Here’s a short video intended to be seen as a loop running alongside the Gimme Shelter material. It’s based on a childhood experience of suddenly seeing my bedroom upside down. It may or may not represent the psychological landscape inside the huts. The title comes from the Smog/Bill Callaghan song of the same name.
Teenage Spaceship 2mins 2 secs
All has been quiet over Christmas due to flu and the fact that college closed early due to snow meaning I couldn’t access my work, I had started a series of drawings which I had hoped to continue; now all hell breaks loose. Dissertation first draft has to be in this week and the first big practical module assessment happens in 10 days time.
Our studio spaces are generous by most standards but still limited for showing, we get to spread out a little more for the degree show.
The plan for this assessment is to show 4 of the models, 3 on individual shelves, one on an old cabinet which seems to suit. There’ll be 4 sets of doctored Estate Agent’s details, 4 drawings and 4 hipstamatics. I’m still sourcing lightbox materials for the Hipstas so they may have to be shown as prints in the interim. The different formats should reinforce each other and set up some interesting visual rhymes.
Having a dialogue with Richard Taylor over the last couple of weeks has really made me focus on the formats and how they affect the resonances the work produces and I’d like to research that more in time. I’ve been wondering what would happen if I drew individual sheets of corrugated iron, doors, windows etc and then assembled them into hut models. I’ve always thought of the models as drawings anyway, I’d love to see what happens and what happens when they’re in turn photographed. So much to do so little time. It’s funny, I’m not very good at drawing traditionally (ie with a pen or pencil on paper) from my imagination. Yet I had no problem producing the 3D models from my imagination and have then been able to draw them. Strange.
Finally, I’m editing an enigmatic little video from the interior of my childhood home which chimes with the memory resonances of the hipstamatics and may or may not represent the interior of the huts. I’ll try and post details this week though priority has to be with the assessment at the moment. Meanwhile here are some hipstas of the ballpoint drawings.
Something of a creative hiatus this week; we all went to London for a spot of gallery bashing. Loved Mike Nelson’s Coral Reef, Fiona Banner’s amazing aircraft and Rachel Whiteread’s drawings at Tate Britain, also Rosa Barba’s great projector/film installation at Tate Modern. Came away with loads of ideas, particularly about presentation.
Today through the snow to Oriel Davies in Newtown, a likely venue for the virtual exhibition at the heart of my dissertation. Director Amanda Farr was really generous with her time despite having to defrost steps and help out in the cafe due to staff shortages. She has also given me loads of images and plans of the gallery which will be really useful.
The gallery is currently showing a beguiling light installation by Simon Fenoulhet who won the fine art prize at this year’s National Eisteddfod, and an atmospheric video/sound collaboration by Leona Jones and Richard Higlett.
Next week is about work on a first draft of the catalogue essay for the dissertation, and preparing for formative assessment the following week.
A week spent grappling with the dissertation and shooting and editing video.
Next week we have a group trip to London, the idea is to hit as many galleries as possible in three days. Looking forward to the Turner prize stuff and Mike Nelson’s Coral Reef at Tate Britain, also want to see the Turrel show.
At the end of the week I’m visiting Oriel Davies in Newtown to meet Amanda Farr, the director. Oriel Davies looks a likely venue for the virtual exhibition which is the basis of the dissertation.
I now have four short videos of shelter building with deliberately inadequate materials, the last shot in six inches of snow in the abandoned Dinorwic quarry above Llanberis in the heart of Snowdonia.
The one I’ve attached here was shot in woodland above the village of Llanfairfechan.
Gimme Shelter – shelter building
A video afternoon.
The huts tip-toe around the rather nostalgic, more sentimental and romantic aspects of home. I’d like the project as a whole to also deal with some of the darker themes such as ownership, encroachment and the universal need for shelter. To this end I’ve been building more life-size shelters, firstly round the back of the studio using pallets and carpet, and then in the woods with deliberately inadequate materials. I’ll try and post some of the video later this week when I’ve had a chance to edit it. In the meantime here are some stills including a shot, left off the last post, of one of the huts on the road.
