Emma Wood

BA Photographic Arts

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University of Westminster BA Photography Degree Show

6IMAG003W - Photography Major Project 2 - Realisation & Refinement

Private View - 21st June at 6-10 P.M. Exhibition continues until the 25th June at 10-4 P.M

Before our degree show at The Old Truman Brewery we prepared the T1 gallery space ready to set up our work. This included building walls, which were gum-taped and painted white, allocating space for each pupil, setting up our work on walls or using the floor space within our allocated plot and tidying the T1 Gallery.

During the exhibition we took turns to invigilate and watch over our projects. On the 26th June we returned to The Old Truman Brewery to pack up our work, take down the walls and tidy the space.

This degree show has been a great opportunity for the students to promote and show their work to a wide audience in a thriving, London art gallery. In addition to being a culmination and celebration of three years of BA Photography degree study.

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Week 15: Major Project Hand-in

6IMAG003W - Photography Major Project 2 - Realisation & Refinement

Handing in and setting up installation piece with prints, plinth, grey box with synopsis and supporting material

For major project hand-in, I unwrapped my piece, moved the plinth to an appropriate space (making sure to be considerate of other students’ work placed in the studio), stood the piece on the plinth, tied threads from the piece to the plinth (to insure the piece would remain upright), checked and retouched the paint work and put my synopsis on the plinth. These components remained in the photographic studio, meanwhile my grey box containing supporting material was taken to a designated classroom. Gallery text was stuck to the front of my plinth as a brief introduction to the project.

This work is the result of photographic shoots on location, medium exploration and experimentation, primary and secondary research, exhibition visits, print making trial and error, in addition to refining and recording methods of making. My aim was to create a piece that was visually engaging, interesting conceptually and incorporated a creative used of photographic medium (liquid light sunprints), which when looked at as a whole project conveyed my concept cohesively.

To summarize, I returned to Northaw Great Wood to photograph specific locations that revived moments spent with individual family members. Making liquid light sunprints allowed me to fix fragments of childhood memories into tangible objects. These objects act as a means to record an imprint of sunlight, through which traces of what once was can be unpacked. Seeing what exists now becomes a metaphor for our memories, through which feelings of loss and absence can be expressed and explored.

Our major projects will also be displayed at Westminster Students BA Photography Degree Show 2018.

Further information is available from:

https://www.instagram.com/uowdegreeshow18/

https://chuffed.org/project/uwdegreeshow-2018-fundrasing

https://www.facebook.com/uowdegreeshow18/

http://members.free-range.org.uk/cgi-bin/exhibition.pl?yearID=27&exhibitionID=1437

[Accessed 15 May 2018].

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Week 15: Transporting Installation

6IMAG003W - Photography Major Project 2 - Realisation & Refinement

Support, protect, secure

To transport my work to uni I wrapped the delicate painted paper curve and liquid light sunprints prints with bubble wrap, placed the piece inside the plinth, filled the excess space with balloons and put the project and trolley in the car. My aim was to insure the work arrived for hand-in intact and without damage. These steps to support, protect and secure my work will be repeated when the work is moved to and from university and the Westminster Students BA Photography Degree Show 2018 at The Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, London.

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Week 14: Chosen Prints & Gallery Text

6IMAG003W - Photography Major Project 2 - Realisation & Refinement

Prints sewn to (back of) installation piece, Gallery text edits

On the other side of the installation, similarly to the aforementioned prints, five light liquid sunprints have been attached to the painted paper curve. Their placement, such as the closeness in which the prints are placed, reflects the relationship the between the family members (each print conjures up a childhood memory of particular family member) as well as their relationship to myself.

This installation piece is accompanied by a short piece of introductory text. In the above images are some edits of my gallery text. For example, one includes the name of the project, the medium, my name and course, whereas another is longer and includes a short poem. The text I chose is included below. I think this version is most appropriate as it is concise while suggesting to my concept and method of making.

