Sophie Molins
SophieMolins is an artist and photographer who has exhibited widely in the UK andabroad. She currently works as a freelance photographer; however when she came to speak in our Gravity lecture she shared other works with us.
The first few bits of work that she spoke to us about were personal pieces and I really enjoyed hearing the stories of her mother, and the processes that she goes through whilst trying to work out an outcome from the ideas she has for her next piece. Like arranging her mother's old shoes and shoelaces in different ways, and scanning them to her computer. (image below from 'In My Mother's Shoes')
My favourite thing that Molins' showed us was in the piece she made through the grief of losing her mother. This was the part where she arranged her mother's shoes so that they looked like butterflies (seen below), relating to the symbolism of butterflies being loved ones who have passed away (a concept found in several cultures). This is an idea that I have thought about a lot and used in my own work many times, and I love how Molins made it extra personal by using the shoes to show the butterflies as opposed to just using butterflies. This piece is a website (www.deepdowndarkhorse.com) that is a tribute to her mother.
Molins' has created various works using these shoes, passed on from her late mother. Another piece was an installation of the butterfly shoes cut out of clear plastic and hung with lights casting shadows of butterflies on the wall.
After this, Molins shared with us a piece of work that was quite different in its concept. This was a commission that she had done for the "House of Beasts" exhibition that took place in the stables, mansion and parkland of Attingham Park, Shrewsbury, Shropshire. The works in the exhibition were inspired by Attingham’s history and responded to its collections of Regency furniture, silver, paintings, porcelain and textiles that reflect the changing fortunes of the property and the collecting habits of the family. More specifically, they were to investigate our relationship with the animals that live with us or near us, whether domestic, wild or managed. Artists commissioned for this exhibition were to choose an object from the houses collections as a starting point for their pieces; Molins' chose a music box which had a kinetic monkey conducting next to a harp as the starting point for her piece (seen in the image below), this was a gift from Thomas Noel-Hill, 2nd Lord Berwick to Sophia, 2nd Lady Berwick, as a romantic gesture. I feel this was a very appropriate choice because it links directly to the relationship between animals and humans around the house. and gave us beautiful descriptions and stories of the house and its gardens which showed how much she researched the building and its history. Her final piece for the exhibition was another website, www.sundialinmoonlight.com
"House of Beasts" showcases the importance of Attingham’s animal population, past and present, and its part in the history of the estate. The contemporary art works offer an opportunity to revisit the diversity and wealth of Attingham’s collections, and the website makes this something that can be accessed at any time from all over the world. Once you enter the website, the cursor becomes a small picture of the monkey music box and the idea of the site is similar to deepdowndarkhorse. You click on different objects, all of which relate to the house, or drag them across the screen to get to other parts of the website (or artwork) as if following a story. Each are like moving collages that you are free to explore and I enjoy the interaction that they offer.
Since Molins' came to speak to us, I have researched her work further and found a lot of her photography. I found these to be quite inspiring and quite wish she had discussed them with us in the lecture. A series called "Zoo" appears as if it could have been a continuation of the ideas raised in "House of Beasts". The images in this series depict urban scenes with an overlay of an animal - a very stark contrast of humans and animals. (Image below: An image from "Zoo")
Before this lecture, I wouldn’t have thought that a website could be an artwork - and I’m still a bit unsure - but Molins has definitely created a couple that are interesting and thought provoking. Since the lecture I have used digital media more as I have found a new appreciation for it, I loved that Molins described it as a way to make her work constantly exhibited in a place where it can be viewed anywhere in the world. I feel that this is something I can relate to, however I am still a little sceptical and personally enjoy using physical media too much.
