There was a mix of emotions, preparing for the Interim Show, and an awful lot to learn. My initial intentions were to have a physical installation at Trinity Buoy Wharf – anything else felt second best, and almost as if I had failed. Jonathan helped me to realise the logistics of getting a heavy concrete structure to London would perhaps detract from the magic of creating. I decided following a chat with him, that setting up the installation at home, and doing a photo and film shoot would be a different dynamic, and one that I would certainly enjoy.
I was keen to use the concrete pyramid that I had created earlier – the larger one having failed unfortunately. Doing it this way took a lot of pressure off, and gave me fire in my belly to get creative!
As I live in the UK, I felt it was only right that I submitted a physical installation, and had not considered anything for the screen. During the prep for the show, I had also suffered a back injury while setting up for the installation at home. This meant, I was not going to be able to see the show in person or attend the low residency, leaving me feeling hugely disappointed.
Thankfully, my peers have been providing regular updates and videos throughout the setup so far, which has made me feel a part of the show, regardless of my inability to be there in person.
For the setup, I used a white paper backdrop, umbrella light and my Canon G7X Mark ii. I was able to capture some beautiful shots that focused on the materials of both the concrete and raw wool.
Sometimes it was hard to get the right angle, without having some of the background in shot, but I managed to get round this with editing afterwards.
Raw Concrete
I had started to polish the tip of the pyramid to make it more uniformal, but actually loved the raw appearance of craters in the micro shot. The very tip had broken when removing it from the mould, but again, I wanted to show this as part of the process; the rawness of my work in progress was to me, as important as the rawness of the material.
I loved the idea of the wool pyramid floating above the concrete; reflecting one another in opposing ways. The behind the scenes shots were particularly interesting to me, and I felt actually captured the illusion better! This made me wonder of course, how this would appear as a physical installation, but I was glad to be able to create something altogether different with a film composition.
I used lightroom, photoshop and Adobe Premier Rush to create the final piece, and am very happy with the outcome.
I will be writing a follow up post, with more detail of my theoretical approach to this piece.
Sara Dobson Art 
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