Part one has been a valuable experience.  It taught me new approaches to making, writing, and critical thinking. What I enjoyed most is the introduction to contemporary artists’ works that are relevant to recent global issues. The projects were broad enabling me to explore social and conceptual concerns. In Paragraphs on Conceptual Art, Sol LeWitt writes that “the idea becomes the machine that makes the art” and that conceptual art is for the mind rather than the eyes, therefore a tool to make us think.

‘Material News’ was the first sculpture project. I chose to discuss Hurricane Dorian. This project was influenced by Damien Ortega who made art in response to news each day for a month. A press release by This Is Tomorrow compared his approach to a journalist, saying how it is a “different process to most visual artists”.  I covered seven clear plastic poles with red thread in repetitive circles attempting to mimic the motion of wind. In order to execute this piece, I watched videos about minimalism in order to represent this issue indirectly to make the viewer think. A video by The Art Assignment says that minimalism is “a world more simplified than the actual world is” which inspired me to look at the issue from an abstract lens and tone down the chaos of the subject. I have always been interested in minimalism and simplicity letting materials speak for themselves. I do not like to overpower my work as I believe it loses its spark. The blog, Stone Ward, states “don’t confuse complexity with value”. I think about this often when developing ideas. There is ambiguity in a simple structure because it makes me think about what is being simplified.

My ‘Place’ project was conceptual. I aimed to show the effects of anxiety, tension, and mental instability by making a wooden sculpture of two unbalanced chairs on top of each other. The wood workshop was useful because I learnt how to construct a chair, set measurements, and how parts fit into each other. I only used plastic and wood to emphasise the shape and direct attention to the concept. After visiting Mona Hatoum’s exhibition, I was fascinated with how she utilizes her materials. She spoke about her approach saying she likes to put together things she finds. The execution of her work allows the power and beauty of, often unusual materials, to emerge. Our pieces had to be displayed in a specific location, making me think about the effects of location on my work.  Miwon Kwon in her book One Place After Another writes how a ‘place’ is a location that is familiar, whether tangible or intangible and how our identity lies within our connection to places. I agreed with her points and looked them conceptually. Working with the idea of anxiety and realising that it really is a part of my identity.

After exploring different pathways, I want to specialise in Sculpture because I find working with materials and objects the best method to communicate ideas. Tangibility is powerful because there isn’t a barrier between the art and the viewer. In Contemporary Installation Art by Aihong Li, Emmanuelle Moureaux describes installations as “pure emotions… our body enveloped by structural forms… felt entirely by the five senses”. He continues saying, “a three-dimensional spatial experience through emotions”. This stood out to me because at the start of the course we were frequently asked about our work in relation to space and audience. I believe it is crucial to think about our audience because how they interpret and react to the work somewhat defines it. Any reaction, positive or negative, gives the work value because an emotion is triggered. ThoughtCo blog writes that space is a part of the “overall visual impact” and “gives the viewer a reference for interpreting an artwork”.  Sculptures occupy physical space, so it is important to take into account how the audience feels in relation to the space. Is the aim to surround?  to intrude? to welcome?

A useful activity is the CRIT because it taught me to think critically. The opportunity to get feedback from others is beneficial because I get an insight on various perspectives. It also shows what I respond to most when I give feedback to others. I often try to see what emotions the artist is trying to make me feel.

I  learned a new approach, thinking through making. Letting objects guide me helps to understand their limits, what methods work, and what don’t. This was the most significant thing I learnt because it made it easier for me to start making and developing my ideas. Anthropologist Tim Ingold writes in his blog “that creativity emerges from within an ongoing, improvisational process between makers, materials and other non-human things such as tools”. Slightly improvising and being spontaneous is exciting as it leads to surprises.

I look forward to working with new materials and learning new approaches. The sculpture pathway will allow me to challenge myself and improve.

I am applying to BA in Fine Art because it is a broad subject that will give me the opportunity to build up my skills and work with a range of techniques, expand my knowledge and expose me to a wealth of creative ideas.

