Assessment: Installation, Video and Prep Work in Studio

"A messy desk shows a tidy mind.."

Christmas, what a stressful time. Never knew how stressful it could get until you stopped enjoying the lazy days off school and started working in the real word, cramming everything in, and arranging visits to a million people!

Back to the art work. Even more stress.

I had been looking at other ways of visually showing stress, struggling to represent how I feel. I shut down and tend not to do anything. Looking around me for some inspiration in my pokey little flat, I see my results. Nothing has been done, no housework, washing, cleaning, sorting etc. Everywhere is a mess. This inspired me to trial an installation piece for my assessment, simply by leaving my studio in the mess it was in whilst preparing and pulling my hair out for the deadline. I took photos of my flat, which I would have been happy to display as pieces themselves however I decided to take this further and bring the chaotic state of my mind from my flat to my studio.

A catch up...

Before Christmas, I had a talk to a tutor about my work who basically told me to explore how stress can be shown visually in different ways (other than the clenched fists). I tend to make work personal to me, so began to think of what I do when i'm stressed and how I show it. I made a list of things in my journal and selected a few ideas to try. Firstly, I tend to have a really bad nights sleep, constantly tossing and turning, unable to escape from my stressful thoughts. I created a stop motion video of how the covers and pillows typically move around the bed when I have a restless nights sleep.

The video, for some reason uploaded with a fault, however, I use this in my favor and feel the distortion adds to the experience of viewing the video, creating an almost stressful experience for the viewer.

I then moved on to think of a 'meltdown', when I really don't know what to do, I feel isolated, and seem to just break down. I experimented by freezing objects in ice, therefore when the ice is melting, it reveals the objects. I used a biscuit wrapper in a bag to trial this technique, and found it worked quite well, therefore I created a larger piece incorporating various objects relating to stress, such as food and sweets (eating too much), a cigarette end (smoking) and wine corks and bottle tops (turning to alcohol). I only managed to photograph the piece completely frozen as it was then submitted for assessment, and was therefore left to form and melt by itself.

The photos are not the best, I admit, this is a pint to work on in future, however, the turkey tray was something I had a hand to hold the water and objects when the piece had melted. I enjoyed encapsulating objects and isolating them in water, something that I always have. I plan to carry on using this technique, however developing my ideas further, and possibly experimenting with isolating objects in clear resin.

Consumer objects - development after a silent tutorial

After a silent tutorial at university in which a group of peers spoke about my work, what they thought it was about, what worked and what didn't, I have reassessed some of the materials I am using, what they represent and also how to display my work. The comments were very helpful as I now know what I am not portraying through my work. The first point that was made was about the fingerprints within the materials. I am glad these were pointed out as I wanted to make my project personal to me, therefore including my own identity, and this was noticed through the fingerprints and indentations of fingers  Next, there was slight confusion as to why I had used various materials in the same way, was there a point to this or was it purely for experimentation purposes in order to see which texture was suitable? Yes. I am still investigating into different materials, and will remove these previous experiments from my studio once I have my final outcome. My pieces appear interactive, however, my peers were not too sure whether these were interactive pieces or not, whether they could touch them and manipulate them themselves. I am leaving this a mystery to the viewers, as my tutor explained, you seem quite intrigued whether you can touch things or not in an exhibition, and this creates a sense of the unknown, a little excitement almost. It was pointed out that the more three-dimensional objects gave a greater sense of aggression, which is what I am trying to portray, and that these objects could easily be put by themselves to view individually, otherwise, there is a lot to take in when you see the layouts on the wall. I am going to look into different ways to display my work more appropriately, such as hanging solid objects. Of course this poses the problem of removing the control of the positioning, which would relate to my work as stress and anger can be quite uncontrollable, some people just leave it to run its course. I could also display work on plinths for people to walk around, and investigate the shapes at all angles, allowing them to conjure up their own ideas of what the work is about.Finally, the use of the silicone material was criticized for creating its own shapes due to the materials properties.My peers commented on the silicone being 'flesh like' and relating to the body, as it is smooth and a little malleable, but also suggested the use of a smoother material such as butter or lard. I have taken these comments on board and have experimented with clumps of lard varying in sizes. I created the shapes so they appeared very three dimensional, however, conditions out of my control, such as heat, can manipulate the objects and change their form. again, this can relate to my context of stress as it is usually out of your control, and people sometimes have a "melt down", thus the lard illustrating this quite literally. I have developed the idea of creating various shapes individually, into combining these into one larger sculpture, that could still be changed in many ways. I am leaving the lard sculpture to form itself naturally, and I will document this at regular intervals.

Displaying work

 

I have displayed my visual representations of stress in my studio, arranging them in a simple layout, contradicting the chaotic shapes I have made. The sculptures made from salt dough are a slightly different colour to the wall, however, this allows the shapes to be seen easier. Shadows from the impressions in the salt dough are quite prominent due to the natural light shining above them in the studio, which I think adds to the shapes, and the work as a whole. Similarly, the silicone sculptures do have shadows, but they are not as defined, this could be due to the pliable material, also thinning out in some areas. Again, I used a simple square layout, showing stress but in an organised way, making the sculptures easier to depict for the viewer. The colour of the silicone moulds blend in with the space better, and visually gives the illusion that someone may have punched into the wall form the other side. These are development pieces, testing out materials, however I am contemplating using these as a piece of work, if not I shall definitely keep the structural idea of arranging the shapes in a square, keeping the work tidy.

Developing previous ideas with new materials

I have been experimenting with the idea of representing stress visually and using different materials to illustrate this, and see what effects they give. I scratched, punched, squeezed and ripped the materials, actions that individuals sometimes do when stressed about things, e.g. money. The first four images are sculptures made of silicone.  They have a slight shine in the light, are soft to touch and very lightweight. They are also slightly pliable, yet keep their shape. These remind me more of impressions on a stress ball. The other three images are sculptures made from plaster. They are heavier than the silicone shapes, darker in colour and rough to touch. They also keep a lot of detail within them, sometimes showing parts of finger prints. I enjoyed experimenting with both materials, and plan to progress and use these in my project.

 

SILICONE

 

SILICONE

 

SILICONE

 

SILICONE
 

PLASTER
 

PLASTER
 

PLASTER



Visible Stress

 

Stress has played a large part in my life lately, both consciously and unconsciously. I have decided to develop my work, and focus more on the stress experienced with having no money, and finding ways to demonstrate this visually. I have created salt-dough sculptures to illustrate positions I take, and what I do with my hands when I'm stressed, such as clenching my fists, or holding my head in my hands. These are experimental, preliminary sculptures which I plan to develop using different materials, and also photograph these in places where I think stress is sourced, such as a bank, or house letting agency.