UCS

I have decided to keep exploring the displaying of my make-up wipes to see what works and what doesn’t I feel they have potential with my work as it has this really personal link.

I decided to go with the idea of attaching them together, similar to the hammock piece I made. I decided that with every wipe I had collected so far, to attach them to my studio wall one by one next to each other to create a massive square canvas of them. This I felt gave the illusion of one massive wipe, all these days combined together as one. I thought this worked well as one big piece as it showed every wipe but also more as a piece created from the wipes. This go mt thinking, maybe I need to start creating pieces through combining collections together.

Therefore, next with an old umbrella I took it apart to leave just the frame which would be used as my frame. I wanted to create my own umbrella using my wipes. The plan was to make the entire umbrella out of wipes. However when I thought about it, to contrast each panel it would surely be better to use another material to differentiate between each, to produce a stronger piece.

Looking at all of the items I had collected so far, I thought the receipts could be interesting to use. They are personal to me as they show my purchases, the same as the wipes being personal to me. I made each panel – four with wipes and four with receipts. The receipts I initially planned to stich them together. However due to the thin material of the paper I wasn’t sure how secure it would be so decided to use a glue gun instead as a more stable option. I stitched the 8 panels alternatively together and attached them to the frame to create this umbrella. I wasn’t sure how well it would actually work, however I was surprised at how well it didnt actually hold together and creatde quite an interesting piece. Turning used, waste items into something new and exciting!

After working with these wipes and receipts I have decided that my collections do really work when used to make something new through these personal links to me. For example I could make clothing which I could wear, or objects to do with me. I feel this would push the idea of showing myself through collecting and hopefully will be successful. I feel the wipes and receipts become far more interesting when used to actually create something and therefore the display is made far more intriguing.

I have decided to collect my used make-up wipes. Doing this has took my work a lot more personal than I first imagined but I feel like they could be interesting used in my work due to that personal link with them. I decided to explore different ways of displaying them and what effect that can have on how we view them. By doing this it allowed me to see what made them look more effective and hopefully give me ideas on how to next explore them.

I originally attached them to the wall individually letting them hang down to show each wipe as its own and hung some on the string attached across my space with pegs to symbolise a washing line. This created a a space where each wipe was displayed as its own although all looking very similar. This gave quite an enclosed feeling in a way as you looked up you were surrounded by the wipes.

I next stitched some together in rows of two which when hung from my space created a piece resembling a hammock. I felt that with my old wipes being attached like this is gave it something more. They weren’t now just wipes, they had been used to actually create something…it was like they had been recycled and turned into something new.

This reminded me of Alexandra Bircken’s work where she stitches together the gussets of tights. I feel this relates back to the abject feel towards my make-up wipes. Although these tights generally speaking are not a disgusting piece of material, the thought of someone having already worn them could bring that abject feeling similar to my make-up wipes, with the thought of the make-up wipes with that close contact with the skin.

I began to think of other ways I could create collections – still being personal to me, which perhaps would not involve objects directly like my work seems to be doing, but something that would portray me somehow.

My first initial idea was to take a photograph of something relating to me on each day, such as my breakfast every morning or my view at every hour. I thought about the idea of using photography initially, but then thought why don’t I draw instead as I enjoy drawing and it would give my own personal touch this way of how I record those images with mark makings. I decided I would do a drawing of my view point of every hour of the day I was awake (except weekends due to work commitments).

Therefore I began with these small A5 drawings at every hour of the day I was awake no matter where I was I would take a sketch of what I saw. Depending on the time limit I had, of what I was doing at the time of drawing, would therefore reflect the mark makings made and the expressive marks shown.

I had been doing this for about a week when I had a tutorial with Sam. We talked about my series of drawings I was creating. We spoke about how my drawings changed from the first day I did started, up until the most recent. We found they were beginning to lose the energy they had when I first started. The mark makings became less and less, the objects were beginning to become just shapes, and the view points weren’t as interesting as I had previously captured. Why I hadn’t I noticed this before? I feel it is due to me becoming so involved in a piece of work and carrying it out to the fullest that I do in fact forget to stop and take time just to look and reflect at what is going on with my work.

As much as I like the idea of having this collection of drawings that show my view point of every hour of every day, the reality is, it soon becomes tedious. I knew it had as I wasn’t enjoying the drawing as much as I was. I should have took this as an indication. I mentioned about how I now want my work to mirror me as much as possible and how I want to portray myself through my work. Did I actually need this strict routine that I had set myself like previously when collecting those shoes?

Although I was drawing my view at every hour, none of my drawings show people – obviously I would see people throughout my days. I just avoided drawing them as I do not enjoy drawing them. Therefore this meant that my view at every hour theory was not actually as accurate as it should have been, indicating that my work relates more to the everyday. Perhaps just more tailored to what suits me at times, like for example, the excluding of people.

The everyday and ready-mades are more what my work is about through my collections, rather than this strict routine I had put upon myself. With taking away this strict routine it will hopefully allow me to go back to enjoy the mark makings I am creating and explore the ready-made and everyday more. I plan to do this from the still lives I see on a day to day basis, without it needing to be such a chore. Scale would therefore be something I could explore with my expressive mark makings, still exploring my view but not as controlled and exploring the medium as well.

I now have realised my collections need to have a personal meaning to me for me to really understand them, such as the train tickets and receipts, so I have began collecting frog ornaments…

Ever since I was a child I have always collected frog items, whether it be toys or ornaments. As I felt my collections involving objects I had collected through rules weren’t really working for me, I hoped this closer collection would bring in a more personal link and help me explore display more.

I hoped my work would really begin to take shape and interest me. However I had these frog items which I played around with arranging them and putting them in different places, however something still wasn’t clicking like it should be. I felt I had hit a wall. I knew I wanted my collections to explore display and knew I now wanted them to be personal to me. I just wasn’t getting anywhere. what am I really trying to say within my work?

I began thinking about what artist’s interest me, and I was thinking about Damien Hirst’s work and how no-one appears to understand why he has arranged objects like he has or even used those objects. It is only once you begin to learn about his work and the deeper meaning behind the work that they really begin to make sense. Even without knowing what his collections of objects are meant to show, just by looking at his work you begin to get your own judgements about what you see and think. I also like the shock and abjection factor a lot of work has such as Hirst’s, Roth’s, Emin’s and Franco B’s. This is when I realised my collections had to be personal to me but also maybe involve me in them more. So I needed to be creating work such as ones involving make-up wipes which contains remains of me on them. It has to be a self portrait of me. It has to portray myself through my collecting perhaps investigating abjection through it as well as the display. This is what I will now explore.

A friend gave me a large collection of bottle tops she had collected herself from working in a pub. I separated them to begin with as this was what I instinctively thought to do, to distinguish colours and shapes. Using the Newcastle Brown tops, I made a star representing the star on the top of the bottle top. This was my original thought of what to do with the bottle tops and it did give quite an eye pleasing image on my studio wall.

However I began to lose interest with these bottle tops and did not really know what I wanted to do with them, or what I was trying to show with them. I believe it was down to them not having a personal link to me, similar to what the spoon and now I think about it, the shoes lacked too. These collections just appear to be sitting in my space not really doing a lot…