I am enjoying my Fine Art Foundation course in Sculpture. I have learnt how to be more analytical and question things. I am learning and improving my skills in critical thinking and I am becoming more self-aware. Foundation has introduced me to new contemporary artists which I found useful because their work explores diverse and current issues, cultures, and interpretations. This has inspired me to base the contexts of my work on issues happening around the world, for example mental health and healthcare. There are a number of other topics that I hope to get the chance to explore such as mental illnesses which is inspired by a book I am currently reading, ‘The Man Who Mistook His Wife for A Hat’ by Oliver Sacks. It has made me curious and interested in the idea of loss and gain of control, imbalance, discomfort. I made a Pinata out of cardboard and sticks out of wood and hung it from the ceiling from its smallest side to create tension. I let the audience break it as a part of the performance and recorded it to document the transformation of the sculpture. Giving the sticks to the audience was my loss of control over my piece. Similar to lack of control caused by mental illnesses mentioned in the book. They are now controlled by doctors the same way my piece is controlled by the audience. The performative aspect was inspired by John Wood and Paul Harrison’s performances manipulating familiar objects.

I also made a wooden sculpture of two unbalanced chairs attached together. I wanted to create discomfort through changing the function of a familiar object. This was influenced by Mona Hatoum. After visiting her exhibition, I was intrigued with the succinctness of her art and how she often uses only one or two materials. I find pared back structures fascinating because they look incomplete and ambiguous. I researched simplicity in art and came across a statement on a blog called Stone Ward saying, “Don’t confuse complexity with value”. This stuck with me and gave me a number of ideas I hope to experiment with in the future.

The most significant approach I have learned is ‘thinking through making’. Allowing the materials to guide me has allowed me to understand the objects and has led to surprises in my work. This method was encouraged after researching the works of Tara Donovan and how she uses her objects and materials. With her influence I used toothpicks to create an unrecognisable form by figuring out the limits of the objects, and what I can and cannot do with it. I have found new approaches to generating ideas by looking at sources outside of the Fine Art realm and looking more into cultures and inspiration from the environment around me. The Wellcome Collection ‘Being Human’ exhibition is a great example of this. It led me to think about what it means to be human in the world around us. I have discovered that it is easier to research and analyse artists’ works when I pinpoint exactly what it is, I find interesting. It narrows down my thoughts and gives me specific ideas to explore further.

On BA, I would experiment deeper with installations and investigate the relation between space, location, and scale. I aim to find new ways of making interactive art, and pieces that require the audience’s participation for its completion. There is still much for me to improve and more I want to learn. During my BA I will interact with other students and work collaboratively to become motivated and benefit from a talented environment. I believe I am good with constructive criticism and accepting different views. I am certain this course will be challenging but I am determined to work hard to become a practising artist.

After seeing pieces such as The World Under Pressure by Batoul S'Himi and Refugee Astronaut by Yinka Shonibare, I was inspired to focus on works relating to either current issues around the world because it shows the obstacles people have to go through and the problems people are battling. I think challenges are crucial for development, learning, and experience, which are all parts of being human. It can also show that we still have to improve and help each other. This shows that humans make mistakes and we can be destructive and selfish at times. Selfish because we do not empathise as much as we should. We do not grasp the seriousness of an issue if we are not involved in the situation. This limits the power and help we can offer. I wanted to discuss issues related to healthcare and if it should be free, if its sufficient, and if enough healthcare provided in countries that need it most (low income countries). This topic raises many questions that I cannot answer but I aim to make the viewers be curious with me. I looked into the countries that the universal healthcare system covers and found out that most of Africa and large areas of North America and Asia are not provided with free healthcare. So it is not a universal system. This was a concern to me because Africa is the poorest continent in the world therefore they cannot afford health care. But does that mean they shouldn't be provided with treatments to prolong and save their lives? Of course money runs everything and I may be looking at this in a philosophical sense because it is a lot more complicated than just making something free, but there comes a point were we should put the lives of people before money. Developing countries still have fatal diseases such as Polio, HIV, Malaria and more which is caused by lack of health education and care. Why should healthcare be unaccessible to countries that need it the most? Shouldn't everyone be given the same benefits about such a necessary thing for survival regardless of wealth? This is an inhumane act from humans. People are left untreated from fatal diseases, people are uneducated on sanitation. This goes to show how important money is to us. How money means power and priority. We put a price on survival. 