Gallery Text:

Hollow Roots

Installation

I return to Northaw Great Wood to photograph specific locations that revive moments spent with individual family members. Making liquid light sunprints allowed me to fix fragments of childhood memories into tangible objects.

Emma Wood

 BA Photography

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Week 14: Chosen Prints

6IMAG003W - Photography Major Project 2 - Realisation & Refinement

Prints sewn to (front of) installation piece

This post include scans of prints included in this project. Prints are placed on either side of my installation piece. The sharpness, number and closeness in which prints are placed within the arrangement on the paper sculpture reflect the relationship these family members (each represented by particular prints) have with each other. For example, there a three prints made using the same negative, this suggests to a close relationship with that particular family member. Furthermore, the number of prints on each side of the structure reflects the number of family members that were closely connected in the past, which has reduced by one member in the present.

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Week 13: Installation Piece

6IMAG003W - Photography Major Project 2 - Realisation & Refinement

Sewing prints to painted paper curve

Before attaching my chosen prints to the sculptural piece I experimented with a variety of arrangements. I felt the arrangement show above (six prints on one side, five on the other) suggested to the relationship between the family members, such as sibling and parent/child relationships. For example, the distance between the prints hints to the closeness of their relationship. One print is placed further from other prints this indicates separation from the other family members.

Using spare materials (cardboard and unsuccessful prints) I tested how to attach the prints to the structure. Placing a piece of cardboard behind the side I was working on, I used a hammer and panel pin to pierce the print and structure, twice for each corner of the print. Using white thread I stitched the print to the structure, this secured the print in position and allowed it to be manipulated to fit around the structure’s curved shape. These steps were repeated for each print. Piercing the structure damaged its painted surface. Once all prints were attached I stood the structure upright to test is stability with the added weight of the eleven liquid light sunprints. While it was standing I retouched either side of the structure’s paint work.

Before packing my project for transportation to university for major project hand-in the installation remained upright for 24 hours, in a room where people were often moving around near the work, this suggested to me the structure was stable and would remain upright when on display in the photography studios at university.

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Week 12: Plinth Design and Construction

6IMAG003W - Photography Major Project 2 - Realisation & Refinement

Design, Measurements, Costs, Construction

The installation piece will be placed on a white plinth to raise the viewpoint of the prints. Before making the plinth for my major project I sketched designs, worked-out the plinth dimensions and calculated material costs. Sheets of hardboard, lengths of timber, panel pins and wood glue were used to make the structure of the plinth. Once I had the formed the structure it was spray painted with matte white paint, this coating was uneven and irregular. Therefore I used matte white emulsion to cover the plinth evenly with three final coats.

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Week 11: Making Installation Piece, Print Scans

6IMAG003W - Photography Major Project 2 - Realisation & Refinement

Process of making, reviewing print quality

My aim was to explore and come to turns with the sense of loss I felt as my brothers and sister left home. I chose to examine these feelings through the process of making photographic prints. The subject matter is linked to particular childhood memories of our trips to Northaw Great Wood. Each of my final prints represents the memory of a moment spent with an individual family member. Once I felt I had successful prints, meaning the image was mostly visible and sharp, which reflect my concept of making a representation of a memory that was more stable, I scanned the liquid light sunprints.

My final project is in the form of an installation. The shape of the structure is inspired by a piece of silver birch bark I found while photographing on location. The sculpture is made from seven sheets of plain A0 paper stuck together with PVA glue; texture was added with layers of matte white paint. The bark is significant to my project as it is a physical object from the woods, from the present. This has a connection to my work, as my prints are representations of intangible memories from the past, which have been represented through a medium that is material and has a physical presence in the present, a conversation occurs between the tactile qualities of the inspiration and the outcome.

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Week 10: Work in Progress Review

6IMAG003W - Photography Major Project 2 - Realisation & Refinement

Display Adjustments, Print feedback

To the work in progress review I took my sketchbook, test display designs, example prints and material inspirations. I outlined my process of making, subject matter, influences and aims for my installation piece.

