It does make a difference having an opportunity to work in a large space – to lay out work, see progress and detours, noticing interrelations. All which is part of developing new work.
Composing material in space is like negotiating; agreement or compromise.
In occupancy, the space would be layered with offers, obligations, consent and disagreement. What does it mean to confront the space or making use of its language?
Since the space is empty, I keep imagining rectangular surfaces. Ultimately, the shapes are derived from desks and meeting tables that would normally inhabit the space. Playing again with 2d and 3d dimensionality the rectangles I use appear as if cut out of sheet material.
Placing cardboard on inward or outward facing corners of the plain walls let the surfaces float at table height. However where the rectangle edge hits the corner’s vertical line it gets cut off and the separated part falls down or folds around the corner. I have experimented with various sets using coloured cardboard and vinyl veneer at different corners in the space.
I recurrently think of distorting – a process of pulling and twisting, of separating and disintegrating and of changing appearance. The alterations of an original format can be read as deforming, shaping, possibly misrepresenting or simply improvising. The sheet material physically adjusts to the layout of the space by being distorted hence changing direction. In fact, it playfully works around restrictions.
