Staffordshire University

More experiments with Castor wheels and string, this time utilising an object that is commonly found in a gallery space; a plinth.

The attached images represent the experiments I worked on in the period between [OCCUPIED] & the degree show.

These experiments started off as a question, what would happen if I combined the string with Castor wheels?

What came of this was an artwork which played with the recent revelation of my work having an element of anthropomorphism and my ever present fascination with visual movement as I like to call it, suggesting movement through something that is stable.

I like to experiment as much as I can and learn through the process of making. It comes naturally to me. I employ research through practice as a method of working.

Degree show work.

So the strip of wood or groove in the concrete floor were never going to work because they would be visible, which in turn would detract from the illusion I was trying to achieve.

Therefore, I tried my original plan of using hidden joints to secure the temporary wall in an angled position. I used strong metal brackets to attach the temporary wall to the existing wall and long screws with the plugs to drill the temporary wall deep into the concrete floor.

The result was my vision which seemed very secure at first, but on the fifth or sixth inspection was in fact not as secure as I imagined and was a health and safety hazzard.

I had to reconfigure this wall in a way that it fit within the space, alongside the three other walls I have employed as part of this experiential installation.

The wall now sits horrizontal against the floor, whilst being attached to the existing gallery wall in a way that it seems like it has either fallen into or is emerging out of the gallery wall.

For the degree show, I want to have at least one ‘resolved’ work which encompasses the current interests and developments of my practice.

Looking back through the documentation photographs of my artwork, I came to realise a lot about the way I work and what my work communicates. I saw subtle elements of anthropomorphosis to which I was oblivious.

This element alongside the recent development of site specificity in my work have both informed my decision to work with what is present in every generic gallery space; walls, in particular temporary walls. With the degree show work I wanted to distort the gallery space in such a way that it challenges the preconceived perception viewers may have of a gallery space. The aim for the artwork is to direct the audience through the entrance space.

For one of the walls, I planned to have it at an angle resting against the wall and on castor wheels against the floor to cause an illusion of the heavy wall being rested on the small wheels that are, when used in this way, usually very uncontrollable in their movement.

Therefore, I tried experiments on a smaller scale to see how I could make this happen.

NOW, 2013.

I often use materials that have inherent historical significance, both in the art world and everyday life. However, for this artwork I found a large number of ‘NOW’ sale label rolls in a scrap store. These rolls had much more social, cultural and political significance due to the current state of the economy and the recession. It was a departure from what I have worked with before, in my practice

Aesthetic quality of the banal and what it could become through manipulation was the interest here. This material has so many possibilities and is something I wish to pursue experiments with in the future in my studio based practice, alongside the site specific experiments that are to be explored further from the knowledge I have gained from[OCCUPIED] and Bohemian.