My feedback was to alter the amount of prints I include on my installation as well as the layout in which they are presented. For example, my initial idea was to sew prints on one side of the sculpture as a collective collage, my peers suggested this arrangement read as a grid, which was overwhelming and ultimately distracted from the physical presence of the individual prints. I therefore reduced the number of prints and will place prints on either side of the installation piece.

They also suggested I re-thought the height of the plinth, on which the sculpture would be placed, by reducing its height by 40cm. Furthermore, that I could instead consider placing the prints in a cabinet and/or in frames as this would emphasize the concept that childhood memories, represented in the form of photographic prints, has been translated into tactile objects. Further advice, concerning the arrangement of the prints was to look at the work of Daniel Shea and how he represented loss and absence through the positioning of images in his pieces, such as 43-35 10th Street (n.d).

Fig. 9. Shea, Daniel. (n.d). 43-35 10th Street [Website Screen Shot]. Available from https://www.webberrepresents.com/artists/daniel-shea [Accessed 10 April 2018].

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Week 9: Print Making

6IMAG003W - Photography Major Project 2 - Realisation & Refinement

Inkjet prints, Tissue paper prints, Buried paper prints

While persevering with and refining my process for making liquid light prints I also experimented with alternative methods and materials to make prints. For example, I stapled black and white pictures on to my garden fence. These examples of my chosen images were printed on to plain paper, using an inkjet printer. They were left to be altered by the elements such as changeable weather conditions for three weeks. The rain saturated the paper this encouraged the embedded inkjet colours to bleed. Creepy crawlies also affected the paper. For example, wasps stripped away sections of the surface and snails left shimmering trails zigzagging on top of the paper.

In addition to making liquid light sunprints on watercolour paper I also coated and then exposed tissue paper. I like the tactile qualities of these prints, however I prefer the aesthetic of the prints made on watercolour paper to the partial images visible on the tissue paper prints. Furthermore, I buried watercolour paper with the intention of creating similar surface texture and tones to environmental details, such as leaf litter and broken bits of bark, I saw when photographing Northaw Great Wood. I find the crumpled texture of the buried prints interesting and may use these prints alongside images on watercolour paper in my final piece.

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Week 8: Artist Inspiration

6IMAG003W - Photography Major Project 2 - Realisation & Refinement

Tate Etc. magazine

This copy of Tate Etc. magazine includes some interesting and relevant articles and images for my major Project. For example, I was particularly drawn to Deborah Levy’s reflections on Francesca Woodman’s ghostly photographs. I connect to searching for one’s self suggested to and shown through the concealing of Woodman’s persona in photographing of her shadowy form.

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Week 7: Print Making

6IMAG003W - Photography Major Project 2 - Realisation & Refinement

Liquid Light Sunprints

Above are images showing watercolour paper coated in liquid light being exposed to sunlight. Process of making: The coated paper was placed chemical side up on a sheet of cardboard. One of my chosen images (inverted and printed on sheet of acetate to act as a negative of the original image) is placed on top of the coated paper and under a sheet of glass. These layers are then topped with a piece of black card which prevents the light from reacting with the chemical before reaching the location (a place were the sunlight evenly covers the paper) where the card is removed and the materials are exposed to ambient daylight.

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Week 6: Group Tutorial

6IMAG003W - Photography Major Project 2 - Realisation & Refinement

Project progress and feedback

During our group tutorial I outlined my method of print making and showed some examples of my work in progress. I was encouraged to continue to refine my method of making and to start to clarify my concept and how it would be conveyed cohesively.

Liquid light sunprints are the medium I have used to convey my concept. During the first semester of this module I experimented with a variety of photographic processes, such as photo transfers on to mirror and glass, pinhole cameras and burying photographic paper. Through trial and error I developed and refined a method of making liquid light sunprints. This hands-on approach creates a dialogue between the medium and the concept. The process of making represents the action of recalling a memory, as I make further prints the quality of the image improves and in turn the recollection of the memory is strengthened.

