Statement of Intent I aim to investigate two pieces of work that I have been unable to realise, I hope that investigating

alternative scale and materials offered by attending this course I can examine what they mean to me and what I would like to communicate to the public by researching and expanding further the original concepts through collaboration, tutorials and process. I hope that this course will inform further planned works I intend to produce for the future and to enhance my idea of process and research that I feel I lack in my present practice.

Initial sketches for Itll All End In Tears

Exploratory sketches for internal lighting to the bag, hanging of tissues and weighting of tissues

Itll All End In Tears Casting

Readymades? If the bag is an impression of one of my mothers bags, an echo that still resonates now, then perhaps only her bags throughout her life would be sufficient to use. And as those very same bags do not exist anymore outside of my memory then perhaps an impression/representation of them would be more suitable than choosing a readymade no matter how near it might be to a visual memory of them. I will also be able to imbue something of myself in less of an oblique manner into the piece if I were to cast a bag. The bag may take a new ownership through the process of making it that wouldnt necessarily be there if I were to cast from a readymade or through the use of a readymade. The readymade, also, if bought from a charity shop, is someone else's bag and even further removed from the intimacy and personal biographical nature of the concept of this piece than would me using an actual bag my mother owned or owns. This readymade has its own secrets, its own stories that were discovered or hidden inside, those vignettes belong to someone else's life. And even though those stories and emotional contents that reside in the bag might be of a universal nature that many people experience and resonate just as much with I, they are still, not mine...not my own. Readymades are a one size fits all answer that, paradoxically, even though I am after the accessibility and universal appeal of such a title, will not satisfy me with the answers I am looking to visually communicate to the viewer. Porcelain My understanding of the this material and its contemporary use has always given it a delicate or fragile existence. A brittle form locked away in a faux medieval dresser with diamond leaded windows, never even used. You turn the plate over and see a stamp or the glazed word porcelain offering you an imagined majesty, regal or aspirational but fragile scene. Historically only owned by the few who could afford it, but now found on the back pages of the Sunday Mirror Magazine in equestrian guises or long gone afternoon Victorian walks; all poses and inflection through minor and delicate wrists or exquisite livery that shines. It plays with my perceived idea from an a early age of refinement and elegance, what I am fed as a notion of etiquette and taste. This material is the exact opposite of what is needed for the practicalities of owning and using a receptacle of this nature, but, the interior of such an object as a bag may well be delicate, brittle and fragile. It may well be as good as a cloaking Victorian, to hide away something of a delicate nature. Something that given over to a public viewing very well might collapse and smash and disintegrate someone's world. There is an ephemeral and abstract nature that is represented, or perhaps afforded the items that might be inside a bag, be those items physical or non physical. They come and go . . . and the resonance attached to them comes and goes, too. There is an ebb and flow to the contents, something that is needed at times and at others discarded with not a second thought. The physical (more grounded? That in being able to touch, recognise and therefore understand) bag, has a weight, A composite of research, manufacturing and assembly by peoples that the material itself is privy to and soaks up. The exterior nature is a non closeted item, it may well be coveted, but it is unhidden and non representational in its utilitarian nature. Unabashed at its solidity of form and posture.

Maquette and initial testing of scrunched tissues hung from nylon string. Individual tissues were scrunched by hand and unfurled. They were then, one by one, twisted into forms, sometimes looped or folded back and into each other. They were then tacked at strategic points with a small amount of PVA glue and left to dry. The glue help their form perfectly as, I think, did the srunching of them, creating ridges that supported each tissues form. Worried if there would be enough weight within the tissue to pull the nylon string down taught I played with the idea of lead fishing weights to be hung below each tissue. As the lead weights are mostly in the shape of a teardrop that was dismissed as too twee and cringe inducing. Small clear acrylic beads could be hung or attached to the interior of the tissue also but deemed too difficult due to the nature of each individual tissue sometimes not having an interior and thus revealing the beads, which I did not want. Luckily, when testing the hanging of the tissues with the string by using a glue gun to attach the tissues to the string I found the weight of the PVA and glue gun glue was enough to pull taught the nylon string. A 5lb weight of nylon string was used, the lightest they had in a nearby hardware shop.

Text was explored that might be included on the surface of the tissues but discounted as not only interfering with the form of the individual tissues and there sculptural qualities but how might en-masse, text interfere with the overall form. The text would have been applied with letterpress and using a transparent ink that when dries adds a deeper shade of the substrate. I thought also of burning all the tissue when it met the floor and slowly fading through monochrome using spraypaint until reaching the original white tissue at the opening of the bag, it was thought of in conjunction with lighting and if lighting might of been able to achieve a similar effect to this idea. I still might try to achieve this or something along these lines in the future with this piece.