I wanted to build something that shows healthcare is unaccessible. Something that looks like you cannot go in and reach it. I used a pill to represent healthcare because it will give a hint about the context. I sketched out several compositions to find the best way to make it look cased or locked. I ended up deciding to put the pill in a small box then put the small box in a larger box. The layers are to show the difficulty of accessing the pill. I had forgot to clean the fingerprints and dust off the small plastic box inside which I ended up liking because it could be interpreted as desperation. This fits well with my context and reduces the aesthetic feel which may be a good thing because it makes this sculpture more serious. I used acrylic plastic to make the box because its clear which diverts attention on the pill. It also compliments the design of the box because I wanted it to have a laboratory effect which is suitable for topic of medicine. I think the most successful aspect of this piece was its simplicity because it made the pill stand out. This was successful because it highlights the importance of the pill, therefore the urgency of healthcare to those in need. The composition and how its placed on a stand inside the box makes it look fragile and delicate. This suggests the value of this pill. I was given a suggestion on how to improve this piece by maybe even using only the small box because it would highlight the fragility of the pill which would contrast the power of medicine, or even no box at all. They did see why I had presented it in this manner but this is an interesting idea to think about. The more fragile the pill looks, the more value and importance it is given. This suggests its power. Those who cannot afford medication view this pill as something they crave and need. (Perhaps something like a jackpot?). So creating this piece from the perspective of someone who cannot access it gives this piece the character it needs. I could improve this piece by placing it on a plinth at eye level. This will increase its impact because it is quite small. This was suggested to me by my peers. They also guessed the context of my work quite easily which is good for issues like this. As I was aiming to spread awareness for this issue I would not want to make a piece that was difficult to interpret because it would not come across as direct and accurate as I would want. I wouldn't want the viewer to misinterpret the issue as well. 

I want my statement to whoever opens the time capsule to be that healthcare was not sufficient and that it did not save as many live as it should have.

Today we discussed the idea of Art and Protest. Art is such a powerful tool and platform to make a statement. Artists use it as an informal and more intriguing way to inform viewers about global issues. Art can be displayed anywhere and to anyone e.g. graffiti, street art, exhibitions, online etc. Governments often try to make everything seem fine about global issues, therefore they may be in control of how much information we get from news sources. But art has no limits. Art is in the control of its maker. Art is a form of free speech. It speaks louder than words. So what can we do as artists? How much impact do we have? 

We looked at several artists and two stood out to me because they're work is very natural, unfiltered, and protests these issues by showing visual evidence of the effects of social problems.  Hikaru Fujii in 2013 documented the aftermath of the Fukushima earthquake in the form of an installation. He said in an interview that after the earthquake, "I visited the afflicted area and started documenting on film what culturally- and artistically-connected people were active with there." Similarly, Komori and Seo worked together to document and support affected areas after a large tsunami in Tohoku (Japan) and listen to the stories of the local people in order to project voices to wider audiences. They used art to bring to highlight the voices of locals and give audiences a view from their perspective. These artists are using their platform to bring awareness to these traumas, but what can their platform do for people affected? This brought us to the discussion about money and how these artists may have documented these events to help raise funds. Someone mentioned that money we raise is not a lot compared to the scale of the issue. Which to an extent I agree with because money can become the problem. People affected by these events may need therapy and trauma support instead of just giving money without support. This may lead to money being spent on drinking, smoking, etc. People who gave money may feel good but throwing money at people may lead to it being used ineffectively or harmfully. However, with the correct amount of control, money can help solve most of the issues. 

We were visited by Satoshi Hashimoto who showed us his works. His works are interactive and he made some interesting points about interactive art. He discussed how performative art makes it easier to find out how the audience is interacting with your work. He sets instructions with his art to tell the audience how he wants them to interact with it. If you instruct actions to perform, you have control over the audience and how they view and react to your piece. Some objects contain instructions in themselves for example, chairs, stairs, books, bins. This is because we are used to interacting with these objects in a specific way.

