To prepare ourselves for our degree show our tutor has set us a small project; to put on an exhibition in a display cabinet that is outside our studios. For this exhibition each of us must provide at least one artefact to go in the space. That’s 16 artefacts in a relatively small space. The artefact must represent out practice so that the exhibition can work as a type of preview to the degree show. As my course contains a lot of critical theory and some strong opinions, we began with a debate on what an artefact was.
I began making a model to go in the cabinet as my artefact. The model is similar to the models I made of mazes, though it is of one of my gallery designs for the studio. While talking about it with people in the studio while I was making the model a question arose; is this a representation of my practice or my practice? This question has had me a bit stumped all weekend. I think it’s related to the difficulty I have describing my practice, especially as it has changed so much over the three years of my degree. I see these models that I make as a way to plan installations and constructions that I want to build. But I’m not sure if that makes them part of my practice or not. I guess it does, particularly when the installation is never realised, as with the mazes (see edit to 7th February 2012 entry).
I am now trying to consider something that symbol what I am thinking about in my practice and my research. I have been looking at direction of the spectator, through the artist controlling their actions such as in many performance, installation and participatory practices and through the gallery space itself. The provision of direction and maps for the visitor to the gallery has been the focus of my most recent research. And I have been trying to find ways to avoid such a rigid route around gallery spaces. So a symbol of direction seems to be representational of my practice. I am thinking of using either a map or a directional sign, probably an arrow that will become my artefact.
