Wardrobe diaries

Themes of placement and out of place-ness have been emerging in current work.

Looking back at earlier images of my wardrobe in the crypt are resonating with this and I am thinking about what makes something out of place – the expected or unexpected, the ‘usual’ or ‘normal’ feels like a huge area of debate to return to. I think there is something also about relationships between objects which will be useful to develop – and what role Bakhtin’s ‘object relations’ might have.

So these are images of previous work – I want to include these (and others in future posts) for completeness in considering my work with the wardrobe, but also to use this as a space to reflect on it and develop my thinking further.

These images developed from a series of objects ‘appearing’ in and near to the space I was working in. I enjoyed the surprise this bought to my day, what would arrive today? in looking at the images there are themes of frame and light – ideally these would have been a uniform format. I was learning (and still am) to use a new camera so different settings and different cameras have effected this. It is also with the benefit of hindsight I can see the flaws and that developing a standard format may help in not distracting from the image and intention.

The objects photographed also have varying ‘success’ and interest. The lamp was interesting as it was so domestic in a very undomestic space, but next to the wardrobe does not seem to be so strong as the ladder or clothes rail. Perhaps things too closely related, but not quite, aren’t as successful as those with a greater disparity. Although the clothes rail has an obvious similarity in function it seems to ‘sit’ better than the lamp. My views have altered so these remain useful images to consider placement and object.

The scale and similarity in size and the linear form of the objects, their ‘uprightness’ are also factors which contribute to the interest of the images.

It also returns to original themes of work made in 2008/9 where I placed the wardrobe next to a gold spray painted dresing table (also from my grandmother’s). This felt to me at the time of two people stood next to one another.

Introducing my wardrobe.

Wardrobe, closet, cupboard, cabinet, press, armoire, drawer – spaces hidden, contained, sometimes secret. Things are kept within, on top, at the bottom, out of sight. Private, personal, intimate spaces. Spaces of fantasy and wonder – the possibility of worlds beyond.

Mr Ben comes to mind in thinking about the possibility of what lies within a wardrobe, dressing up and other states and places we can go to depending on what we wear. Although my principle interest is in the furniture itself, bedroom furniture. In ‘The lion, the witch and the wardrobe’ it is a transitional object, from one world to another, and considered by some as a Christian metaphor.

Things kept at the bottom of the wardrobe can be secret, special, long forgotten. A place for letters, photos, things we hang on to but don’t use or look at until a ‘spring clean’ or tidy up. Rediscovering these items can trigger a re-look, reminiscing and transport us to other internal spaces and worlds long forgotten.
We hang on to things, and this can be a space that allows us to do so. A clear out can be a significant step in letting go of the emotional attachment and associations we have with the things we have kept there for so long.

This was my nan’s wardrobe. I inherited several pieces of furniture and this is something I like for its size and shape, but is not very useful. It has moved around to different places, and is something I can’t part with but can’t find a practical use for either. It seemed a useful starting point in working with this space at St Mary’s in the Castle, the crypt and its alcoves having long been a place I have wanted to work in. So using this object as a starting point to explore the space within and my own internal space seemed like a useful one.

I will spend time each weekend working in this space to experiment and translate ideas of working with the space ‘between’ (e.g. the internal and external; the real and unreal). I will document this in photographs and display these to map my development between the start of the exhibition and the end. 31st October 2010

This was my starting point for recent time spent with the wardrobe in an alcove space in a crypt. It seems a reasonable place to start here and an introduction to me and my wardrobe.