The crit ended up going very well at the end, considering that I had like less than 24 hours to make something. I love the challenge of crits, everytime a new opportunity to do something else, something different and hopefully new and challenging the next step.
I’m not sure about the title of this work but maybe something like “Let it go”? Not sure, I used to be good with titles but not anymore, I think too much I think about them… My titles used to be like long sentences and people thought they added quirkiness to the work. I’m talktive and when I tell a story I will tell it with details. Details to me are important as they can form a better picture in someone’s head and a better understanding about how I have felt or meant to me”that” story. Blah, blah and more blahs, (my wrist hurts quite a lot today so I shoud be concise)
People thought my “character” was strong and had personality. The character was this woman sitting in the corner on top of the kitchen surface, her face facing a pile of washing up to do and her trying to grab some biscuits from the buiscuit pot with her toes, her legs sligtlly apart (with a grotesque feel to it) the radio is on. What it looks like a child made with a lampshade, tights, wadding, blue spray paint and some haberdashery, is looking at the mother from the floor, the mother seems to ignore the child.
Two questions were raised here: how will you exhibit this in a gallery? with a kitchen set up? or on a plinth? or on a chair? Most of people agreed that the character was strong and perhpas it could without the kitchen setting as it is made with domestic objects the point comes across? It is difficult to complete works specially if the narrative behind is strong. I have to think of this. I will be taking good pics of this with a white background and see what happens, perhaps the “woman” sitting in a wooden table grabbing the biscuits with the child on the floor looking up at her. Or perhaps the woman sitting in a washmachine? washmachine as a plynth? mmmm
The women in the class didn’t like the situation of this woman and they didn’t want to be in there or feel like her. Trapped in the kitchen, in the corner, staring at washing up with a child demanding attention, but at the same time they liked the rebellious character. This poses questions of how womanhood is linked to domesticity these days in modern society? Do we want to rebel about “the woman in the kitchen’ cliche kind of thing ? but we can’t in reality. It is like the dog chasing his tail over and over.
But I think things are changing for women, specially in motherhood, more and more women are challenging how motherhood should be and seen by others. I think specially online forums are helping out as you can express yourself anonimously. I don’t think it happens in baby groups that much, specially with new mothers. A lot of artists (including myself) are working in this subject to shred light to how mothers really feel and at the same time making the subject a (more) valid one in the contemporary art world. I think they call it feminist motherhood but I don’t think it should be called any terms as it causes again argument for women and what we really need is to unite ourselves.! but anyway, “feminist motherhood”, “normal motherhood”, “honest motherhood”, “open motherhood”, “all about feelings motherhood”, “is okay to say how you feel motherhood” and other terms are okay I guess.
Other point that we discussed was to not overdo it, they say it works, doesn’t need anything else, speaks for itself, it has energy, raw energy. (Good, ticked, I have managed to do it again)
But I’m Spanish, Spanish humour is about exaggeration, dramatism, but after all I think the “keep it simple” (to start with though, then let it flow!) is also something good to have in mind.
