Group Project - Artist Statement
By S.Dute, S.Wiltshire, K.Amos, E.Hodges
14 days, 33 hours total, 200 notes + 5 Minute Smartphone Video Documentation
The title, ‘Transience’, refers to the ephemeral nature of the present that reflects the moments of everyday life.
‘Transience’ was based on the topic Documentation, specifically focusing on the documentation artwork ‘Performing The Situated Line’ (2013) curated by Michele Elliot in which artist Boni Cairncross documented 60 hours over 10 days. By occupying a space consecutively she attempted to capture the present in a form of real time documentation which resulted in 708 notes. ‘Transience’ is an extension, but also an inversion of this artwork, in which our own interactions also become the space of scrutiny, documenting the events that occur in our own everyday lives within society.
The artwork is composed of 200 written paper documentations overlaid with a 5 minute smart-phone video edited together from footage each artist took on location.
The notes are hung chronologically and represent the individual moments that make up each artist's personal observations and reflections of the documentation experience. Simultaneously, the added projected video brings to life the memories for the audience to experience for themselves while emphasizing the concept that the documentation process itself has become the artwork. How the audience approaches the artwork remains entirely up to them; they can look at each individual documentation as a singular piece of artwork in a series, or the entire artwork can be viewed as a single entity.
‘Transience’ explores the fleeting nature of the present which we have attempted to capture and has now become embedded in the paper and footage. As a result of this, a relationship has emerged between the ‘now’ of the present and the ‘now’ being captured, in which we can never truly capture the present as it becomes the past on the page. Furthermore, ‘Transience’ explores our perception of the environment and ourselves within it as well as questioning what makes up our lives and consequently, ourselves. Thus, this artwork poses the philosophical question; is it a documentation of objective life, or a documentation of our subjective selves?