So last week I spent some time in the archives with Neil, the museum curator and although part of my proposal was based on using objects from the archives in a sculptural context, he isn’t letting me used any out in the open in the gallery. I suppose that this is understandable but throws my work into a bit of a quandary. I can use things but they have to be locked up in a cabinet which really defeats the kind of work I wanted to do. I did say that I wanted to use some of the objects in the archives to experiment with, playing with things until things work and I have found a piece that I’m happy with. Needless to say that I don’t think that Neil was involved in any part of the decision process when choosing artists for the residency.
I was able to take some things from the archives though, and it’s the boxes that they use to keep objects in to store them. When I was first allowed in the archives alone, I noticed was the vast amount of cardboard boxes in different styles, colours and shapes. I had used cardboard a lot in previous work so it’s no surprise that I’m still attracted to it: I previously used it as a material which was free/cheap to paint on/ sculpt and I remember being heavily influenced by Rauschenberg’s transition from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art whilst doing this. What I’m interested in with the archive boxes is the formal values: the shape and size and the composition of these in the gallery space. The boxes also evoke memory and absence as I’m not concerned for the actual objects themselves. But it’s also looking as to why we value certain objects over others either in a personal or collective historical reason. The boxes could be thought of as a nostalgia metaphor maybe, possibly similar to Rachel Whiteread’s interest when she was working on Embankment... I’m also reminded of Martin Creed’s Work No. 878 and his simple stacking and ordering of boxes.
Other things I’ve taken out are rolls of bubble wrap, some new display cabinets that are still packaged up, some clear acrylic display cubes and also the packaging for a massive plasma screen TV that sits at the front of the Loom at the entrance in the mill.
