LOOSE ENDS : Clay and Copper sculpture
ADAD 1002 Assessment 2 Project Statement
What are we if not for our thoughts? It’s been found that an average human processes 70,000 thoughts in a single day, which counts down to almost a thought per second. This is one of the reasons why the human brain is said to be the most advanced and complex structure in the universe. We grow up believing that we are who we think we are, our thoughts mold us into who we want to be. We are human because we can control out thoughts. But with a glitch in the system, what if we could lost that control?
Intrusive thoughts and anxious impules have long before been considered to be the generic traits of “OCD”, and little do most know of the nature of such thoughts, how it impacts one’s emotions, personality, and overall lifestyle. Intrusive thoughts are obsessive- ever recurring, often mostly un-realisitic, that invoke an unnecessary fear in the mind. Unless one has experienced a lap of such continuous episodes, they wouldn’t feel the extent of such inner weakness. These thoughts always dwell on the worst of life’s scenarios, and based on our mental reaction ,these thoughts tend to keep coming back every time you would try to rationalize with it. In Assessment 1, I focused on the cyclic continuity between anxious thought and mental reaction. In Assessment 2, I wanted to overview the glitch as a whole.
I continued my exploration and experimentation from assignment 1 with the intention of trying out new sculpting mediums- as I was very interested in visualizing forms creating in 3D. My key goal in this assignment period was to work with new materials like metal wire, molding clay and also to experiment 3D modeling at the Virtual Reality studio. I was mainly inspired by 3 artists: Kate McDowell, Christina Mrozik and Odani Motohiko; each of their styles resonated a beautifully eerie feel influenced by the Dark art and surrealist eras, and this is what inspired me to explore into a more ‘darker’ side of the theme.
In my first experiment, I used bendable copper wire to create a mini sculpture of a brain formed by a snake. I liked visualizing this glitch as a snake – it brought out the eerie feel I was looking for, though I wasn’t sure of my final project at the time. From there on, I went on to recreate this sculpture in Virtual Reality using ‘GravitySpace’. VR modeling was definitely a highlight for me in this assessment. I had not tried it before and I loved experimenting with the various brushes and tools available. My plan of execution at this point was to 3D print a mini sculpture which I could create in VR, by developing my idea from the copper wire sculpture I had made. Due to time constraints and having to allow a two week period to 3D print, I was unable to go ahead with that idea, so this gave me the opportunity to model my own sculpture using modeling clay.
At this point, I had to narrow my focus on concept. My final statement was based on how something we have so much control over, somehow find its way to take control over you and my final project idea was to envision the mind as an imposter – the snake being a perfect symbol of betrayal. My sculpture shows the interaction between mind and self – clay and copper, how the mind begins to gain control and take over. The gradual metallic in-growths on the face suggest this idea of ‘gaining control’. I chose black Molding clay and Copper wire for this sculpture because I felt they both contrasted very well in visual appearance and surface quality. The clay portrayed a sense of solidarity, grounding and control, whereas the copper wire brought on a sense of drama, manipulation and acted as a center of attention in contrast. Ironically, Copper is also said to facilitate mental agility. The figure heard appears to be slightly tilted to the right which creates a very interesting overall balance within the sculpture. I created the copper snake using the ‘snake weave’. If I were to re- do the sculpture, I would have chosen to replace the inner silver cable wires to be copper ones too so the colour stays pure and consistent.
Overall this Assessment was a good journey which allowed me to push past my boundaries a bit more and I’m glad I got to get some hands on experimentation done and recorded. I have never sculpted before and this was definitely a self-learning experience, and I’m pretty happy with my final result!
Bibliography
http://www.human-memory.net/brain_neurons.html
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-superhuman-mind/201303/what-is-consciousness
http://www.darkartandcraft.com/blog/2015/10/28/the-dark-arts-of-japan
https://www.artsy.net/artist/kate-macdowell
http://christinamrozik.com/