I think it's time this blog got back to the art – I'm quite happy to go off at an interesting tangent, but I think I might lose sight of the purpose of the exercise.
I'm in an in-between stage, trying to decide which ideas to follow next. I've got a week set aside for filming myself opening 2 boxes of my old belongings that my mother packaged up and gave me 10 years ago. I've never looked in the boxes since.
I feel I need to revisit all my notes about recent progress, to set the scene in my head before I do it. Here's a selection of my unedited notes, in the order they popped into my head;
My over arching intention is to explore how we become who we are, with reference to feminist theory – I am experimenting with different methods of investigating this – conversations, blogging, writing, desk based research, making images and installations.
I am looking for ways to understand issues of identity and gender roles in domestic situations more deeply,. I use a range of methods to do this;
fantasy inventions, imagining different ways that women might respond to this predicament (eg. What the Chamber Maid Saw).
blogging about my experiences as a way of observing and instigating changes in my own situation.
I get into character for doing the school run, and observe myself breathing life into the role. This in itself is a creative process.
The process of making the work, reflects the content. This self reflexive approach is fascinating and suffocating.
I try to tune into the details – details are what connect us – I remember the way someone moves their eyes when they speak, or their hands – this is how we see life. I try to go beyond the overlooked familiar and find information in the details of the dirt, dust and detritus we leave behind.
I look for clues about people's private and public identity as symbiotic qualities. I consider this in terms of 'truth', 'fact' and 'memory' – all of which are shifting and unstable, and yet somehow determine our sense of identity.
I like the voyeuristic quality to my work. It is in some ways a side effect of what I do, although it may also be the major factor. We are compelled to peer into lit windows at night time, and gain an internal sense of satisfaction and power from doing so. I enjoy the feeling of power from provoking this need in others, and the ambiguity about the 'truth' of what I am presenting.
Writing lists, keeping records of all the domestic planning and co-ordinating
I plan to develop my own time-use study on Twitter
Initiating a new network for parents who are artists – APT = Artists Parents Talking
