Artists Statement...

‘It is in the hollowness that the work itself is manifest in its projection and definition of space outside of itself’.
Aron Davis – What You See is What You See


To attempt to make apparent ‘space outside itself’ is integral to the investigative intention that my work poses. By definition, space can mean various different things in different circumstances – the blank area between type and print or the three dimensional expanse where all matter and objects exist. When looking at these forms, and by questioning the distinction of real space versus literal space, what I have done is sought to use and alter the space of the studio and any other given space that I find myself looking at. Through an investigation of this I have found myself becoming very aware of not only space, but also shape – by cutting out or ‘releasing’ the space from its original context, a shape is formed. Intervention of either pre-existing images or latterly intervention into the studio space enabled me to make seeing the space in-between possible.

The progression of an unfolding enquiry is evident when looking through the documentation – specifically looking at the first two images in comparison to the last two images. At the outset of this practice concentration was focused on literal space, spaces within images on pre-existing found postcards. Here is was where the first links between space and shape were realised. The imprint of these spaces became abstracted from the original and taken forth to be experimented with through repetition, pattern making and grid making. The move from literal space to real space came when looking at light and shadows and the interplay between the two (as shown in the documentation). Most recent work installed in the studio space which intervenes with the amount of light that is allowed into the studio, captures what I intended to achieve by making one aware of the space and most especially the architecture and structure of the space – the lines and shapes echoing the ones of the windows. Materials I chose (paper) were all relatively simple and of minimal colour; after all the reaction I wanted was to the edges, the in-between and the tension of the space around the shapes.

At the outset the work of Richard Tuttle was highly influential with his treatment of line and shape, layering and use of strong, almost silhouetted shapes edging me towards abstraction in my own practice. In regards to the notion on intervention and inhabiting a real space, two exhibitions – Pipilotti Rist at the Hayward Galley, and Kitty Kraus at White Cube were essential to the formulation of my thinking and actions. The use of light play coupled with transparency of materials really led one to become really aware of the ‘definition of the space outside of itself’, much like the work I have ended up producing.

07.12.11

Here is one of the more final versions of the work I have been doing in the windows of the studio. I have decided to add in the vertical stripes in response to the vertical bars of the windows. The fact that the structure of the windows have informed the structure of the work is something that I like, as well as the fact (as shown in the previous post), that when the sunshine comes in it creates patterns on the other studio walls - making you very aware of the space you are in, which after all is what I wanted.

Interestingly, the essay 'The Tangled Web She Wove - Eva Hesse's Metronomic Irregularity II', which we read as part of the studio group discussion, has many things in common with what I am doing, for instance talking about the 'activation of the wall' and also which I really like:

'unlike a traditional painting, it did not cover the wall, but utilized, altered and brought this space to the viewers attention'.

06.12.11

In the studio early today, the interplay of the morning light streaming in, between the old original and the most recent stuff on the windows - lovely.

Studio Lights...

After talking with Kate and the studio group, turned over a new leaf (probably much needed!) and broken away from the original cut-out shapes. Thought about the space and how blocking the light would affect it, and wanted to use some kind of shape that reflects the particular space and wall/window I was installing it into. The horizontal bars of the windows seemed quite prominent and when I started cutting and sticking up the paper they became even more apparent - revealing the structure of the window frames and space. The first image was trying a negative, kind of reverse, reflective image but I think too much light can get though and you could see too much of the outside. Part of the effectiveness I have realised is the fact that the paper obscures the view of the outside and if you want to see through you have to take note of the obstacles. Controlling the viewing much like I was controlling the way you read the text.

The next few images show how I decided to cover the windows and then some closer up views trying to see outside. Next step is filling the rest of the windows and the door!

Windows, day to night...

Attempt at a much bigger scale - taking up my room. Used the same grid like structure that I have used throughout, not sure it worked as well as I had hoped, experimentation with different shapes perhaps needed, or use more of the window? the rooms downstairs as well? Rather odd to live with the blocked up windows, constantly dark, even in the daytime, waiting for it to be night time to take photos seemed to take forever! Think it looked better from the outside with light from my room shining in from the street, however I found it very difficult to get a half decent photograph of it...

