Buckinghamshire New University

As well as thinking about the final exhibition I have been making work up to the last minute. I have also been thinking about how this most recent work will lead into what I might do when the course is finished.

Following on from the casting process which has involved concrete, plaster and aluminium, I have been casting thin objects in paper using the pressure of a graphite pencil. These are presented as drawings. I like the concept of ‘casting in paper’. I learnt that casting a ready-made, such as a pair of scissors, is sometimes not enough. The object has to be what Duchamp termed ‘assisted’ or ‘rectified’ in order to draw the viewer in.

I finally used a plastic fish to make a cast. Using an object which is immediately recognisable and whose origins are organic is a new departure for me. I don’t know how I feel about this yet. Several questions arose from the process:

– Why not use the original plastic fish? What does casting it in aluminium do for the work?
– Does the piece seem like ornament and, if so, when do ornaments become art?
– Aluminium and leather are ‘rich’ materials. Are they too alluring?

My work after the course will have to develop without the use of the invaluable metal workshop. This will involve a whole new set of investigations with more readily available materials. Sometimes I don’t have to look too far for the simplest solutions as I found when making a cropped brush with two handles. It will be interesting to try more recognisable objects in different situations. Maybe this will push them too far and they will cease to be art.

A local gallery has asked me to consider work for London Art Fair. Another, in Suffolk, asked for my work to be in a show. This is exciting and gives me encouragement for the future.

This is the bit where everyone gets stressed out, including me! Just when I want to concentrate on thinking about how to exhibit my work other annoying things like the catalogue, the invites and organising the bar for the preview have to be dealt with. Not to mention also trying to send off proposals for galleries and residencies. No real work is getting done.

Everyone has been working so hard that the catalogue has been pretty much forgotten. So now we have a last minute panic on our hands together with the prospect of a botched job. Personally I think the invites are more important. One good thing is that I have been offered the chance to mail my own invitations to a wide audience through a local gallery that has occasionally exhibited my work. The gallery owner has also kindly offered to give some advice on how to exhibit my work once my space has been finalised.

I have up to twenty smallish sculptures that I would like to show as a collection. The collection would make a sort of museum effect which reflects the basis for my work. Some will go on the floor but others need to be seen at waist or shoulder height. The problem is how to best show them. I have thought of all sorts of options from building plinths from chipboard, to scaffolding and boards, to shelving brackets, using building blocks to support surfaces and to painting the floor to designate the area in which to place the work.

As for the drawings, I think I can negotiate a separate space for them, away from the sculptures. This would mean that neither would over shadow the other and the viewers would not make obvious comparisons.