In the last blog I described the development of jewellery-like supports for a ‘primary, sculptural object’ that would take the form of a body plan of a human, but be made up of “elements of objects that support the management of the body: pharmaceuticals, containers for oils and lotions, rubber dial pads, plastic water bottles, etc.” I have been making these ‘primary’ objects over the past month in the studio.
When making them I have been thinking about particular women I admire in order to form their shape and make a decision about materials. This imbues the objects with a kind of power as if they were a totemic symbol. In addition, I have been researching the types of objects used to make worry dolls, necklace charms (jewellery again) and fertility symbols. My daily practice is different in that it now involves searching for materials on the street, in corner shops or online.
This bricolage/imaginative approach is an unusual way of working for me and took some time to get into. My studio is now a mess. But I am pleased by the strange character of some of the objects I have made so far.
Next: On Thursday I am meeting fellow Glasgow Sculpture Studios artist Alys Owen for my first resin casting session. We will cast one of the ‘women’ then.
This is the last week of my residency at Hospitalfield. In the last update I discussed my research into the possibilities of displaying object-based work:
“I’ve been researching techniques found in jewellery as starting points for thinking about hanging methods – clasps, rings, bolts and strings…this interest has something to do with thinking about an exhibition space as a body and the works as something this ‘body’ can wear.”
I have been doing lots of drawing to help me work out these ideas. I am eager to start making, but I am also aware that I want to exhaust all the possibilities on paper before my return to Glasgow, where I will have less time and space for this type of work.
The drawings show an object which I think of as a primary, sculptural object, being held in mid-air by ropes, pieces of metal that resemble bolts, clasps or loops, and chains.
The ‘primary’ object usually takes the form of a body plan of a human, but is often made up of elements of objects that support the management of the body: pharmaceuticals, containers for oils and lotions, rubber dial pads, plastic water bottles, etc. I am thinking of these in a loose way as the decorative part of a piece of jewellery – the statement.
It is important that the weight of the object is made clear in the way the support structure behaves and how the object sits within it.
I have also been looking at Eva Hesse’s larger sculptural work, especially ones in which lengths of material support other objects by allowing them to hang and sit in or on them.
JB
I am currently on residency at Hospitalfield, Arbroath, for four week period. The residency is housed in a beautiful arts and crafts building close to the sea. There are seven artists taking part, including myself. We eat together at set times and cross paths during the day, but work fairly separately. The combination of time alone in the studio and being able to discuss what we have been doing has been very useful.
I have been using the time and space here to reflect on the progress I’ve made already on the new, experimental works funded by the bursary.
Some thoughts:
I’ve been thinking about how to combine something that appears handmade with something that appears manufactured, rather like when something is owned by someone for a long time and the thing takes on an impression of how it is used.
I’ve been researching techniques found in jewellery as starting points for thinking about hanging methods – clasps, rings, bolts and strings. My work recently has been concerned with abstract body-forms, so I guess this interest has something to do with thinking about an exhibition space as a body and the works as something this ‘body’ can wear.
Making objects does not come as ‘naturally’ to me as making images, hence my desire to develop this side of my work. If image making is the ‘main’ strand of my practice, are objects simply props or supports for images? Is this because I see images as more descriptive and the objects I make as more abstract? This could be an oversimplification on my part. While I am here, I will continue to think about whether I want this to change, or whether this is non-issue, after all.
JB
Last month I finished an exhibition at Collective, Edinburgh. I then started work on making some new objects. I am trying to not be fixated on them being finished.
Having exhibitions is often, strangely, antithetical to progress as there is so much focus on the completion (or, end) of things. This show did include some hand/device-sized ceramic objects that, in their evident handmade-ness, have a tone of provisionality.
I am experimenting with processes that combine this quality with a support structure of manufactured forms and things.
I made a wall painting as part of the Collective show, which comprised prints of my body and words surrounding and contained by a neat oval shape. The oval was the centre and the support of the other elements, a kind of reduced body-form. Ovals appear on packaging for products that support the body and its processes, like pregnancy testing kits, Evian and Kleenex. It is a soft and digestible form, like a capsule. I am now thinking about how to translate this shape into a three-dimensional form.
JB