We were set a task to choose objects, set instructions, and interact with them. I labeled basic objects with opposite instructions to play on the idea of humans being self destructive. Humans sometimes rebel with themselves. We are urged to do what they are told not to. This is a human trait we carry from childhood to adulthood. This is a concern to me because it has started to be associated with activities that are harmful to us like cigarets. The pack literally says 'smoking kills' with images that evidence how harmful it is, yet this is not effective. I will not be able to answer this but why are we self destructive? maybe we do not like being told what to do or maybe we don't like being controlled. Perhaps we don't like the confrontational aspect of being told what to do or what not to do. 

This project is based on 'formlessness'. The aim was to eliminate recognisable forms and create something that has no use, function, or recognition. After reading Bataille's theory about formlessness it reminded me about a patient with visual agnosia in a book I was reading, 'The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat' by Oliver sacks. Visual agnosia is defined as "a condition in which a person can see but cannot recognise or interpret visual information". The patient in the case I was reading could not identify facial features and certain details in the environment around him. He would often paint abstract painting, not necessarily because of his interest in abstract art, but I think his paintings were an indication of what he was seeing. Thinking about how he could not identify facial features but could identify that it was a person made me think about a blur. I made an abstract form out of clear and mirror acrylic plastic. I used clear plastic because it I wanted to emphasis the thought of seeing because it's transparent so it reminds us that we can see through it. I melted 2 sheets and shaped them into a random form, influenced by Lift by Richard Serra. I used frosted glass spray to create a blur on the clear acrylic. This was in hopes of creating frustration because something that is transparent is now blocked. I wanted the fewer to get a glimpse of what people who suffer visual agnosia may see.  I also melted a small thin sheet of mirror acrylic and  shaped it onto the clear plastic forms to make it fit onto it, slightly like a puzzle. When melted the mirror is no longer reflective and you cannot see yourself. This was to represent that sometimes people with agnosia cannot even identify themselves in the mirror. The part I like the most about this piece is the blurred effect from the frosted glass spray because I have noticed that it made my peers slightly confused at the first glance. Also because it's foggy and hazy but you can still see very abstract forms through it so it creates discomfort. I do not like the shape of the piece because its resembles a vase and that gives it aesthetic which I wanted to avoid because of the context of the piece. If I had more time I would have shaped some areas geometrically to reduce its aesthetic dynamism and for contrast. 

I made a second piece because there was another case in this book I felt would interesting to represent using the themes of this project. It is about a patients mental experience with losing a leg. I used steel because I wanted to use materials I had never used before. Metal is a harsh and strong material which I felt was appropriate to the context I am exploring. I was also interested in the solidity and weight of Gnaw by Janine Antoni so I wanted to use a material that looks heavy because I believe weight in art creates impact. I used a large rusty sheet of steel and cut out a large piece from the centre to represent a something missing/gone. Locating it in the centre was to reference emotional pain and how it's not only a physical loss but an emotional/mental one too. I used a hammer to damage the clean cuts and make it look like the piece was ripped off. I welded the edges of the cut to create texture and remove any straight lines from the cuts. Then I used an angle grinder to smooth the metal blobs that formed. I used a heat torch to darken the edges for contrast and to create a sad/dark effect. I was surprised when the torch also gave it a slight rainbow. I was not mad at this because it made everything look more chaotic. There were still areas that were too smooth for what I was aiming to do so I used a different type of angle grinder to create harsh scratches onto it. Before doing all this on the main (big) piece I experimented on the piece I cut out. I ended up liking that one more than the actual piece because it looks chaotic and unintentional. I was very spontaneous with that part because I did not plan to present it and that is what made it turn out more successful. The different textures/colours/effects of the rust, burn, welding look unified. The main piece I felt lacked unity because I was too careful with where I did everything and it was too planned. Too improve this piece I would be more effortless and spontaneous in order to achieve the chaos, force, and struggle of my concept. I chose to display both pieces because they complimented each other. Thinking about this conceptually, they are detached and although we can see how they can fit together, they can no longer be connected again due to the damages caused when detatched. It will no longer go back to its original form. This may be a visual representation of how the patient is feeling mentally. 

I chose the sound baffle boards on the ceiling as a site because it is hung seamlessly and is very close to the ceiling. I thought about how I cannot see what is on top and my aim for this project was to highlight how we cannot see what is there. I wanted to make something enigmatic and minimalist. This would be by using materials that have multiple uses and can create several different outcomes. The board is also isolated from the rest of the stuff in the classroom. It was a part of the room I thought most were not concerned with. I liked the tense feeling it gave me because this large board is hung by 4 thin strings. I wanted to exaggerate this tension. I wanted to bring attention to it as it is a part of the room and is a useful object. 

