As part of the ASU2 unit we were given a carrier bag containing a variety of bits, bobs and random items... polystyrene, tape, plastic, string, modrock, foam and so on. The only real brief was that we had to use it all, including the bag. I couldn't wait to get started and then couldn't start because I kept thinking of so many different ways to use the material. Once we had completed our 'model' we were to exhibit in Guntons' foyer.
Here's a list of what I didn't do:
Tie the bag up and exhibit as it came
Melt it all down into a lump of stuff!
Make the longest continuous line out of everything
Make something but blindfolded and film my attempt
Write a list of instructions and get someone else to make it
But what I ended up doing was a variation of the last one. I wrote down a list of the contents, a list of joining and action words, ie wrap, tie, pierce, weave, coil, etc and then a list of the connectors, ie 'with the wire mesh, with the foam... I then cut all the words up and put them in x3 pots, pulling out one word of each pot and just doing what it said, whether it was 'weave the wire with the glue' or bend the cork with the plasticine', I just had to complete the instruction.
We also had to write a 200 word piece about the process but not describe what we actually did but about what we were thinking at the time of making, how it made us consider the actions, process and results. These were all read out by a fellow MA student when we had installed our work. Mine is here:
Using a combination of chance instructions, in the form of pots containing cut up words for an ‘action’, ‘material’ and ‘connector’ I was directed to make a series of unexpected outcomes with no predetermined thought or direction.
By not knowing what each instruction was going to be I was relying on material talkback, creating options that I would not normally consider, being reactive to the material and interpretation of the connector instruction. I deliberately explored a flexibility in the definition of the wording – cutting can be mixing together, wrapping a marriage of material.. I bent and twisted my rules. I kept play at the forefront and allowed instinctive decisions to guide my creativity.
I actively ensured all the materials were used, including any packaging and the containing bag, not considering that anything was completed until everything was used.
Although the outcomes were not necessarily aesthetic, it was much more to do with the process. Creating combinations and modifications to a mixture of material that without the specific instructions wouldn’t have happened, this kept the interactions fresh. The process meant I had a series of smaller creations, rather than one complete model, these I consider to be smaller studies, each could be considered for larger development.
I also created a poster/sheet to accompany the work showing every action.
I ended up with several 'models' through the process and although some of the smaller ones became joined, as the instructions requested making a connection with material already used up, I came to a point where I wanted to leave alone some of the individual creations.
I am intending to take all of the models and see how they may photograph properly, hopefully using some lighting to see what possibilities there are from this stage. The images above where just taken in my studio before installing.
Do I create any of them as larger 3D pieces out of other material?
Could I replicate them with the 3D printer and perhaps even cast from that?
Could I make a drawing or a painting from a piece or an element?
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