Thinking about it, there is a set of windows in the studio that could be made use. To be continued.

Shapes and Shadows...

Moving on and away from the tunnel book, I want to create shadows that can inhabit a space. I made the standing blocks from the shapes from the cut outs - the shadows are almost negative space, 'filling in' the shadow and the space.

Pipilotti Rist - Eyeball Massage at the Hayward Gallery...

Wonderful exhibition of Pipilotti Rist's work at the Hayward, a trip to London to see it well worth it! One thing that struck me in relation to my own work was the use of light, shadows, transparency and intrusion to make you the viewer experience the spaces that yourself and the artworks inhabit. Long strips of material, veiling and obscuring views that you could walk around, between and through made the whole experience terrifically immersive with light, sound, film, and photography filling the whole space - I really felt as though I had come out of an experience, rather than the usual process of just looking at art when bleary eyed I left the gallery space. Another feature that I became aware of was the importance of scale, and what such a power this is in regards to impact. Up until now I have been working in a relatively small scale, and maybe its time for me to move away from models and make use of the studio space available...

Reading University, inside-out...

Reaction to both Richard Wilson and John Stezaker. The interior of the library and Humms building on view from the outside.

Richard Wilson and John Stezaker...

Firstly, Richard Wilson - in the group crit the idea of of looking at space inside of things, space that you can't see (coming from me obscuring and blocking out text, space etc.) came up. Turning an object or view inside out, the inside on the outside. Wilson is an artist who's main concerns are concentrated around architectural volumes, illusionary spaces and perception. For the work above 'Turning the Place Over', he cut a 8 metre diameter disc from the wall of a building, attached it to a motor, which as it spins literally turns the building inside-out.

A video of this happening can be seen here (if the link works!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7j-unaZA1Y&noredirect=1

Secondly, John Stezaker - relating back to some if the first cut-outs I did. Stezaker is an artist who mainly works in collage and pre-existing found images like postcards, film stills and photos from magazines etc. Layering and cutting out specific parts, revealing and hiding certain parts are integral. Additionally, the careful choice of imagery to echo or contrast with the main photo he starts with is key. Absolutely love these works, saw them at the Whitechapel earlier this year - very clever man!

Layers and Light...

The different transparency and intensity of the light in this tunnel book I have made is something which I quite like - and when photographed is perhaps better than looking at it in real life. Here I took the notion of layering from the previous Sonnet book I made and combined it with the shapes of the spaces that I originally had from the postcards. I wanted to make an actual space, a space that you can look into. The space inside is made more visually interesting by the light and shadows created - with intentional attempt to position the cut outs in places where light could get through and shadows formed. Working with light and shadows is something I am getting excited about as it is something that can immediately make you aware of where you are, and the space itself.

Word by Word, Line by Line...

Leading on from the blocked out lines of the sonnet, where obviously the text and lettering is none existent, I began to think about how you read. Word by word, line by line, the structure of the poem determines how you read. Thinking about this and the blocking off of the lines from the previous experiments, I made this book which restricts how you read. Because the lines are covered up, you have to turn the page to reveal them line by line - the prevention of reading ahead and the act of interacting and turning the page to reveal the next line is an aspect I rather liked.

One unintentional feature that came out of this was the shapes and shadows that were formed by the layering up of the black pages (bottom picture). Perhaps further exploring the idea of layering up is a possible way to develop?

Text Task...

Alongside our own studio practice we have been set a task where a text has to be the central motivation and influence. After a comment that all my work so far seems to be very ordered and almost systematic, I decided to look at text which is itself ordered and has to follow a certain formula to make it what it is - poetry, and in particular the sonnet.

A sonnet has to follow a certain structure, and it is the structure that I am interested in. The English (Shakespearean)Sonnet comprises of 3 lines of four and then one line of two at the end. The 'turn' comes at the end of the poem, making the ending couplet quick and dramatic. Experimenting by just starting to write out the poem in different layouts, concentrating on the structure and layout of the lines on the page. Splitting each of the lines into their quatrains and literally turning the direction of the writing when it comes to the 'turn'. Admittedly in my mind when I was doing this was the work of Mallarme, which we had looked at in Contemporary Art Theory and which I absolutely loved.