Letterpress tissues test

Burnt tissue test

Different techniques / materials for the bag Other materials and techniques are explored for the bag itself. Paper clay - This has a body not dissimilar to terracotta but with a more gritty texture due to the addition of paper to the clay. Great for building with and solid but, colour wise (with or without a glaze), not what I am looking for.

Bag made from tissue A bag made from tissues or covered in tissues was explored also. Although in theory this idea appealed to me I thought after testing on a readymade bought from an art suppliers that it the aesthetic quality didnt sit right. Not only did I worry about the overall use of tissue if this were to be employed as the tissues sit on their own as individual vignettes but it somewhat, had an effect of wings/flight and the bag is more grounded than that, even if it is suspended high up.

Mod Roc Bag Mod Roc being one of my favourite materials was also explored. A paper form was built by making small paper balls from newspaper and held in place by masking tape. The mod roc was then applied to the surface of this former. If refined and finished well, mod roc I thought, could be a suitable replacement for porcelain and would have sat well aesthetically. The mod roc was kept as a standby if the porcelain decided to collapse completely in the kiln or explode or break in the firing process. Although this was a sketch I think the material lends itself to the idea of the bag and is able to create folds and contours in a similar fashion to clay. It is also light enough to combat what might be hanging difficulties involved with clay and is able to be used itself as a former for other materials to perhaps cover it for a different finish if required.

Rubber or plaster mould Plaster is cheap and a rubber mould would enable further investigation into casting with materials such as resins and additives. The difficulties involved include the interior of the bag (empty space). A piece of card could be added to the opening and re moved after the casting and pouring stages and cleaned up though. The tutors told me of the clay not setting within a rubber mould so, that discounts being able to play with porcelain here. Handles - Attaching to the bag after - how? (an animated feel is wanted for the handles as opposed to just hanging down, somewhat flat and lifeless) Cast/make 3 versions of the bag. Porcelain The clay was rolled out and left to dry overnight, a first attempt at constructing the bag ended in a collapse due to no supports being in place for certain areas of the bag such as the folds. I re-constituted the clay and after building strategic supports from rolled newspaper covered in plastic and held together by masking tape, attempted a second build of the bag. This attempt was successful and after the initial form was made I added handles, these were extremely fragile and worried me a lot. True to form the handles that were applied to the back of the bag broke and were discounted as visually didnt impact on what the bag looked like overall. After talking over what kind of firing was needed with tutors it was fired to a biscuit temperature enabling both a strengt h and it not being exposed to the danger of collapse or breakages if taken to a full temperature firing. The broken handles were also fired if decided to re-apply them after the firing process.

Construction and rear view of the bag

Front and rear view (with handles prior to breakage) with internal supports

The flux of porcelain, from what I understand sometimes happens inside the kiln whilst being fired interests me in relation to this piece also. A collapse and re-invention of itself can be a parallel that can run alongside one of the concepts involved with this piece, that being a dissipation of grief, burning, an emotional collapse and mourning. It is offered up as a ceremony that can be found throughout civilisations history. A burning offering that is associated with renewal, rebirth and death. I also like the idea of the porcelain being able to transmit light from within the bag, as if there is a furnace that will burn and produce energy for the dissipation of the tissues that spew out. An inner core that will not die, perhaps dim from time to time but is unable to extinguish itself. The interior is often closed off, but to communicate this interior sometimes helps a process of healing and understanding, even if through this process pain is served as a starter in the hope that the main and thereafter the dessert might result in satisfaction. Catalogue statement for Interim Exhibition A physical representation of both the residues of grief and its enactment. Its keeper, a bag, not able to contain this emotion anymore floods the space with temporary vignettes in the form of tissues that are wept into. When enough distance, healing and time has elapsed the tissues touch the ground, burn and dissipate. The tissues aesthetic and form are evoked by my memory of a swarm of butterflies that I watched approach, Envelope and pass over me before they continued downstream whilst I was walking up a rocky, tree and shrub covered stream one afternoon on an island in Asia.

