I’ve been feeling a little lost recently in terms of the work I’m creating. I think this is partially due to the fact that I’ve stopped the rock tracking and have also stopped sculpting with the found materials and glue as I was last term, leaving me with mainly new, early experimental techniques looking forward to the degree show. I have also been feeling a little lost in terms of what it is I want my work to actual be exploring; I feel I have been exploring the concept of ‘vital materiality’ for some time now, and still haven’t quite achieved a piece that quite captures the complexity and nuance of the concept. This lack of both conceptual and material grounding has left me feeling a little disoriented, especially with the added pressure of the upcoming degree show. As such, this week I have been trying to find ways to counter this – to re-ground myself and my practice.
I have spent a couple of days at Tate St Ives this week (One with the Tate Emerging Artist programme and one with the Tate Collective Producers), so have been able to see the new show by Thao Nguyen Phan. The show centres on the Mekong River, drawing together the history, culture, nature, politics and folklore of the river in a number of pieces which span from moving image work to silk paintings. The way Phan has used this one central figure of the river to bring together such a diverse selection of works is something that I feel may be useful to my own work – introducing something new and tangible to work out from, rather than vice versa. As such, I have been experimenting with the idea of bringing water in as a central theme/link/figure. It feels pertinent that water comes into my practice given its importance in my dissertation, and it feels like it has been an unspoken background agent in my work for some time; the gathered objects I have been working with have all been gathered from tidelines, and thus have been shaped and carried by water.
Materially, I started this exploration through paper and drawings. My two-sided drawings started to explore a more three-dimensional element to a medium that is usually considered 2D, and I have been trying to push this further by making paper sculptures. Thus far, I had had little success with these, finding paper a surprisingly hard medium to impulsively mould and shape. I tried this week to use a glue gun (instead of tape) to hold the sculptures together, and this lead me also to start appreciating the way paper retains traces of its movement (i.e. rather than trying to keep the paper smooth as I sculpt, instead allowing it to scrunch and fold). The main step forwards, though, was introducing water to the paper. Paper’s sculptural quality changes noticeably when submerged in water, and has some intriguing qualities that I hope to be able to use to my advantage. For one, the bubbling of the paper means that even when it has dried it has a more tactile, textural quality to it, that start to make the drawings feel a little more sculptural. They also will stick to flat surfaces, and remain stuck for surprisingly long after the paper has dried. I’m not sure if this might be interesting to consider as a hanging technique – sticking my work up by submerging it in water and throwing it onto the wall/window. It could be fun to have the works occasionally flying off the wall/window over the course of the week as the paper slowly dries.
Another brief experiment I tried was introducing oil to the mix. Not only does it create some more swirling patterns on the paper than the water alone (more noticeable but also could be cliche?), it creates the effect of making the paper more translucent. This could mean I get more depth for my double sided drawings (as in I can layer more sheets of paper without losing the light coming through), but equally it does somewhat flatten the otherwise nicely two-tone difference between the two sides. However, I noticed the oil also continues to spread through the paper long after it has been introduced – again, another potential avenue for further exploration. The effect at the edges of the oil, where it slowly fans out into the paper, is somewhat reminiscent of a tideline. This is another figure that could be useful in grounding the work, just like water (and relates to the work of Alice Fox who I looked at this week).
In terms of the paper sculptures, I still feel it might be beneficial to have a clearer idea of what it is I’m trying to sculpt. Thus far it has all been miscellaneous forms, shapes and ‘things’, but again it may help to have a more tangible, material grounding to work out from. One option I have considered, particularly if I am going to be introducing water more overtly, is to create a series of receptacles. I like how these have the potential to be sculpted by the water (maybe being left to sit until the water soaks out?), but also speak to the history of many of the found fragments I have. My hope is that if I have a series of paper pieces that speak obviously of watery interactions, that when this is exhibited alongside found fragments (whether as sculptures or just the pieces), this brings a consideration of water more overtly to these too.
Another strand I have ongoing still is the search for the alchemic. My ceramics have been fired this week but I have yet to see the outcome. However, I am beginning to feel that I may need to consider other routes for this, whether in ceramic or outside of this as I’m not optimistic that my first batch of sculptures will have changed or shifted much in the kiln. I need to ask Karl if he has any recommendations for things which move in the kiln (I might ask about the possibility of making paper/cardboard structures that then burn away), and possibly pursue this option. Outside of this, however, I also am currently waiting for some seaweed to be cast in bronze – another process that I feel could be quite alchemic. Again, I am still waiting on the results from this, but it could be another potentially interesting route of research.
Overall, I feel I have made some small steps of progress on multiple different areas of my research this week. I need to ensure I keep up this level of material experimentation over the week, especially with the upcoming crits and open studios. I have considered printing some small text extracts and using these as opportunities to play around with exhibiting text alongside works (and this will also help, I think, with my own personal understanding of the work) so I may try and work on this next week. It may also be worth my re-visiting previous elements of my practice that I felt were successful, such as the ‘wilder’ pink seaweed etc.
Anna Harris 