Tying Knots

Following on from the idea of mass production, man vs. machine, repetition to make perfection, I then decided to apply these words to an action rather than an object ('Perfect Sphere').

I chose an action that is essentially very useful and decided to apply it to the same materials used in 'Perfect Sphere'. I decided to tie knots over and over until there was no more material. This then made the action turn from useful to useless due to the sculptures having no purpose.

Each mini sculpture is 124cms worth of wire, electrical cable etc. Each piece was held by its end then tied. Although i was in control of the material I lost control over where each knot went.

I wanted to see if the repetition of the action would create the same item each time mimicking a production line. There were a couple of sculptures that looked similar but none that were identical.

 'Series One: Garden Wire'

'Series 2: Electrical Cable'



'Series 3: Washing Line'

'Perfect Sphere'

'Perfect Sphere' is an ongoing piece I have created in response to my interest in mass production and perfection. I wanted to set up my own production line trying to create the perfect sphere and to create the sphere over and over. Using materials such as wire and paper makes it nearly impossible for me to create this shape which would lead to 'failing' the task therefore I feel I am challenging myself to overcome my fear of failure.

Most objects are mass produced because there is a high demand and use for that object. I wanted to create something that has no use therefore making the work more about the process rather than the finished object.

A Critical Review: Sachiko Abe ‘Cut Papers’

When entering the ‘A Foundation Gallery’(1) within Liverpool you are immediately hit with laughter of those enjoying each others company, it is a friendly and welcoming environment. A man stands just inside the entrance, directing you to a hidden door which you probably would not have noticed if he had not been there to guide you. Intrigued, you enter the door to see a pathway of gravel and signs saying you must not make a sound, which is quite ironic considering the circumstances of walking upon material that generates noise, as you enter the room.

In contrast to the open and inviting surrounding of the entrance, silence consumes the area as you step inside the room; it feels as though you are entering in to a fairytale. You feel a sense of calm but can’t quite figure out why. You are also faced with a sculpture that looks unstable, stretching the entire height of the room, which is some feat considering the room looks like an empty warehouse. On closer inspection you find that in fact this entrancing sculpture is a pile of paper cuttings carefully hung leading you on a trail. Your eyes follow the strands of paper until you find the artist sitting high on a balcony, in concentration snipping at sheets of paper. Slowly you notice a soft ticking sound which is coming from her scissors that are connected to a speaker; this sends you into a sense of a tranquil trance.

                                                           

‘Cut Papers’ for me seems to have a state of purity. Everything that has been added to the space is white and clean, even Abe, the artist, was wearing a white flowing dress. The idea of purity is highlighted by the expanse of bare brick work in the room. There are beds situated around the room for the audience to sit on and watch the performance take place. My immediate reaction was that the artist wanted to portray a type of fairytale highlighting the innocence of childhood; this led my thoughts to think of the tale of ‘Rapunzel.’ Similarly, the artist being trapped up high symbolises ‘Rapunzel’, whilst the mound of paper symbolises the time spent cutting and the flowing downwards motion of the paper acts as her hair. The beds are for the audience to sit; however, they may lie upon them and enter a dream like state whilst watching the performance.

Her expression to me is very important, she seems to be in deep concentration, never taking her eyes of the paper which she is cutting; sending Abe into her own dream world. Although Abe never once looks to the audience you still feel a connection with her. Becoming transported to Abes private world makes the experience more intimate which unsettles the balance of the room. 

Even through the grandeur of the room it’s hard not to pay full attention to Abe. She fills the room with her presence and commands the room and its audience to focus only on her again adding to the strange balance of the rooms dynamics. Even when looking at the sculpture I could feel myself wanting to look up at Abe, this is partly due to the fact she is positioned high off of the ground. Normally this signifies power, control and a God-like status which I feel is relevant to the piece. I believe Abe wants the cutting to be portrayed as having an air of importance and being off ground level contributes to that therefore making the action the focus of the piece.

Abe first started creating art to get away from the restraints and restrictions of the Self Defence Forces which is ironic due to the type of work she creates (2). ‘Cut Papers’ for me is about constraints of time, repetition and control, taking Abe 40 minutes to cut one sheet of paper (3). The steadiness and duration of the cutting requires a lot of skill and self motivation and all this I feel has reference to her past in the Self Defence Forces. This is rather ironic as she wanted to leave the forces because Abe felt becoming an artist would make her life more ‘free’. (2)

When further researching Abe’s background ‘Cut Papers’ has taken on a darker connotation and the information changed my whole perception of the piece. Abe started cutting paper when she was in a mental institution to stop from cutting herself (3).  For me, in ‘Cut Papers’ there is a direct link to this and I feel she is showing control over her need to cut herself through repetition, rhythmic cutting and not allowing her concentration to break. Through out the performance Abe stays in a state of total calmness and I feel that cutting paper has become an obsession as it was once her release from the action of cutting herself. The room now takes on this idea of a mental institution/hospital room by the material use of basic bedding and crisp, clean white sheets.

(Photograph (4))

Abe states ‘my work is neither beautiful nor meditational’ (2) which I disagree with. ‘Cut Papers’ for me is definitely meditational due to the rhythmic cutting and transforms the space into a place of calm and serenity. The only aspect of time is the duration of Abe cutting and the mass that follows allowing the viewer to get completely lost for hours in her work. The piece is undoubtedly aesthetically pleasing and definitely has a place in Liverpool’s Biennial ‘Touched’ (1).