Exhibitions/Artists and influences for Itll All End In Tears Rain - Random International - The Curve, Barbican, London What interested me in relation to my piece was the way people interacted with an artist or artists work. This piece was intentionally interactive and as such as far down that line as could possibly go. You were literally effected and had an effect physically by this piece. There is a single light source at the end of the gallery which you approach in a lose group through darkness, shadows cast on the wall as you approach it, already a sense of anticipation and togetherness is set up through this lighting and communal passage. It was interesting to watch peoples behaviour toward their interaction and base idea of how to navigate the work. Most people walked on a straight, direct path, paused in the centre, to experience the effect their bodies had on the work and then proceeded to take pictures. No one snaked around or deviated from this and not one person took a chance on getting soaked by increasing their speed so as to not give the sensors in the floor a chance to register their position. This, as well as a persons trajectory, struck me as odd and inferred to me a sense that, apart from the obvious temperature outside influencing these decisions, a fear of a natural source such as water could have and whether or not the group psyche influenced that or not. Or, maybe they just didnt want to get wet. My piece has no direct interaction as such apart from being able to circumnavigate it, but how someone navigates a piece of art influenced my decision to see this piece in relation to mine.

Exhibitions/Artists and influences for Itll All End In Tears Lure - Kate MccGwire - All Visual Arts, London Kate uses an object/material that is often found in isolation, a birds feather, they inform the individual works and also the themes for her shows. Although the materials for nearly all her pieces recently remain the same (the feather) the species of bird feather end in her researching connections between the bird and societys view of it throughout recent and sometimes ancient history. How these myths/ideas about the bird and its role within her work are played out well both cognitively and in form. The natural flow to the work is explored subtly, with wit and thoughtfully created, always keeping the concept faithfully in tow to the sculptural form. I wanted to see how a material can be used over and over again within a piece of work. Even though the individual pieces of the material are slightly different from each other I wanted to see an overall aesthetic that can be achieved. I also enjoy the way Kate takes from the materials and imbues them with an interesting research and narrative role also.

Group visit to Tate

The Crossing Place of Road and River. A Walk of the Same Length as the River - Richard Long

High Wire - Katherine Yass

An Oak Tree - Micheal Craig-Martin

Living with the present day limitations of a small income Stephen Willats

Group visit to ICA Galleries - Bjarne Melgaard: A House to Die In

Drawing workshop and mark making workshop

Scrim and graphite powder

Charcoal and graphite powder.

Exhibitions/Artists and influences for Itll All End In Tears Katie Paterson - I came across work a few years ago, her research especially with her Moonlight bulb particularly resonates with me. Her marriage of the scientific within fine art is astoundingly well researched and takes the use of light to an aesthetic level that is on par with someone like James Turrell and some of his work with light. Conrad Shawcross - I like the mechanical nature of Conrads work and its basis in again, equations and science. I enjoy the obvious male aesthetic and difference between someone like Conrads work and Katies. You can see that one is a male artist and one is female, but that is not to say that it is detrimental, it is complimentary and is just an aesthetic investigation that offers me anyway, an obvious gender slant when both are dealing in similar concepts for some of their works. Christian Marclay - Christian deals in video, and in my opinion, makes some of the best of it, accessible, thoughtful and again, researched brilliantly, almost painstakingly in this case. Wilhelm Sasnal - A painter essentially who distils some of his images down to quiet interpretations of others work and of his own, I enjoy the fact that when asked why he painted this or that he replies Because it looked right not in a pretentious or belligerent manner by way of an explanation, but because it just did. Kate MccGwire - As mentioned earlier (feather lady) The Garden - Wood, wire, letterpress banana leaves and strobe lights On the 11th December I participated in an exhibition The End Of The World at The Mile End Art Pavilion. I constructed this piece whilst attending the course. The Garden is a shaft of light imbued with specific text from Hindu, Islamic, Christian, Taoist and Bhuddist prayer given to a person or persons at the point of crossing over from this world to the perceived and believed next. The text is blind embossed without ink onto the banana leaves and lit from within the structure by flickering strobe light evoking that spiritual journey so described often as an end point into another realm. From an Atheist standpoint you can only stand and walk around the outside looking toward this notion of journey and faith but not help to wonder at the solace offered to a person of faith. The banana leaves, through their organic breakdown and deterioration, were used as a symbol alluding to death as so often found represented by rotting and decaying matter in other artworks throughout history and up to the present day.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised Julieta Hernandez Adame and I were invited to make a piece for Latina: Dialogues at The Institute of Education in Oct 2012 Wire, banana leaves and strobe light.

