Continuing an investigation into lies and mythomania, I’ve begun writing snippets of overheard conversations directly onto wood chip wallpaper.
Documenting actual real life conversations has always intrigued me, but even more so, are the lies uttered by others. But I want to write lies about lies.
wood chip investigations
I took the wood chip down off the wall and traced out the folds, mapping out the lines that formed an encasing around the dead de-bobbler.
This photo shows the traced mapping laid over the de-bobbler.
I’m not sure what to make of it all just yet.
Anyhow, I have another line of enquiry which looks towards a tenuous connection between the wood chip ordinarilly being used to cover damaged walls, a deception of sorts and that of telling lies; mythomania.
wood chip investigations…
Right so I pasted two defunct objects under said wood chip wallpaper with kind of interesting results; I didn’t expect the folds to be quite so rough nor for it to be so photographic. I’m sure there is a way to do it beautifully, a bit like wrapping a present. But the paper is so easilly torn there is no give in it.
The first photo is of the de-bobbler and the second is of a dead pen. Looking at the photos now I think they would make more sense taken at a distance, perhaps with a strip of wallpaper mounted either side… The folds in the paper tell a narrative and maybe they are worth looking at in isolation.
wood-chip wallpaper
Wood-chip is the cheapo wallpaper that’s been in use since the 1920’s to cover all sins. It has been described as the enemy of mankind due to the virtual impossibility to remove.
This got me thinking along the lines of:
hiding, disguise, concealment, pretense, falseness and lies…
It would be great to write out lies onto wood chip. Then I thought about the confessional, but really people/ strangers (or anyone for that matter) wouldn’t want to write out a lie they had told. Perhaps it is more subtle to know why someone had told a lie.
Wood chip covers up the damaged and imperfect. I drew a broken de-bobbler machine and found the effect on the mark making interesting. But, much more interesting: paste broken objects under wood chip paper.
I’ve found an affinity with wood chip wallpaper. I think I’m drawn to it because of it’s associations with questionable taste (?) and that it’s often used to cover up a host of imperfections on a wall. It’s also a blank canvas on which to paint.
Attempting to draw onto the surface throws up a crop of issues – lots of tiny little wood chip bumps restrict any great detail but I think that is a great benefit, that’s the character of the medium.
Initially I’ve begun to make some really basic drawings, just shapes to begin with, exploring texture and possibilities. The idea of physical resistance interests me… I will be looking at resistance and the contextual setting around wood chip wallpaper to try and bring these two areas together.
