A Risk Set in Stone

I felt quite excited by the task of taking a risk; the welcome encouragement to try something new, experiment, like being given permission to play. This turned out to be one of the best opportunities I could have been given, and for reasons I least expected.

Initially, I found myself leaning towards the familiar, not allowing myself to open my mind into the unknown. I was sure I wanted to develop an existing idea or body of work, but in a new medium. Originally settling on producing a monoprint, I loved the idea of it being a one off, no room for error. Or at least, I would need to be prepared for error. I realised quite quickly that I had in fact been interested in printmaking for some time, so was this taking a risk? I feel it was more a justification to finally attempt something I had already deeply considered. Nothing wrong with that perhaps, but this felt like an opportunity to really test myself, explore and in doing so, discover puzzlement and confusion inline with the work of Donald Schon, whom we have recently discussed.

One of the things that really struck me, was how I was starting to seen connections and patterns within our tasks and discussions so far. The introductions provided not only great insight into the work of my peers, but a huge amount of inspiration. I left part one of introductions, filled with countless ideas of approaching this task.

My armature and materials in preparation for laying the clay

I immediately felt drawn to the analogue photography and performance pieces, but also the 3Dimensional work; sculptures, carvings and textiles. What if I could combine my upcoming Musical Icons exhibition, which is much more representational of mental health among artists, with the more abstract work that represents chaos within our lives on a micro level?

The idea of this felt somewhat daunting, but equally exciting and directed me to thinking about the playful aspects to Bloch and particularly Bachelard’s work within the Poetics of Reverie.

I decided to create a 3Dimensional sculpture using airdry clay (as I have no access to a kiln), and use an anatomical armature to build upon.

As I set about starting, I intended to cover the entire area with the clay, but found myself surprised and intrigued by the aesthetics of leaving parts unfinished. It spoke to me in a way that felt right. The vulnerabilities of people reflected in the unfinished and open areas of the armature; the ability to peer into the mass of clay. I found myself excited by this, and my mind began to run with lots of ideas.

I added wire to the outside of the sculpture, originally planning to create a musical score enveloping the body, but as with my recent painting Do Not Go Gentle, I wanted to pare it down, so it wasn’t too representational. For me, these external bands that wind and weave through the body, represent a range of ideas and concepts, very much associated with my current work and interests. To the front, it feels like an extension of the umbilical cord, perhaps a passion very much connected and part of us from birth. In this case, it would represent music as a universal language, but I feel this may represent different things to different people, hence why I removed the small crotchets I had originally places upon the external cords.

Almost akin to the fine threads of life; our attachments, deep connections and perhaps an unwillingness or inability to let go. Overall, this has proved incredibly useful and at the very least, it has given me much wider possibilities to consider within my practice.

All there is to do now, is wait. I’m a little worried about how it will look once the clay dries, as it is likely to shrink, but it will be interesting nonetheless.