Considering both a European and Latin American perspective was persuasive when thinking of positing a piece of work made by and representing both of our continents. Whilst we played with stereotypical composites that are generally inherent when conversations ensue in a playful investigative approach to what one might say in a hypothetical dialogue that is presented as a might be definitive end result. We tried not to employ this when we considered an approach to representing What is Latin America? Universals instead, were. Although temporary and shifting, universals are still a central structure as to what holds a conversation together and in place for most people. This affords a dissemblance and organic free flow that is not always called upon when viewing each others continents through the eyes of social media landscapes and platforms or especially, more traditional forms of one way communication given to each others viewers and listeners i.e. television and radio. The recent elections that we witnessed in Mexico are an example of having to pick through and sieve what might be and what might not be a dialogue pertinent to that viewers or listeners position. Images viewed (that of a mass demonstration in Mexico City) via social media platforms were not seen by, probably, 90% of the population of Mexico. We factored in the control of the media in Mexico, the lack of coverage in usually relied upon media institutions outside of Mexico and a lack of access via the internet by the people in Mexico itself. One photograph relating to this probability in particular stood above the parapet of the ensuing mle that, one would hope, was bound to occur. Residents with access to the internet in rural or deprived areas were asked, via the use of social media platforms, to inform those without access to these (as is thought of in Europe) almost commonplace standards. The delivery of this information was, by printed matter either pinned or pasted on to walls or any accessible vantage point. This brought us back, full circle, to oral histories and the invention of the printed press. Although most of the population of Europe could not read when the Gutenberg press was invented, the few that could, would have imparted said information orally, that in turn, would become a dialogue that we now know to be essential to the democratisation of a continent. This television set is chosen as one of those universals that with each new generation may one day shift and become as obsolete as the Gutenberg press. The Banana leaves represent one of the many visual stereotypes that have helped us learn about another on this planet. Musician and lyricist Gil Scott Heron, kindly provides the words printed across this television screen.

A Certain Romance
An investigation into class, taste, difference and aspiration through a sculptural form

When I was a child I climbed out of my bedroom window, on to the roof and up to the top. It was about six in the morning. I sat astride the rooftop, exhilarated and frightened. Coming down was harder as the tiles kept slipping, making me lose my foothold. High Wire is a dream of walking in the air, out into nothing. But it has an urban background and the high-rise buildings provide the frame and support. The dream of reaching the sky is also a modernist dream of cities in the air, inspired by a utopian belief in progress. Every time I see Didier turning back I remember hearing him shout, from where I was standing on another rooftop, Cest pas possible! But something was possible, he returned safely. And something emerged from the actuality of the walk, which was a moment when reality became more of a dream than the dream itself.
Catherine Yass on High Wire

Maquette for A Certain Romance

Sketches relating to A Certain Romace

A Certain Romance Lace/net curtains, wood, wire, electronic components Dimensions variable Home, curtains, changed and washed, inhabitants, individual stories, social housing, me moving constantly from place to place, not having a home, waltzing, the uprooting of the static buildings, a want for perceived beauty via the act of waltzing, why would the buildings dance? What makes the buildings want to dance? Do the inhabitants want to dance? Would dancing be a connection or a release, is it a need that individuals would see as being important? Are not the buildings needs one in the same universally, would not the mock Tudor semi want to or need to dance as the high rise? Would their dance be selective, individual, communal, as is the dancehall? Is the act of dance a suitable metaphor? Is beauty found more readily now in a high rise as opposed to 50 years ago, does a more multi cultural make-up offer up a route to more beauty or a dissemination that might result in a different form of beauty whether dancing or not. Why a waltz? Why not a frenetic more contemporary form of dance? Is the waltz more a nostalgic metaphor from my upbringing? Or an honest appraisal of that time? And the not getting away from a more white Britain. I attended an exhibition/street event with a Chinese friend of mine, the exhibition was about Britain's role after the war in putting on the Olympic Games (political opportunism? Of course) but the country needed a moral boost according to the then government and this was thought a perfect way to deliver that boost. Lisa and I talked about the images and feel, that being of 50s street party, and how white it felt. We both agreed that that is sometimes shied away from and if it was underlined as to how white the celebratory feel would have been visually, it might of not happened, and that that was a shame as there was an obvious whiteness of the time. Is part of that beauty that I search for within those buildings because of an assumed lack of beauty in society at the time? Not having been exposed much to high end culture whilst growing up is it then that the buildings waltz is a yearning for the buildings and the inhabitants to pull their fucking socks up and push themselves. As there is beauty to be found in what they are, what they do and the results of them being that has every right to be construed as high end culture. Or a valid culture to that end. Did I, do I, view myself as different to everyone else in those flats? Was the original idea of one building being tethered to the wall an egocentric idea of myself? Am I then at odds with the other buildings? Is a division apparent to myself?