This morning first thing I rang Ipswich Plastics to get a price for Acrylic, but I still was quoted about £500 for the pieces I need so I persuaded William to come with me and see what cheaper products they have.
Well, the default size of 8 X 4 ft( imperial rules still) could work. I could have 3 sheets of it and shuffle the prints up a bit at their edges.
So, I went up to my space and taped out the area with masking tape and then laid the prints withing the restrictions of 8 x 12 feet.
They did look a bit higelty-piglety and the maths of how much each print should overlap was doing my head in. I got feed back from my tutors . The concensus was that it would be better to remove a row of prints rather than compromise them by overlapping them.
Then David suggested that I made the piece central to the floor, rather than having it tucked under a wall with a space where, undoubtedly, people would chose to walk.
The prints are to be walked over. The metaphor of “the down trodden” and “the walked over and abused” needs to be exercised.
From the door, if the prints are central and facing out that way, there is an initial impact of a red carpet, until the work is then examined.
Once I had laid the prints like this, I suddenly felt relaxed. I will sleep tonight!
I have my 90 prints – in rows of 6 by 15 deep. I can use 4 sheets of the 8 x 4. That will leave enough space at the edges to be taped down with duct tape and as they will be central on the floor, people will have to walk over them.
I wonder if they will feel uncomfortable doing so?
And perhaps more so when they realise what the piece means…
As my prints will be on the floor and have the pressure of people walking over them, I turned my attention to the state of that. I started to chisel off lumps of blue tack which had been painted down last year and all manner of splodges and raised bits from this year. Getting a smooth finish will be a challenge – but I had a good go at it.
Next I need to take in some heavy duty polyfilla to even up ans smooth out some of the valleys and gouges!
