I’m not doing a good job with keeping this blog updated, this blog might be like the buses, Wait along time for one…’ etc.
Probably the most frustrating part at the start of the project was waiting for the CRB check to come through, though I had a valid one from a project with Essex County Council (Why can’t each individual have a universal form which is voided once a criminal offence is committed.).
The project is going very well, over the past two months the staff and students have made me feel very welcome.
Managed to get along too two practical science lessons with the horticultural students, which I found really interesting. Some of the science terminology went way over my head (memories of A-level Geology) but what I did enjoy was recognizing the amount of looking involved within this field of science. This helped to realise better the importance of the work I’m doing, engaging them with visuals, encouraging looking.
Last week I held a talk with a small group of Writtle Colleges digital art students, which revolved around the project and my own practice, tutored by Ruth Catlow and Michael Szpakowski.
Lucky! this years Autumn fall was one over the longest and most colourful witnessed for a long time. This gave me ample to time to compile a varied array of audio and visual recordings. Though luck still played a huge part when recording drum sounds.
Material generated so far; two time lapse videos, 4 different thermal imagery video footage’s (wasn’t aware of how hot branches are compared to external temperatures.), some straight forward video recordings (nice audio of wind rustling the leaves), plus many hours of sound (most of which is silent but every-so-often you a ‘boing’.
Constructed a total of four octagonal drums which decrease in size (the largest roughly 1.3m), acting like Russian dolls, one fits inside the other for easy storage. Quite like the notion of – get your drums out when the Autumn fall arrives.
I’m currently preparing for an interim screening of my video work this Thursday, give the staff and students a chance to view where the work is at.Also it gives me the chance to have a play with the early formation of the final installation.
After Thursdays exhibit the next steps will be to work closely with Ron and Margret so I can fully understand the processes occurring internally within the leaves during senescence. So when I go about deconstructing my video work I can try to interpret or animate the natural processes.
A recent evolution within my work has been exploring the visuals generated through projecting my video imagery onto the tools which were constructed to create the work. With a previous residency ‘footfall’, I constructed a 6m catwalk which was used to record visually and audios generated from footfall, the catwalk was then incorporated within the final installation, turned 90 degrees and projected onto. The drums used created for this project will also be turned upright to be used as the screens.
I Have been maintaining a visual diary throughout the project on my own website
www.timskinner.co.uk
