What I do

I have been exceptionally busy over the last couple of weeks, so I should really have a lot to talk about! 

At the moment, my life is essentially consumed by dissertation writing, sound editing, making sculptures, photocopying things, attempting to document all of the above and trying to drink my cups of tea before they've gone cold because I've forgotten about the fact I made tea in the first place. That happens a lot. Oh yeah, and sometimes I call my family so they know I'm alive. 

Even though this sounds like I might be having a melt down, I actually couldn't be happier to be working like crazy because - spoiler alert - I love what I'm doing. It also feels great when I realise how much I have to show for my busy schedule. Third year is certainly the year I want to look back at and think, 'I really pushed myself and it was worth it.'

One of our lovely lecturers offered me the gallery space in the studios for the whole of last week, which I was incredibly grateful for. (As were the people who work near me in the studio - they'd had to tiptoe around my growing mountain for weeks.) I was able to move the foil/cellophane/powder to a more accommodating space (the AGC Gallery is such a nice space; it has a big glass front so people can peep in as well) and then enlarge it as well. 

The speakers in the above photo might come as a surprise, mainly because I've not discussed many (or any) of my sound related thoughts. But yes, I have in fact been toying with a lot of audio recordings since the end of the last academic year and have only begun to really draw on them now. The sculptural element of my practice has taken visual precedence, but it felt like the right time to put both these audio recordings and the sculptural compositions in the same space. 

During a talk to my tutor, he decided to bestow upon me the 'spirit of John Bock'. I'd never actually heard of the artist's work before but, after investigation and more chatting, it appeared that what he really meant was that I shouldn't be afraid or weary of throwing all kinds of mediums together. Even if it meant that it went horribly, then at least I would know why I wasn't using particular things in a space. 

Safe to say, I really tried to channel this Bock guy (he is pretty cool, so here's a link to see some of his work: John Bock!) For me, that meant thinking about all the things I've been doing separately as potential components in one space.

I tried to change the layout of the objects in the space, if only slightly, on a daily basis. In the end, there were photocopies which grew in number throughout the week, as I made more drawings in the space which needed to be copied; there were newly made objects as well as things like a silver teapot sugar pot. I also displayed four of the jam pots I've been filling with bath water after every bath and the sewn cushion cover I unpicked. 

Being able to see all of these different materials and processes next to one another was a bit of a visual window for me - it sometimes takes having a space to be able to see how your ideas connect or if they share certain traits. Even simply thinking, 'Yes, that looks good next to that other thing.' was enjoyable and interesting in terms of understanding what it is that I do.