A couple of discussions this week have made me re-assess my work and have suggested ways of moving it forward. I need to question the materials which I am using and I need to think about the validity of casting ready-mades. I am also planning my life in art after graduation.
After my preliminary presentation this week I was asked whether I would consider using materials to which I was not naturally drawn. Up till now I have used materials such as concrete, steel and cloth which I find attractive because of their luxury feel. A couple of months ago I made a work from a plastic bag which was a material that had been chosen for me to work with within the context of a workshop. Now I think I am ready to try this material again and perhaps to use it in conjunction with something which is more familiar to me.
I went to a very good talk by an artist at the China Shop in Oxford. He was using found materials and objects. Some interesting methods of printing were employed, such as driving trucks over plastic and using plaster to cast texture from found material. This very thoughtfully delivered talk questioned the value of casting. Why should a ready-made be cast when the original object could just as easily be used? This is a question I have to ask myself when deciding to cast either in concrete or aluminium.
Life after college is so close now. I am putting in proposals for the Milton Keynes Showcase and for a couple of residencies elsewhere. I have read numerous statements from artists who have successfully secured residencies. I am astonished at the density of the jargon in many of these. This results in a lack of clarity and in some cases suggests that the artist has no rational basis in terms of understanding their practice.