I started out sketching ideas about tension and disbalance by creating a complex form poorly hung from the bottom of the board. I felt this was too direct and I was not focusing on what i initially found interesting about this site. I wanted to make effective use of that space. I then looked into psychological tension and how to confuse the audience. Using the space above the board to make the audience curious because they are unable to see it. I had an idea create tension by using a mirror, which is meant to reflect what is there, to not show what is above. As if i am conveying that i do not what them to see what is there. Even if there is nothing it is fun to create ambiguity because I want to see the reaction/thoughts of the audience. The only thing a mirror does not reflect is itself. Therefore a reflection of nothing. I liked the idea of 'nothingness'. I played around with this and had an idea to create an illusion with two mirrors. I would then be using the illusion as disguise of 'nothing', showing the audience nothing. We see the reflection of the other mirror, but a mirror only works if there is something to reflect, therefore with nothing reflecting, it becomes a reflection of nothing. This could even be interpreted as me revealing that there is nothing there but indirectly, by showing literally 'nothing' in a mirror. One mirror would be hidden on the top of the board (on one of the edges) and the other would be stuck to the ceiling. The audience would only see the illusion. Two mirrors facing each other create a rippling effect. This creates the illusion of space. I researched about Robert Morris because he worked with mirrors and illusions several times. One untitled piece he made was 4 cubes made out of mirrors. He placed them at a specific distance beside each other where there where sides which only reflected each other. This inspired my work because he utilised the material and successfully create depth in a corner of a room. 

There were some challenged with this piece. I tested out putting one mirror on the top of the board and one on the ceiling exactly above it but the illusion was not as effective as i thought it would be. I thought about getting larger mirrors however that would reveal more of the space which would defeat the purpose. A smaller would keep the mystery. I decided to put an insignificant and unrecognisable object on the mirror which would be reflected onto the ceiling mirror. This object would symbolize nothing because the audience would not know what to identify it as. It was interesting seeing that this object only showed when standing in certain parts of the room. The viewer would be looking for something to show but what is shown is basically nothing. There was problems attaching the mirror to the ceiling so I created a stand with for the mirror which was the exact length of the ceiling to the top of the board and placed it at an angle on the side. I liked this better because the angle made it look like it was slightly revealing what is there or a sneak peak. What I liked most about this piece was the reflection of the object because it showed on one part of the mirror. It was not dominant but something about its simplicity makes us look for it. It is really small so its as if we have not seen enough of it. If i had more time I would play around with this material more and see what else i can do with it. I would improve this by trying to create a stronger illusion. I could have utilized the mirrors more and found a way to make it look powerful on its own without the object. During the Crit the reaction from everyone was unexpected. They were confused and did not even see the piece until I pointed it out. I am actually very pleased with this reaction because it fits with my idea of 'nothingness' perfectly. I wanted to literally make a reflection of nothing. This piece had the aura of 'nothing'. It also proves my initial thought that people in the class were not concerned with this area of the room.  

In Part one, for Material News project, I chose an article about Hurricane Dorian. I wrapped 7 clear poles with red string. The circular effect was to mimic the motion of the wind. Red was to symbolize hazard and alarm. The completed  outcome was not unified, they looked like 7 seperate poles. It was also too neat and did not represent my context as I want it too. As I progress in this course I have learned to try to experiment with the materials and let it be the most powerful part of the piece. I developed the piece by creating a subtle chaos. Pulling off parts of the string. I am interested in imbalance, tension, and visibility, and I base most of my work on. String/thread is a very thin and fragile material. I wanted to take advantage of this and see if I can create tension. I played with this piece while it was standing unbalanced because I wanted to create raw imbalance. I felt this was the most effective way to create these reactions because everything is more powerful when its and unpredictable natural. I noticed that this piece is temporary because every composition could not be repeated due to how weak and weightless the material was and how unstable the poles were. This frustrated me at first because I had to take quick pictures but I felt this works with the idea of tension because I had to be fast to capture the best compositions.