple, innocent nature, their connection to childhood and the tension that they create when trapped within spaces. I will use wood in my work as I like the relationship that it has to traditional children’s toys.

Playing with the idea of balloons in spaces:

Sanding down the found pallet to make the wood lighter – getting rid of the dirts and its’ past’, revealing a sense of innocence. Also attracted to this shade of wood as it resembles wooden toys

Contrast between rough wood and pristine perspex

Experimenting with types of fabric that could be ‘passed through’.

Imagining how the layers would look within an enclosed structure.