Recently I have been looking back at the crisis commission exhibition of 2012. Artists such as Yinka Shonabare, Anthony Gormley, Tracy Emin, Gillian Wearing and Jonathan Yeo created works to raise awareness and money for the homeless charity Crisis. Although many of the artists’ work in a very different way to myself, the content and spirit of the work is very much in line with my own.
I have already commented in a previous post on the contribution of Jonathan Yeo and my appreciation of his work, but another contributor to the exhibition also has direct links to my work. Gillian Wearing’s piece Craig is a small 45cm realist bronze sculpture of a former soldier who became homeless after returning from the war in Afghanistan. Wearing herself describes the work as a “sculpture/monument”. Craig turned to drink when trying to adjust to civilian life which in turn led to him becoming homeless. With the help of Veterans aid he was able to turn his life around and in return for the support he received he now works as a volunteer tutor for Crisis.
Wearing tells Craig’s story in a plaque under the statue. Her sculpture and photographic works often include text and they work well for her. As she says herself
“I see all of my work as a portrait of people and the individual stories and experiences they go through.” http://www.theguardian.com
With the use of text, Wearing can tell these stories in a precise and succinct way. There is a danger that being so literal can make the works seem a little one dimensional and not give the viewer room to contemplate and the chance to make their own minds up. Wearing though is a confident artist and her art is visually interesting enough to stop it being overwhelmed and dominated by the text that accompanies or is included in the work.
Although I would not like or feel the need to have such a literal explanation to accompany my work I do feel an affinity with Wearing’s 3d works. She uses a realist style which I feel is important when talking to and about ordinary people. In common with the content of my current output her work often includes the underdog, the ordinary and the unnoticed person.
The realist approach is popular with the general public and with a realist style she makes sure that the people she depicts are not excluded from the appreciation and discussion of the finished work. The realist approach is one I am confident with. I would feel uncomfortable if the people I am trying to portray were to feel alienated by the end product.
“Your World could come crashing down at any time” – Yinka Shonibare interview link below:
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/feb/1…
The Crises Commission Private View
Video Stills
In my previous work I have always worked from my own primary sources. Working from secondary sources somehow seemed less valid, as if it were a short cut, a way of cheating perhaps. However, I have come to revise my opinion. For this project the main drive has always been the issues and preconceptions made by the public and media on the homeless community, therefore, I began to look more at how the homeless were presented in the media and in turn began using video stills as source material through various found interviews and footage. The idea of taking my own images has become less essential. I found that if I was to use this method to gather material, I would be loading them with my own opinions rather than letting the issue speak for itself.
I have found video footage to be much more revealing and honest in comparison to a staged photograph taken by a photographer. The interviews I have been using have been shot in the persons own everyday environment where they are most comfortable and able to talk more freely about their lives and the issues that affect them. I am able to choose, edit and select from a huge and diverse range of subject matter. The interviews are providing invaluable information which is contributing to my understanding of the person I am depicting. The stories, the issues they talk about, their families, friends, this information perhaps would not be revealed without the aid of a video camera and the prospect of a wide broadcast. These people seem ready and compelled to tell their stories.
Of course this does not happen by luck, the film maker has obviously invested much time, effort and skill in eliciting these stories. This process is of course part of my interest, how the media react and interact with people in crisis can help shape public perception. So why make an artwork from this rather than just direct people to the video? Well, there is an advantage in choosing an appropriate moment, a still from a filmed interview or scene which can then be transformed into a painted artwork.
The time taken to paint a moment is much lengthier than the time taken to film it. There is also the thought, decision making and contemplation which in turn takes much time when creating a painted piece. Somehow this time, care and attention seems to become engrained in the work itself which will hopefully also have an effect on the viewer. The viewer is given a chance to ponder, linger and contemplate a look, an unguarded expression or a moment which could have gone unnoticed in even a very short filmed piece.
Political Aspect
My concerns and feelings about social issues had never previously been addressed through my art.
Over the duration of the course so far my thoughts have gradually evolved to the point where I now believe that my work could be used as a way of addressing my disquiet about injustices and inequality in our own society and worldwide.
The problem of homelessness had always concerned me and even more so since people around me of my own social group and age had begun to experience difficulties in keeping a roof over their heads. Housing shortages, unemployment, high priced rent, short term private lettings and lack of tenants’ rights has put many more people, even those in full time employment at risk of homelessness.
Homelessness is nowadays not just about those that sleep rough on the streets. Many people, families, couples, single people, employed and unemployed can find themselves living a transient and nomadic life with no permanent place to call home. I am of course not alone with my uneasiness about this situation, but what can we do? We can volunteer to help agencies and charities that deal with the homeless, but are we just treating the symptoms and not the cause? We can vote, but why bother? No political party so far has shown the will or ability to deal with the problem.
Public opinion is a very strong persuader for those in government to bring about change, but what can we do to make people think about the issues and in turn make their opinions clear to those in power? It is difficult to make your voice heard, but keeping quiet is not an option. This is where I do have some kind of platform, however small. I don’t wish to turn my project into a campaign or to shape the way people think, rather I can present and publicise the issue to as many people as I can reach and allow them to think for themselves. I have been trying to keep a certain neutrality to my work on this issue, although I realise that even in choosing to tackle this subject matter I am giving away the fact that it is a topic that concerns me.
To see what was possible with cement on board I drew a small portrait from a source image I believe has some potential onto the cement covered mdf.
I marked out the areas I wished to cut away. Bad girl that I am I began to scratch out the cement from these areas with an etching needle before common sense and wrist ache caught up with me and I resorted to a Dremel with the appropriate attachment. The Dremel is my new best mate.
Having cut away the marked areas I then painted in the dark tones. At the end of this stage I had enough information to gauge whether these materials and this approach could be judged a success.
There were problems, the scale of the board, the scale of the drawing and the tone of the mdf compared with the tone of the cement.
The discrepancy between the tone of the mdf and the cement can be easily remedied by painting or staining the board before applying the cement.
The scale of the board did not allow the cement to tell its own story and show off its texture and drama. I wasn’t unhappy with this as again the remedy is straightforward, it simply has to be scaled up.
The problem with the small drawing was that when carving into the cement a reasonable level of detail was unachievable due to the coarseness of the cement and the image with potential became less subtle and a delicate expression was turned into a lack of expression. Again the solution was plain and I believe by scaling up the drawing along with scaling up the board will overpower the coarseness of the cement and a much higher level of detail, nuance and expression can be achieved.
I was encouraged with this experiment and am excited by the prospect of working with another new and significant medium.
With the success of the earlier experiment with cardboard and the obvious associations of cardboard with homelessness, I began to think of other materials I could use that could be linked with my subject matter. The clear answer was the very stuff homes and buildings are made of. Of the many construction materials available I was called back to the cement of the Vhils portraits. The only problem was how to use it? The answer was flexible tile cement for wood. Virtually indistinguishable from the sand and cement used for render and mortar and perfect for spreading on sheet timber such as mdf.
Attached are two images of the cementing process.
Experimenting with texture.
Below these images are three mdf boards coated in cement. I had applied the cement differently to each board.
The first image shows a very rough and textured surface, similar to the kind of surfaces Vhils uses when working directly onto brick walls.
The second image shows a very smooth surface for perhaps a more delicate and defined portrait.
Finally the third image shows a ‘somewhere in between’ stage to see which level of texture gives the best effect.