The images in this post allude to the unpredictable qualities of making photographic prints with liquid light. Through trial and error and refining methods of making over many weeks persevering and exploring printing techniques I developed a method which reduced the impact of some of the unpredictable qualities. For example, some changeable variables include the temperature of the working environment (my garden shed converted in to a darkroom), when this space was too hot the chemical did not evenly coat the surface of the watercolour paper as it dried. Therefore I printed at certain times during the day when the sun was not at it brightest and the temperature was cooler. Another variable is how much chemical was applied to the paper and whether it was coated evenly (I coated the paper twice using a sponge roller and approximately 25ml of liquid light), moreover the amount of pressure used on the roller when applying the chemical also affected the evenness of its application.

However, the amount and brightness of available sunlight was always changeable and varied, sometimes dramatically from moment to moment. At times this was frustrating as a previous print which produced a sharp image would five minutes later, using the same working environment, would be too dark and overexposed as the amount of sunlight increased as it broke through the clouds.

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Week 5: Primary Research - Photography Exhibition

6IMAG003W - Photography Major Project 2 - Realisation & Refinement

Into the Woods: Trees in Photography

The subject matter of this exhibition held at the V&A museum is consistent with that of my major project: Trees in Photography, which I photographed at Northaw Great Wood. I was especially interested in Johann Carl Enslen’s image: Face of Christ superimposed over an oak leaf (1839). His experimental photographic processes show similarities to the sunset shades and painterly tonal qualities of my liquid light sunprints.

Further information available from: https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/into-the-woods [Accessed 15 March 2018].

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Week 4: Making Liquid Light Sunprints

6IMAG003W - Photography Major Project 2 - Realisation & Refinement

Printmaking processes

Before coating the paper I cut it into 20x20 cm squares, this size is consistent with the negative images on the acetate sheets, meaning the image will cover the entire surface of the watercolour paper. I also experimented with printing on tissue paper this was pinned to a sheet of A5 plain paper for more stability. I then coated the paper with heated liquid light chemical in the darkroom using a sponge roller. The coated paper was then exposed under the chosen acetate negative and sheet of glass in ambient sunlight, for a suitable exposure time, which was approximated by regarding the brightness of the sunlight and making a educated (through weeks of experimentation and trial and error) estimate, these times ranged between 3 and 15 minute exposures.

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Week 3: Acetate Negatives

6IMAG003W - Photography Major Project 2 - Realisation & Refinement

Images chosen to make into acetate negatives

The above images have been inverted (on Photoshop) from the original black and white images taken on location when photographing (on both film and digital cameras) in Northaw Great Wood during the first semester. The size of the image is 20x20 cm printed on a sheet of A4 acetate. I chose this image size as it is large enough for intricate details such as tangled tree branches to be visible, while maintaining a sense that the print is a unique object, which has been imprinted with personal inference and therefore for me would feel contrived if the image was larger.    

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Week 2: Feedback Tutorial

6IMAG003W - Photography Major Project 2 - Realisation & Refinement

Display Re-think, Print feedback

During my feedback tutorial my tutor and I both agreed the tree trunk display design I made for my pilot project, the culmination of the first semester, needed a re-think. My intention was to make an installation that incorporated liquid light sunprints. My tutor alluded that installations need to have more of an impact and be relevant and cohesive to the subject matter and concept. On the other hand she felt the liquid light prints were successful and that I should continue to refine my process of making to gain more choice from a larger catalogue of prints.

I did some visual research of examples of installation, this further confirmed to me that needed to be more impactful. I became drawn to a piece of silver birch bark I found on location when photographing Northaw Great Wood, its curved shape and uneven texture have inspired me to design and create a sculptural piece to which the liquid light prints will be attached.

Further information available from:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1177103/Turning-life-upside-Artist-creates-fantastical-landscape-giant-concave-mirror.html

https://www.pinterest.com/geotjakra/anish-kapoor/ 

[Accessed 18 February 2018].