Some photos of my collaborative performance with Nathan Dean back in December where we performed a piece that would eventually be known as giftgiftgift. We will return this Thursday at The Cass in Whitechapel with a new mix of music and poetry.
After running a well received workshop at this year’s Cass summer show, Russell Weekes sat down with final year student Andrew Sosnowski to discuss it and the theme of the show: the process of making.
Andrew Sosnowski: Could you tell us a bit about yourself?
Russell Weekes: My interests are often focused on the idea. This can be in developing ideas within my own work, or looking at the ways in which we use and communicate ideas in our everyday lives. I'm particularly interested in our everyday environments as the source to generate ideas, making observations and connections that change the way we see the world around us.
AS: What appealed to you about running a workshop in the Hothouse summer show this year?
RW: I think workshops are a great way to try something new. In 3 hours you don't have the pressure to create something 'finished', so as a result we are free to be playful in our approach and not worry about making mistakes. I like the randomness of workshops, in planning them you don't know who will attend, and those who do attend often don't know exactly what it is they'll be doing. It creates a situation where everyone has to bring some enthusiasm and interest, otherwise it fails.
AS: What had you hoped to see come out of your workshop?
RW: I tried to create a workshop that set clear limitations, but within those there was the encouragement to come up with your own ideas and way of working. The hope is always that a workshop might offer participants the chance to try something new, and potentially trigger something that will be developed in the future.
AS:How do you think it went?
RW: The workshop group were enthusiastic and had some interesting ideas. I think they made some really fun work and was happy to see that people came from different backgrounds and disciplines; illustration, design, fashion and fine art.Some had plans to incorporate animation into their work, while others were just interested in trying something different. I hope everyone got what they wanted from being involved?
AS: The theme of the show this year is process. See are a few questions about how we design: Does form follow function or does form follow tools?
RW: Depending on the project I think it could be either. Ideas can be based around the function of the end result, but experimenting with processes are equally likely to become a starting point for an idea. I'd probably like to throw in 'form follows ideas', as for me the final execution is often decided based on what best communicates the idea. Maybe the idea counts as the 'function'? I'm not sure the question feels quite cryptic.
AS: How we can subvert the original intention of the process?
RW: This is something I've always been interested in. Taking something that we know, that has a purpose, and using it differently. I think this works really well when you somehow combine the 'familiar' with the 'unexpected'. When the audience knows the original, the subversion can make them look at it in a whole new light. These kinds of ideas become stronger because the audience are able to add their own experience and knowledge, so we connect with the idea.
AS: How does the process of making inform design thinking?
I've always found that making and experimenting helps me to generate new ideas. Making something gives you a better understanding of the possibilities. You discover problems that were not foreseen in the ideas stage, and also opportunities. One thing can lead to the next, even working on jobs that haven't been successful, might have taught you really useful skills or knowledge that you can put into practice on other projects. For me, making can involve notebooks with rough ideas, experimenting with a technique, collaborating with others or producing 'finished' projects. These all offer different benefits and challenges, it is about finding a way that best helps you develop your way of working.
AS: To give current students a sense of the challenges that await them in the future, what would you say is the biggest difficulty you’ve had to overcome as a designer?
RW: This is so subjective, each person will have their own difficulties and successes. Being aware that these challenges can be a good thing is perhaps something worth remembering. Through challenges or difficulties you learn to problem solve, and this helps you develop your working process. Personally for me, the realisation that not having a specialism is a good thing for my work has been really useful. This certainly hasn't made problems disappear, but in some ways I am clearer in knowing what I can change and what I should accept is always likely to be a difficulty. For someone else, not having a specialism wouldn't work at all, or make sense. I think it comes down to taking the time to try things out and develop your own way of working.
AS: Do you have any advice for students graduating this year who aren’t quite sure what their next step should be?
I would say that it is good to think of your next step as one of many steps, rather than it being a decision that will be forever. Although it is important to think about the choices you make, there can be a benefit in trying things and seeing where they might take you. Another thing that I think is important, is to try and explore your own ideas outside of commercial jobs. By continuing to make your own work, you are able to experiment and develop your working and thinking processes further. You are also able to show what you can do, without relying on someone else to employ you to do it. This can help to build confidence in your own approach. Projects don't have to be big, or involve a lot of time or money, the key is to plan them within your own limitations. If your ideas aren't in some way practical to create, they can easily sit on the back-burner for a long time.
