Construction Project Day #8
I started the day by continuing to work on a paper based piece that I had started a previous day (Day 6). As the tip-ex dried on top of the photo paper it gradually started to peel away and come off. I documented this process, before tipping off all the tip-ex shards and revealing the photo of my light sculpture I had originally covered over.
I then moved on to create some sculptural work; as with previous works, I have used materials available to bm from in and around my studio. Mirrors, coloured acrylic sheets and sticklights feature heavily. Reflections, saturation, material quality and form are important elements within this particular piece.
I thought about all the little details of the piece and all the materials together. It is important to me that they work as a unit. I started to consider elements of certain materials that I had used that were ordinary, such as the white electrical cables (standard – not adapted by an artistic mind). So I thought about covering the cables in gold leaf and/or other reflective materials to work in harmony with my other material choices. I opted for gold glitter as I had it available in my studio – after all this is the aim of the project – to use materials that are handy.
Construction Project Day #7
Back to the drawing board… literally!
By using my photographs of pre-existing/past work and working on top of them, I have created ideas and/or proposals for new works. See if you can recognize any of the images or pieces?
In the image below I have used grey electrical tape to cover the fluorescent bulbs on the photograph, stopping where the cables start to appear.
For this second image, I covered my light-work Tempo with sticky mirror; this lead me to think about what the work may look like if I was to develop it further using additional materials like mirrors, etc.
In this third image, I tried to discover what my colour-behind-acrylic would look like if isolated in a white field or space. Taking a photograph of past work “Dispersion of White” and using white paint to edit out the cables and other visual distraction.
The forth and final image again takes the notion of covering over an original work to create something completely different. This time I took tip-ex to create the white puddle. The substance seemed to have a really interesting reaction to the photo paper and started to peel, an unexpected element to the work, but it does not upset me.
I aim to continue with this line of testing as well as taking the work back into spatial arrangements.
Construction Project Day #6
Do you remember the work I made for ‘On Brown & Violet Grounds’ at Piccadilly Place, Manchester last September called ‘Dispersion of White‘? On Day 6 I revisited this particular piece and attempted to expand on some of the ideas within it. ‘Dispersion of White’ opened up a dialogue between the work and the practice of painting.
I made a cylinder from a 50cm x 50cm sheet of thin frosted acrylic which I then encased several fluorescent lamps within. An area of this colourful assortment of fluorescent sticklights have therefore been hidden, allowing the hues to blend together in a painterly fashion and hiding the ugly end caps from view. The coloures bleed into each other without any clear delineation. The robust form of the sticklights stick out from the acrylic sheet, acknowledging the inner workings of the light construct.
As the viewer moves around the work, different combinations of colours can be seen, each view with its own intricate combinations.
Later in the day I moved the frosted cylinder up to the middle of the bulbs. I would like to try this again but with the whole length of the lamps covered. My only concern, and I don’t mind admitting this – is that aesthetically it works but it does remind me of a contemporary lighting/design feature. Back to the drawing board?
Finally, I ended the day by allowing four sheets of neon coloured acrylic panels to fall onto the floor near to the center of the vertical sculpture. The reflection of the lights differed (in colour) depending of when you stood in the studio.
Construction Project Day #5
Moving away from circular bulbs for the day and instead I concentrated on strip lights. My natural inclination was to hang them from the ceiling in different configurations in order to find out and test which colour arrangements had the most affect on the surrounding area.
I laid mirrored disc’s underneath the hanging bulbs to increase the volume of light produced and also to reflect each lamp (I used one mirror for each bulb – laying it directly under the vertical sticklight).
I thought it was important to gather the cables together instead of allowing them to hang individually and in a more random fashion. I think formally the overall ‘structure’ feels more finished this way. I considered letting them hang loose, but after trying it I decided a more deliberate and neatly arranged gathering of wires felt more me. The sporadic formation of the bulbs (different heights and spaces between) juxtaposed wonderfully with the neatly tires cables.
I climbed under the work, laid on the floor to take an image of what it would be like if the ceiling was taller and the lights were to hang above viewers heads.
Finally, I thought about different reflective surfaces to place directly under the light arrangement. The below image illustrates a brushed aluminium sheet (50cm x 60cm approx.). I prefer this to the mirrors as it references the surrounding space in a more subtle way. Ideally I would like to cover the entire floor with a material like this and increase the scale of the whole work – including adding more hanging bulbs.
Construction Project Day #4
I’m starting to feel like I’m on a role now. I don’t mean that in a cocky way, I am just relieved that things are moving forward.
Day 4, in my opinion has been my most successful yet (you might disagree). I really excited about the possibilities with this work/idea. I think it has quite a few miles in it. I started my making quick attachments to hang to bulbs to the wall using an improvised method with cable ties, paper clips and drawing pins!!! I hung each bulb thinking about the height, position on the wall and in relation to other coloured lamps.
As with previous days work, I documented this piece in both black and white.
The colour mixing happening on the white wall behind the bulbs was of particular interest to me (as always). When documenting the piece, I paid particular attention to the hues and how the colours interacted with each other.
The multucoloured hues being thrown off the bulbs and onto the surrounding areas. i.e. the floor also is very important to the work and the experince of the work as a viewer. The brightness of the T9 circular florescent bulbs saturate whatever and whoever may step near the work, flooding and colourating everything in its path.
Later in the day I tried pushing the work as far as I can by adding other elements. I laid circular mirrors on the floor to emulate the shapes on the wall. These discs also acted as a surface for the lights to be reflected in, creating another dimension to the work.
I then tired masking the direct light by adding a mirror to the wall piece, positioned in font of the bulb. This helped spread the light and allowed for further reflections of the space to take place. However, I did not like how the mirrors reflected, therefore highlighted the viewers looking at the work, like voyeurs. Similarly, the same inevitable reflected occured when I placed the mirrors behind the bulbs.
Last but not least I added another formal element: paint.
