I've mainly spent the past week preparing for the installation I'm planning to try out next from Tuesday to Friday of the week coming up. I've booked the installation space in the sculpture area of the studio for these days, and I'm trying to be sensible and plan in advance what I will need to do/bring etc, which I hope will mean I use the time more effectively. The planned installation involves balloons, cacti (the number of which is not yet fully decided, and is not likely to be until I can actually see how everything works in the space), and an electric fan (or maybe 2) with a timer plug. This will be the first time I've attempted to approach my ideas in this way, and I think I was influenced to try it by the Roman Signer exhibition I saw at the Hauser & Wirth gallery in February. The idea is that the viewer can enter the space, with the potential to influence the outcome – the situation will remain more or less ‘dormant' until the pre-set timer activates the fan(s), leading to a situation where the balloons and cacti may or may not come into contact. I'm interested in exploring how danger can be direct and immediate, or indirect, and in returning to the themes of how one object can impact on another, and of whether objects will behave predictably or not in these situations.
My first concern was how to position the objects in the space – should they be on the floor, or raised? In the latter case, should they be on white, gallery-style plinths, or should I be looking for domestic-type furniture? I went round Habitat and Homebase, looking at what sorts of tables were available, and trying to work out whether I would be able to afford to go down this route (assuming I can't get anything suitable at home or in a charity shop). There are some ok looking tables for around £25, but whether this would be a viable option really depends, I decided, on how many would be required, and really I should look at ways of doing it without spending this kind of money. I toyed with the idea of enquiring about whether they had any ex-display furniture I could borrow (this was more in case I should decide to do something like this for the degree show) but managed to get myself feeling very anxious at the prospect. I took some catalogues away to consider things further.
With the prospect of the degree show catalogue going off to print, and thinking how I would really like to have a website up and running by the time it gets used, I took the plunge and register a domain name in preparation. I signed up for a domain name and web hosting package, and I'm now hoping to find someone who can help me with the process of setting up the site…
Next instalment: Cactus shopping!
The last couple of days have felt quite productive; after a first attempt at videoing a cocktail umbrella outside (which was one of the few times I’ve found myself wishing it would rain!), I had a tutorial, during which I asked about whether my work for the degree show could comprise of a few separate things, rather than trying to make one work that sums it all up. My tutor said, quite sensibly, that it was very important, if there are different aspects to your work, to ensure that you don’t end up diluting it all by trying to incorporate everything. I think the mistake I made at my last assessment (though, generally, it went very well) was to get scared into thinking that I had to make all the strands in my work tie together, resulting in something which really didn’t represent any of it very well. However, as my tutor pointed out, it’s a good thing I tried doing that, as I learned not to go down that road again! So I’ve decided to show the different areas of the work, but as distinct and separate pieces; a ‘live’ installation, which would be in an enclosed space (to avoid disruption to anyone else’s work, apart from anything), as well as a T.V monitor, showing the video work. I would like this to be near to the installation space, but separate from it. If I were still thinking the way I was when I set up my last assessment, I might have tried something like projecting the video work onto the walls of the installation room, but thankfully I’ve learned from my mistakes! My tutor then asked me about my small object-sculptures, and how I was thinking of displaying those… again they would have to be separate from the other work. I said I was playing with the idea of ‘hiding’ them around the building, and producing maps for viewers to look for them, she seemed to think that was a good idea. But of course that would depend on whether it was feasible to do that, once the space has been converted for the exhibition. After my tutorial, we had a group meeting, with the tutors, about where and how we would like to present our work at the degree show. It was helpful to think of it in terms of what spaces are likely to be available, and the meeting actually seemed to go fairly smoothly, and no fights have broken out over this subject…yet!Joel was also taking photographs of everyone, which he’s going to convert into outlines as part of the catalogue cover design. I found myself worrying about the state of my hair, but really I think it represented my usual self quite accurately!
I've found myself with some unexpectec time to myself this morning, as the session I was supposed to have has been cancelled. This is the first day I've managed to come into uni since Easter – the term started on Monday, but I had to be in Shropshire for my nan's funeral, and though I planned to come in yesterday, I found myself completely exhausted, mentally and physically.
Though everything feels a little disjointed at the moment – it's been hard to connect with normality since my nan died so suddenly, and everything's been a bit up in the air. But I have been thinking of ideas for work, which is reassuring as I always feel a little insecure if no ideas come for a while. I've tried to find ways of generating them, but in reality I don't seem to feel satisfied by something I do unless it arrives in my head without being 'forced'. I don't see this as some kind of mythological process, just that if I think too hard about what direction I'm going to take, my thoughts seem to curl in on themselves and shrivel up, then my work becomes far too self-concious and feels awkward. But I've had an idea, to do with cocktail umbrellas, which I think will be the next in a series of short video works, some of which are on my Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/chinateacup
The are all connected in a way, though I don't want to force a connection. Broadly speaking, they all involve everyday objects and how I relate to them. In all of them, I've avoided directly showing either myself or any other humans, but one aspect that's occurred to me recently is that one is usually aware, when watching the videos, of an off-camera human presence (me) directing and manipulating events. This is particularly true in the most recent videos I've made, which explore the impact of one object on another, for example one shows eggs rolling on a surface, 'trying' to knock each other off. Another features balloons trying to 'make friends' with a cactus, with predictable results. I'm aware that in these works, there is the added element of outside control, or lack thereof; I'm setting the objects in motion, the objects performing in scenes I'm trying to direct. However, they don't always act as I expect them to, which I find quite entertaining. I'm in two minds as to whether to try and remove, to some degree, this direct human involvement; I've been thinking about trying the cactus scenario as a live-installation piece, in which the movements of the balloons are determined by an electric fan, which would be set up with a timer-plug, so that it would go on and off at different intervals. I plan to try this out, but I do wonder about how it will affect the work to remove myself from it in this way.
Our degree show at the university starts on the 22nd of May.
We will then take the exhibition to the Truman Brewery in Brick lane, London, where it will be open from the 3rd – 7th July, as part of the Free-range festival.
We've spent a lot of time in the last few months on planning and organising, fundraising, etc. I've been on the 'steering committee' we set up to co-ordinate the different aspects of organising we've needed to do. It's been a real learning-experience.
I'm hoping that writing this blog will help to synthesise my thoughts on my work as well as to document the process of planning a degree show, which feels like the biggest responsibility I've taken on so far.