Anyway, when doing this I realised that this was similar to what I have been doing with the cut out spaces - making shapes. So, the next step was to block out the words themselves, to get the shapes, and in consequence showing the structure in its most simplistic form.

Black and White...

Experimenting with shape, using the imprints of the spaces from the postcards - really happy with this. I decided to use plain black paper as it offers a stark contrast to the white studio walls showing through which I liked so much in the postcard cut outs. Here it is the walls, the actual space of the studio which makes the work actually work. This relates very much to Donald Judd's essay 'Specific Objects', which we read and discussed as a group. In this he states that 'composition must react to the edges'. In this grid of shapes I have stuck up on the studio walls it is purely these 'edges' which inform the way we see the shapes - the composition and layout of the black paper interact and become one with the 'edges'. The repetition of the shapes is something that I quite like too.

Richard Tuttle...

After a group crit, the artist Richard Tuttle's name was mentioned. His art deals with scale, shape and line and are often quite small and intimate. I really like the strong geometric shapes and lines combined with the much more delicate backgrounds. The shapes and patterns included are almost layered up one on top of another with the strong bold shapes almost looking like silhouettes. This is something I think I can make use of in my work - using the 'space' that I cut out of the postcards and treating them simply as shapes to make an arrangement.

'In-Between' Spaces...

First go at looking at in-between spaces. Literally cutting out the 'space' in the pictures, excluding and taking them out of their original context. I really like how the space is replaced by the blank white of the studio walls - think this creates a whole different dynamic and makes you look at the space within the postcards differently. Also like how the architecture of the buildings informed the shapes which was cut out, would like to try and translate this into real life but not sure how...

Starting points...

After doing the initial group work and thinking about Maurizio Anzeri's work I saw that a common theme in both was space and shape. Drawing attention to spaces or shapes which are not at first that noticiable at first glance is very intriguing as it gives you the opportunity to play with what you want people to see. On reading 'Sculpture in The Expanded Field' by Rosalind Krauss I was even more enthused by this line of enquiry - reading about 'the combination of exclusions' made me think of space that is there, but not necesserily visiable...so the spaces inside, around and between the objects/things that we normally forcus on. To make the 'exclusions' the main emphasis of the work, looking at in-between space.

Maurizio Anzeri at The Baltic, Newcastle...

Over the summer I went to visit The Baltic and absolutely loved Maurizio Anzeri's exhibition which is currently there. This is his first solo exhibition in the UK and brings together recent work which involves found photographs and embroidary. According to the particular shapes of the faces and expressions, he decides on 'personalities' for each of the photographed people. I thought the way he treats the subjects as indicators on which he imprints or masks with his own work was very interesting - giving each image a new and individual existance and identity. Also loved how much the embroidary reminded me of spirographs!

Back to Reading!

As a result of starting back as a second year student, I've been led to start this blog which will act as a diary for all the work going on in the studio. Armed with only cardboard boxes and tape, the first task set was a group piece - to create a sculptural piece with materials given...and this is what me and my lovely group came up with.

Thinking about the studio space we had to work in, we decided to make use of it by creating a piece you could walk around, something with the intention of being visually interesting from all angles and viewpoints. We wanted to 'open up' the boxes, to use them not for their normal use of trapping things inside them, but to draw attention to what was 'outside the box', as it were. Cutting the sides out of the boxes to make them into frames came from this - so you could look through the boxes like little picture frames, framing a different view from all different angles. Hanging from them from the ceiling made it possible to suspend the frames at different heights and make use of the tape.

After a discussion with the rest of the studio group, points were raised about the necessity of the boxes piled up on the floor underneith the hanging frames. So we got rid of them. One of the positive comments was on the use of the tape - the texture from scrumpling up it to stick to the boxes, and the lines it created. This is then what we concentrated on, attaching the frames to the floor aswell as to the ceiling - drawing the eye from the top right down to the bottom. This not only made the viewer aware of the materials, but also the room itself and the space it took up.