After reaching the deadline on Friday, the very last thing to do to finish my degree was a short presentation of my work to the teaching staff before they begin the long task of marking everyone´s work. It felt almost like an afterthought, which I had almost forgotten about whilst solely focused on the end point of installing the final show´s work.
5 minutes is a short time, and although this presentation is not graded, it still felt important to try to give an idea of what is behind my practice, in a clear and concise way. However, it can be difficult to get across exactly what you want to say in these circumstances! I know that is something I must aim to get better at, as it is important to be able to talk about your work and give it the credit it is due.
It of course does feel strange having now finished, and without exact plans for the future, but it is a time to reflect on this project before what may come next. This last project/installation created has been different in terms of length of preparation and installation, which has naturally changed the outcome. I would like to spend time thinking about this and how that might influence future work.
For now though, it is back to the reality of everyday life outside degree show preparation….
Arriving at the beginning of the last day before the project deadline, I am eager to finish up all those last small details. Sometimes these are the things which take up so much time! In the end, it is sensible to remember things do not always turn out as expected and a bit of flexibility needs to be had. That being said, most things have gone to plan in installing/creating my work for the final show.
Today is just about tidying up, making sure I have all the relevant documentation/coursework required and documenting the installation. I should have enough time today to spend a bit looking at object placement, trying different combinations – this is really helpful to do to make the best use of the space relative to what I have on the walls.
I also did a bit of object placement away from the exhibition space yesterday – I have been planning to get one of the objects I have made for the installation out onto the street, to see how it related to that context. It is maybe not quite as I expected, as the object has turned out so similar to the original source image. However, it was useful to take it out of its studio context – something to think about for the next project maybe….
Less than a week until the end of this project and it has been a very productive time. I have been extremely lucky to have had a lot of help from some students from the year below – they can gain an insight to what goes on in the lead up to the final degree shows so are asked to help out in our preparations. It has been brilliant in that the work on the installation has gone a lot quicker than expected. Sometimes though, it can be hard to be able to let go and let people help you. I am very used to doing everything for myself, so it has been a bit strange directing things. This then makes you think a bit about who creates the work – the planning and the majority of it has been completed by me, but now with my “assistants” it has become a semi-collaborative effort. I like this however and has definitely aided the process.
I have made a lot of progress and as the deadline nears, I am confident in finishing everything as I would like. Of course, the more time you have, the longer something takes, but there is a point where you must finish and that will be soon.
Today I took some time out to visit friends and step back from all the hard work last week. I spent time making sure the other work for my submission is ready too, as this is every bit as important as the final show.
I am looking forward to finishing but with a bit of sadness as that will mark the end of my university degree and for now, a place to work in.
