Art in Context evaluation.
I had no idea on what I wanted to do, create or achieve in semester one in module Site and Context. I started of with the attempt to continue a previous year project that was successful in a way, that I believed had potential. In semester one I radically changed my ideas and started making mirror etchings. I really liked the idea. It escalated quickly. I looked for inspiration in things I like and find aesthetically satisfying for the eye. I always liked dark aesthetics , folklore and modern folklore. Looking for inspiration in urban legends and fairy tales. These themes followed me in to semester 2 ,which evolved in to a final project. 28 Pieces. A collection of mirrors that reveal a narrative to the viewer. The project is a collection of black and normal etched mirrors 10 x 10 cm each on black board. Each mirror contains a photo. All of the photos have been staged, taken and edited by me. Staging the photos in order to achieve specific scenes,choosing the location ,lighting,models, clothes played a massive role in photo shoots. Designed to attract attention in different ways. A piece to be noticed both slowly and instantly. Placed so in order to create the atmosphere of intimacy – the atmosphere of making a discovery within a small mirror, noticing oneself within the image. The piece starts with an eye looking in to our reality through this etching in a small mirror. This connection that is being created. When the eyes of the work meet the eyes of the viewer. And guides the viewer within the work. I experimented a lot with photo shop. I took hundreds of photos and picked 28. The piece was designed for The Hive as part of the Public Art Student Show. I believe the piece fit well within the environment of the building. When installing the piece I received instant feedback. An old man spoke to me, and shared his opinion on my work. The man said that the piece reminded him of his youth photos, of old photos of him and his family, the mirrors reminded him of the camera negatives. Later that day a woman approached me, she asked about my work, asked if I would like to participate in a small exhibition. She was a member of a feminist organization. The people who talked to me about my work made me think of the issues and themes my work responds to. I researched the dynamics, evolution and the anatomy of stories and story telling. Why do people tell stories? Why do people take photos? The work has become versatile in terms of response to the public. When two completely different people with different lives from different backgrounds connected to the work. The mirrors bare a function of a portal in a way that lead to different references. The piece has no defined male figures, nor male presence. The main characters are women, specifically 2 different types of women :petite and light, young and beautiful, a young girl. And a woman, starting to age and decay. Backed up by a popular fairy tale – Snow White it reveals a strong conflict. The conflict lies within low feelings such as vanity ,insecurity, hatred, envy and fear of being left behind, overpowered . The reason why women suffer so much. Beauty and youth is something that every female thinks about at least once in a lifetime I believe.(And not just women.) I thought a lot about placement and how to install my work. What would the spacing and the rhythm be like. The idea with the layout of sheet music supported the work in it’s best way. Unfortunately not all of the potential was used. The sheet music alike lay out could have created more emphasis on certain pieces and made more accent on certain scenes and breaking points of the story. The number of mirrors allowed to create that playful layout. There were planned 30 pieces, I did not see it before, but after laying the work out on the floor and moving it around I decided to take 2 pieces out of the collection. Having 28 pieces instead of 30 worked better in terms of image combination and order. The 2 images did not fit in with the rest so I just decided to take them out. Loosing 2 pieces did not affect the work. I did not have all the scenes planned when I proposed this project so I believe it was expected to possibly end up with less than 30 pieces. This piece was created in phases. All the photos can be categorized in to small groups of five or less. The layout divided 28 images in to two parts . 14 Pieces in each part. Part one started with an introduction/greeting/invite – the viewer’s eyes meeting the first mirror with eyes looking at the viewer., getting the viewer involved, followed by conflict development – when the queen looks in the mirror, poisons the apples and disguises herself, Hands the apple. Part two continued with the similar scene as the first part ended. I think it created a link between two parts – two similar images of an apple being handed, Followed by an euphoric state, when blinded and not suspecting any danger- laying down surrounded by fresh apples, looking happy, dreaming of a better future. Waiting for a Prince to come. A breaking point of noticing danger, but it is already too late – when she holds the apple and notices the ink/poison. Death as a catharsis – thee scenes. Two where she is laying down surrounded by apples with ink, and one peacefully dreaming on a white background. And finally the awakening/resurrection. Followed by a full stop – where the pair of the eyes that greeted the viewer in to the work is closed and is on a black background. I wanted the piece to look like a dream. Where at the end the connection is lost and the eyes are closed. The journey ends. In terms of location, I believe the work was isolated from the rest of the exhibition. Which was not bad or good, it was different. The work connected however to a few other pieces. I think Stefan Higgs’ piece worked quite well in relation to my work. The distance between our work was enough to make the connection exist but not be too obvious. I like how the plants and glass from Stephan’s work supported the landscape and the forest in my fairy tale. The same way as my photos reminded the viewers about Stephan’s work that they possibly encountered when heading towards the café. I think our show was successful in terms of the dynamics and presence of work from different media. Such as installation,film,performance,sculpture,photography.