08 / The dismantle…

19/11/22

Since getting hold of some hessian, string, mdf and some found/scrap material I’ve been experimenting how to merge these materials including my cotton paper paintings.

I designed and made the first sculpture using hessian, mdf and ceramic spine segments (that I made last year.)

Initially I thought I could sew the segments into the fabric, but this didn’t work because the segments were too heavy. So I ended up using a glue gun to stick bunches of the hessian together in the middle of the segments. Followed by stapling the rest of the hessian around the sides of the mdf.

Whilst picking up some mdf from the wood workshop I spotted a gorgeous piece of oak (I think?) that had a crack in it. I was told I could have it for free as it would be useless to work with. I’m sure what I’ll do with it just yet… Though perhaps that’s the wrong mindset, as it reminds me of Kant’s statement about beauty – its lack of utility is what makes it beautiful. In which case does it have enough authority as a stand alone piece in itself?

I experimented with the different ways in which I could use string to elevate & create shape/form with the wood. I also found a scrap piece of concrete next to some roadworks happening down my street. (I like how its texture was similar to the handmade paper despite them being vastly different materials.) Again I’m not sure how I’ll incorporate this found material into my project.. But there’s something about it that speaks to me: the lack of utility, imperfections, fragmented…

After making a bigger mixed media piece, using paintings on cotton paper, hessian, wood and string, I placed it alongside my recent works/experiments to reflect & critique. Something about them didn’t sit right with me, and it was only after a tutorial that I realised that these pieces are essentially abstract metaphors for the messages/ideas I’m interested in. Because of my background in Photography and Visual Merchandising, my eye is almost trained to work very compositionally… This is now something I’m going to be very wary of.

I want to create pieces that speak for themselves rather than arranged in a constructed way to convey a message. So upon realising this I dismantled my mixed media piece I had just finished, took the elements I liked, and tied them together abruptly with no ‘preciousness’ about the way I did it. The final result was a huge improvement in my eyes, and I’m going to try to let go of control of the materials as much as possible now moving forward.

This way of creating is also a lot more in line with Wabi-Sabi which is an art form I’ve recently come across that resonates a lot with my own thinking/subject matter.