(1)Sachiko Abe (‘Touched’, 18^th December-28^th December). ‘Cut Papers’. Available: A Foundation’ Curated by Mark Waugh. Last Visited 26^th Oct 2010.

(2) Mark Waugh. (‘Touched’, 18th December-28th December). ‘Sachiko Abe’. Available: http://www.biennial.com/. Last accessed 16^th Nov 2010.

(3)Boucher, C. (24 April 2005 ). ‘Scissors cut paper....’

Available: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2005/apr/24/art. Last accessed 16th Nov 2010.

Mass Production

Repetition, Perfection and Multiples.

I am currently interested in machinery and mass production of items. I find the process of producing items such as bottles exciting. For me this process is a comment on society's way of trying to become perfect and using technology to become faster and more efficient.

When watching 'Food: what goes into your basket?' this idea of perfection was greatened when I learnt about the process of labelling and sorting potatoes and other vegetables. Each one has to be a particular size shape and colour to be sold to the public. The fact that an apple is not being sold due to it being to big shows that we are a society controlled by perfection.

This then made me think about the way people will repeat an action over and over until they get it right/perfect again kind of mimicking a production line.

Taking all this into consideration I wanted to look at machinery vs man and see if I could replicate an object over and over.

Soap

In previous work I found a common theme of multiples. I wanted to create a piece that focused on this idea rather than it being a by product of my work.

I wanted to use an everyday object that changes when working with it. I decided to use soap for this particular piece. I wanted to make each piece original and using simple actions to change the soap.

'Untitled 2010'

'Before and After'

I decided to use the heat from my hands to mould the soap. I was able to heat it then push it into a shape. For me this piece did not work . I was not very happy with the outcome as the shape of the soap was still a kind of oval shape. I found the shaving around the soap more interesting and the rawness of my thumb.

During the Process.

I decided to change the contrast of the photos so the soap and the rawness of my thumb would show.

This process got me thinking of mass production. Here I was changing the mass produced into something original. I wanted to make the original mass produced.

Final Major Project

Control/ Lack of Control

Can anything ever reach a complete state of control?

Control is an act of resistance, dominance and command over a situation, object or person. Control (or lack of it) is present in everyday life and is seen to change the outcome of a situation or place which interests me.



I wanted to look at how control and lack of it work together in situations. I decided to use for this piece a shredder, everything going in is very controlled but the outcome is uncontrolled.

Using a shredder means that anything I was to shred would give that documentation value as typically a person would only shred something of value. So to shred plain untouched paper questions what the viewer finds important enough to shred.

My final piece was an 8ft wooden frame that I had built with a shredder and a role of paper at the top of it. The shredder was on a timer of 1 minute on 9 minutes off. The shredder shreds continuously for one minute. This piece not only shows the idea of control but also asks the question of what the viewer finds important.

Foundation

Works created during Foundation

'Microcosm'

A photo of the inside of a microcosm.

This is my own microcosm. I created a cardboard tube that was the same size and height as me then I put the name of every person I knew/had met that I could remember onto a note and placed them on the inside of the tube. I sealed the tube to create a type of time capsule and placed 10 items that I valued most in to the bottom of the structure. There were two holes in the structure, one to look into and the other for a light.

'100'

A photo of stuffed latex gloves.

This piece of work looks at multiples and the way the item makes the viewer feel when in bulk. The latex gloves are stuffed with paper and cups the keep them free standing.

Nomadic Subject

I wanted to create artwork outside the studio space. This next section of works are all created in an area randomly chosen in the centre of Southend, Essex.

The area chosen was Victoria Plaza shopping centre 8 storey car park. The work I wanted to create in this area needed to relate directly to its surroundings. I researched the area to find it had a history of suicide. I felt that I could not ignore such a significant history but needed to approach it in a mature way.

I decided instead of looking at the deaths themselves I would concentrate on the drop from the top of the 8 storey car park. The following works are about the process of creating them (the drop) and how that relates to the area.

Due to the simplicity of the action I was able to explore and work with items such as jelly and wax which were forever changing.

'Untitled 2010'
Photo of a jelly sculpture in the snow.
Using the idea of dropping and again responding directly to the area (snow), I dropped liquid jelly into the snow then allowed the jelly to set in the snow.

'Untitled 2010'

Mini sculptures of the jelly

I dug up the jelly and decided to investigate the jelly further. I took the crystallised jelly and placed them onto a sheet of paper. I allowed the jelly to melt and photographed the process.

'Untitled 2010' (3 minutes)

Line of balloons filled with washing up liquid.

With this piece I wanted to distort the viewer’s perception of gravity and velocity by using a commonplace material such as washing up liquid with the balloons. This meant that when the balloons popped instead of having a heavy liquid such as water dropping there was the foam that would float down causing a visual confusion.

 'Untitled 2010' (3 minutes)

Three people dropping blocks of wax.

I let the wax from candles drip/drop onto sheets of paper then solidifying to create three sculptures. Because of the restriction of time and how long it took to create these to me they felt precious. I wanted to then destroy these objects to see what emotion I would feel. I went back to the area and allowed three people to drop these sculptures. This piece was about the suspense of the drop rather than the actual drop itself.