Time is slipping away
So I am now back at the studios and have had a clear out in the space to focus on the objects and the final performance for the end of my residency. I am torn between two spaces the studio and the landing area, the studio is more appealing as it is cleaner and less cluttered although the landing area is more of a risk and I will need more support to install the work. The landing area is a larger space with a higher ceiling which would give the ladder more breathing room but I am not sure how or were to project the video. I feel I want to show both the video and do the performance in the same space and not split the work into different areas. I really need to find more bunting, I know I could try and make it myself but I like to use found objects in my work as this ties in with the place that they are from. When I was waiting for my connecting flight at Hong Kong airport I filmed a plane being prepared it was fascinating to me see how much work goes into this process. I was having a coffee and the window overlooked the area were the plane was and I filmed it by resting my camera on my laptop bag as I didn’t have a tripod. As it was being filmed through the glass there is a slight reflection and I have speeded the film up to emphasize the carefully orchestrated performance. The sound on the film is not so good but I may take the sound off and keep it purely visual.
I have found here in Chongqing and on my visits to different places the way people stack, order and display their goods really interesting. When we visited the old town in Chengdu up in the mountains I photographed a gap in-between two buildings were someone had stacked a variety of objects in a particular way. When I took this photograph people wanted to see what I was photographing and I think people thought it was unusual for someone to take a picture of such a thing. Over the New Year period we visited Ren Qian’s family and on the ground floor of the property they let the space out to an artist who is a sculptor. I found the way the objects were naturally placed in the space like an art installation and I could imagine seeing this in a gallery. This has got me thinking about context and how we read work as art if it is placed in a gallery or part of an exhibition or event. I showed a young girl Din Din Cat she was 18 and another local artist my work on my website and they found it confusing and difficult to understand it as art. Referring to context beyond the site and placement of art it just revealed to me how, education, travel, social and political influences in our everyday lives effect how we see art.
