#installation

Third year module week 9.Final Installation.

| harussell1
I tried to make it look like it was holding the cups up which I felt was sucessful in doing so and altho asthetically it looks good it doesn’t fit with the context of the project.

Looking at different ways to display the Covid monster made me wonder if prehaps it should have different ‘forms’ in which it appears almost like Jame’s Macavoys character in split with his 9 different personalities or IT the Clown?.What if the cute covid enticed people in but the intimidating one appeared once they had caught it.Or when people tried to leave the house when their flatmate has it?Prehaps cute covid appears when the virus is still ‘hosting’ int hem and spreading to other people?

I liked the way it moved but it was hardly threatening!

I decided to experiment with what would work best.I felt that no1 was too ghost like and no2 was too ‘cute’ and ghost like,when covid was meant to be ominous,lurking in corners,threatening.I spoke it over with other people in my studio when one of then had mentioned that I should try it out on a mannequin (which I had previously looked at to buy but were too expensive) Then another person said there was one wedged underneath the stairs…

He was a bit like Frankenstein with his arms and legs stuck on with tape but he was ready for his glow up…
Intimadation.Fear.
Ominous.

Instantly there was a difference.The braod shoulders of the male manequin gave it quite and intimadating stance.The folded arms under the gown gave the classic ‘bully like’ image and intimadation.

The difference it makes without the necklace is crazy,there is no shape to the head and it looks like some creature that you would almost instantly feel sorry for.
Unsure as to whether I should keep the ‘murder board’ up or not or is it too much alongside the rest? I was considering having the Covid monster video play alongside aswell but I’m not overly pleased with how it has worked out and it may need some work done to it first.
So I belived this was going to be my final ‘installation’ at that point in time untill my last min revelation.It works well as almost a ‘movie set’ with the covid monster lurking in the corner the same way that a ‘murderer/enity’ would be imagined.
The Babadook in the movie and in the book they read allways seemed to lurk in the corner of the room.
Final installation!!hurrah!!

So,I had a last minute realisation that the covid monster being there and the poster made everything too ‘literal’Every idea held is within these cups and they have an overwhelming importance and also stand alone really well as a sculptural piece aswell as a prop.The cups conceptualise all my ideas and by making that final edit I am now happy with just this finished piece.I was going to get rid of the Covid style murder board on the other wall but I think that it stands as a strong piece of development aswell as the red tacks making that visual ‘connection’ to the red cups.

Group Crit for 3D Practice

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(Forgot to get a photo of the piece with the projection)

I think the feeback was overall positive for my crit,I had spent almost half a day prior experimenting with the positioning of the projector.Initially I wanted the projection of my video to be above my sculpture.Whenever I tried to angle the projector in order to do this the projection ended up squint.I then wondered what the projection would look like projected onto the sculpture and around it.Altho I was unsure of this to start with this seemed to be a sucess at the crit and recieved positive feedback.At my pervious feeback it was mentioned to me prehaps projecting onto the headpiece.I tried many differents ways of trying to do this from projecting from the other end of the room to trying to bring the size down on the projector itself but this did not seem poisible.I also think (from partially seeing some of the projection on the headpiece) that even if i was able to bring the video down to the size of the headpiece it would be so distorted that I don’t think it would of been visable and it was important to me that the video was fully visable.

Feedback.

  • It was mentioned by tutors and peers that they prehaps would not of dipicted the meaning as being about PTSD.The teacher questioned if this was actually important that the meaning was known and that prehaps it should challenge peoples thinking into making up their own minds about it also that the video had a ‘hook’ which kept the viewer interested in it and as a stand alone piece.
  • Aesthetic experience was a success
  • I should explore the video aspect further prehaps looking into more sensory aspects such as sound.Also how else can I show the mental aspects of weight in a physical sense?
  • I should prehaps of doccumented the making of the headpiece especially the binding of the thread.
  • The tutor also commented that this was a breakthrough project.

3D Practice/Development.

| harussell1

As my ideas have started to progress more I have started to think about different ways I could show how PTSD controls the body in a visual format.I asked a peer to tie voile which I had attached to the headpiece around my body.Looking at the photographic documentation I feel that it looks too sexualised especially where it is tied around the breasts.I feel that it should of just been tied on my arms and legs.Being the model myself it was hard to have the perspective not being able to see it from an outsiders point of view and only being able to give directions.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1DpvIL1Wsiwv3WiJRG-N7dkKfugnDVb9u

I started to play about with the movement of bricks with the weight of the bricks within my hands in these shots which I feel worked sucessfully in portraying my message of the heavy weight that PTSD bares especially when avoidance comes into play.

I decided to create some video’s showing the bricks appearing one by one weighing down that person physically and mentally.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1DubF1LyT6B5V1fhgGUMJrD1PXoawUUMg

I then decided to look at different ways the headpiece could be displayed as a sculpture and coincide with the video’s made which would project in the background.

I decided to choose the first option as I felt that it visually worked the best and turned the headpiece almost into some kind of creature within itself greedy to hold onto the bricks.

Installation

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In this workshop we viewed many different artist installations in a presentation as inspiration for making our own.

We were asked to spend 10 mins in silence taking in the room we had been working in for the last week,making mental notes about the size,feeling we got from it,structure etc etc.

We were then split into two groups.Our group only consisted of four people in comparison to the other group which was much larger.

I found this task particulary difficult mostly because we had to work as a group and I felt that one half of the group did not take any ideas from myself and another person within the group So I didn’t feel that I had any influence on any of the ideas or that I could identify with any of the final outcomes.

I felt that the other groups ideas were alot more sucessful as they seemed to think on their feet where as our group spent more time thinking then making and would last min throw something together and hope for the best.

Image with the chairs and red board was meant to be about creating a safe space within such a cold clinical room and creating a barrier from the other installation yet inviting people to look at it also.

Other image was about reflecting the slant of the ceiling.