Shadow Portraits
‘M’as -Tu Vue’ by Sophie Calle has arrived today – a book that I’ve been meaning to get for a long time. Her work fascinates me, she’s nosey and quirky, a brilliant combination.
I’ve been busy remaking Tom’s shadow portrait with old curtain material, it looks like a silky jacquard textile. A cut out in material is floppy (of course) and folds up well so I thought maybe it could go in a box. These photos are so simple but they’re kind of interesting in their own right (thanks for your input David Minton) I hadn’t really seen it that way before.
Other people’s impressions of the previous photos have been an eye opener. At this point in time feedback is absolutely critical to me and much appreciated.
I have to identify what is important about this project, or else it’s likely to go off at a tangent. Is that a good thing? After all, these are self imposed restrictions. Without these rules the project could go on and on and I’m eager to wrap it up. And I don’t want to be a bore.
It’s moved on now from simply being shadow portraits since involving the confessional aspect. Making these kind of decisions are crazy difficult, there’s no right or wrong.
And on with the Shadow Portraits.
This evening I took a full length shadow tracing. I asked my partner to stand next to the wallpaper and whilst I was tracing, to tell me something he hadn’t told me before. Which he did. I’ve decided a confession isn’t for sharing, it’s between myself and the shadow.
Now what to do next with the drawing… I toyed with the notion of recreating it in some way, (after all I have a template), and giving it back to the sitter. I thought of cutting it into silk but research revealed animals are harmed to produce this material (where else did I think it came from??). Browsing through Craft magazine today I noticed a garment made entirely out of spider silk. So, maybe white cotton instead. This requires some exploration.
Now I have a process. Trace the sitter, they confess, I remake their shadow out of something then I give it back to them. Maybe their shadow is some sort of effigy.
And… a genuine thankyou to everyone who has taken time out to read my posts. This blog began as a way to kick start my practice again; a daily post meant that I had to make new work. Years after an M.A, I had lost sight of any ambition or artistic direction but gradually, this blog has morphed into a replacement for a journal, it’s also become a space to work out what to do. For a long time I wondered if my words were just floating in space. It has been so rewarding to be able to engage with other artists; David Riley and Elena Thomas especially. It is difficult to put time aside to write a post everyday, read other posts and comment but it couldn’t be more worth it.
Shadow Portraits
This isn’t a great photo but I kind of like the murky quality. Tom’s shadow tracing is almost indiscernable against the cheapo chip board wallpaper. I asked him to tell me something he hadn’t told anyone else and he couldn’t confess anything save this;
The Rejected Twix or The Twix Stitch Up
“The captain yesterday, he’s a nice fella. When I served the lunch on their third sector I slipped in a Twix bar into his lunch box. Six hours later at the end of the flight at security he said “** are a bit funny about that sort of thing Tom, so I’m giving this Twix bar back to you”. So I had to go through security with this Twix bar in my pocket.”
I was hoping for something a bit juicier than that, so I will have to insist on a confession. Perhaps for each person the confession preceeds the shadow tracing which leads to a silk cut out, perhaps in exchange for secrecy? The tracing should be done whilst the person is talking and this would effect their stance…
Something I hadn’t expected; to be working things out with this blog.
Tonight I will be tracing a full body shadow onto wallpaper. This will give me the template on which to cut the fabric.
In regards to the ATM Family Portraits – I’ve spoken to a policeman and he says they have better things to do than concern themselves with some person taking arty photos next to an ATM. As long as you’re not snapping anyone’s numbers your OK. My friend has volunteered her family so all is looking good and I have a location in mind that I will check out tomorrow.
Shadow Portraits
With the new year brings a new approach to art making for me. Only recently I was advised to focus in completely on one or two projects rather than spreading myself too thin amongst a million ideas. I’ve taken this advice whole heartedly and have noticed an interesting turn in my work. It’s slowed down considerably. Before, I was going at it a hundred miles an hour, enthused and excited by the prospect of beginning a new ‘thing’. As a consequence I never resolved any work.
This change of pace has been a real boost but feels unfamiliar: I’ve forced myself to confront what it is that kept me going in the first place. To resolve something is to say that it is finished, complete. That’s what I’ve been avoiding. For me the most exciting part of my work is the beginning when it’s still new and there are lots of possibilities.
Continuing work on the shadow portraits… Initially I thought it might be a interesting to knit a black shadow but my reservations were proved; the knit was too clunky and inprecise – it couldn’t match delicate contours. This photo shows a fabric cut out and I think works. This project is morphing into two parts; wall shadow tracings and cut out fabric tracings.
Quite often I don’t know why about these things, it seems to be intuitive, but I want to give the fabric cut out to the sitter. I’ve asked myself why the fabric should be black like a shadow, maybe white silk would be a more interesting alternative. Then what does the sitter do with it? What is it for?
Ahhh, s p a c e…
After a massive cleanout of office and studio the head clearing effects of new space is not to be underestimated. I’ve got rid of all my junk and all the junk that I thought I would one day do something with but never managed to so far. Gone.
The prospect of a new year and new possibilities is still with me.
I’ve been doing some preliminary research and logistics regarding the ATM project. Elena has suggested that I could take photos somewhere busy like Ikea that has plenty of families using ATMs, but issues with finding obliging participants and reassuring them that I’m not recording their pin numbers would be very difficult. Instead, I think photographing my family would be easier. Next I need to find a good location. Stay posted.
Here’s a pic of an ongoing cathartic project in the meantime… each layer contains the details of a missed project/ idea. Out with the old and all that. In a way it releases the project.
I’ve just received my copy of Drawing Projects by Black Dog Publishing, what a great book I thoroughly recommend it and also a brilliant publishing house. Mmmmm… the smell of a new book!
I’m getting on with the Shadow Portraits at the mo, knitting the shape of a shadow. Just investigating whether a knitted piece can produce an accurate enough silhouette of a face and body contours.
