I felt that a bedsheet was the most fitting for the covid monster because if it was gonna spring up from anywhere it would be your bed!Especially as you spend the most time in it whilst ill.
Dylon dilueted in water and salt.The colour turned out much better then expected and esactly what I wanted considering the dye sachet was only meant for a small amount of material equal to that of a shirt.
I used a mixture of pva and olive green paint in order to gloop it onto the bedsheet and make it seem as realistic as possible giving the effect of snot/mucus.
Using the plasma cutter in Welding I cut out the shape of the ripe sternum using the card maquette that I had made previously (something i do which helps me work out the size and how things will work/not work.I had drawn out the outfit but it wasn’t untill I tried ti on in realisty that I realised it could easily be mistaken for a hijab which ofcourse I didn’t want.It made sense that the ribsternum needed to be detached from the headband as it was the headband and the colour grey that as making the outfit look most like a hijab and that the rib sternum should be made into a necklace to sit where the ribs are.
The theory behind the plague Doctor outfit was that it would ‘isolate’ the doctor meaning that they wouldn’t get contaminated.Much like the modern day PPE.I wanted one of the eyes to give resemble one of the plague dr goggles/gasmask.
I wanted the covid moster to resemble almost that of a scooby doo villian in terms of it’s mischieviousness but with a more sinister intent.
Same of the scariest masks are some from the victorian era,outfits would most commonly be made using ‘crepe’ paper (something which was new to that era and everyone was very excited about) masks were however made using paper mache,fabric and paint all of this left terrifying results!I wanted the covid monster to be infuenced by the simplicity of outfits like these almost with a mixture of a ‘bedsheet ghost’
simple yet sinister
Amazingly sad movie but I love the fact that altho the outfit was just a bit sheet the meaning was so much more then that.
I decided to attach the positive covid test first using super glue and then by stitching them on and adding the positive symbol in the middle of the ‘eye’ and then adding the pva and ink gloob to the other eye area.The necklace then gave great shape to the head and the shape of the rest of the gown had a rather formed yet high fashion shape to it the fitted ends of the sheet giving great shape to the arms.It resembled a body bag tho but also the hood used before someone is hanged.I hoped that the body bag shape wouldn’t cause offense to anyone who’s family member had died due to covid as that isn’t what i have intended.
The hooded head reminded me of a hang mans sack.
‘Pirates’ was a show I watches as a child and the top right character who allways remained in a sack reminded me of the covid monster.As I child I forever wondered who was in the sack which I want the audience to do with covid also.
A mixture of pva,ink and olive green paint left int he plastic pot from pouring onto the sheet turned out to make a perfect eye!
A poster I made and put up in the corridoor in order to see what people would respond.The respose wasn’t as interesting as I thought it would be.I think I will mayb put more up around the uni and see what happens.
On the left a collage piece aiming to resemble the gloom of the covid monsters.I find this to be quite an effective way of resembling it.
On the right is a page from the book ‘A brief history of the dance of death’ by Ian Breakwell.I think I would like to overlap the faces of thoose who have had covid with the covid monster.After speaking to a tutor who knew the artist himself he said that most of his work was actually done on the photocopier which is something I used to be really keen on years and years ago.
This week I started the group project,it was something I had been dreading as I don’t often work well in groups and I usually end up clashing with another member or I feel like my ideas aren’t being listened to.But this group project as deffinately changed my outlook on group work/collaberations and instead has shown me the power of working in group projects and how a small group of people with determination and their heads in the right places can work as a total and utter powerhouse that can achieve anything.Next is a day by day account of our actions.
Day 1
Today we met for the first time,I was really anxious and not looking forward to it much.Myself and Katrina were the only people that had Idea’s.I spoke about prehaps doing a performance piece based on something I had done in a performance based workshop in the past where each person is frozen to the spot and there hands/legs etc are moved by another person.Kristina came forward with pretty much a fully written out proposal suggesting that we do a charity walk to raise money for Ukraine walking from Dundee to edinburgh.She had calculated the distances between towns and where we would stop over.Due to having really bad bunions I soemtimes struggle to even walk to college so I said i wouldn’t be able to do the walk as such but could work hard behing the scenes with fundraising/media etc.Kristina had friends who were still over in Ukraine so felt like the war there had really effected her.Alyssia had suggested that as part of the walk she could ask the scrapyard near her if she could paint the ukrainian flag on one of there crushed cars.I was really bemused by this suggestion and had to advise her that this would be highly insensitive and that you need to really think about the art and actions that you do when it comes to such a sensitive subject.I also advised the group that we need to think carefully about who we give money to,as having worked paid for the Red Cross for a few years I am understanding of the fact that they do good work but often the money can be spent in the wrong places because they are such a big corporation who’s CEO’s are making an incredible amount of money for pen pushing whilst there front line workers are often facing a humanitarean crisis themselves by being paid pennies.Kristina said she had been told by friends of the best charity to contact.
Day 2
Decided to allocate myself the position of external communicator.Contacted DUSA in regards to getting a stand for ribbons etc.
Day 3
Emailed Newspapers about the fundraiser.I also asked DUSA if they could advertise via social media and emails what we were doing (no reply which is the typical standard from DUSA).Emailed Victoria Edwards who sent an email out to all the students about the walk and the fundraising stall.Looked at the prices of ribbons on Amazon etc and decided that they would take too long to arrive for the stall as DUSA had agreed we could have the stall for Friday 11-1.I had decided upon these times as we would hopefully be able to catch the most people whilst they went to grab their lunch.Victoria Edwards also posted our email out to all students.
Day 4
Decided I would present them on the inside of my broken sewing box lid and that way if it was windy they wouldn’t blow away!
Benchmark as we had raised £320 before the walk had even taken place and the Dundee Courier had emailed me back in regards to media coverage.I told him Kristina has connections in Ukraine so I arranged a phonecall for 4pm between Kristina and the reporter then arranged for a photographer to come to the uni for 11 for photos.Went to Hobbycraft,collected ribbon and made only 18 ribbons from 3 metres of ribbon!The shop assistance mentioned that alot of people had been in buying ribbon to do the same.
Day 5
Today was the day of the stall in the foyer.Myself and Alyssia turn up early to paint our faces etc.Became a little worried as we hadn’t heard from Kristina and Taylor.Kristina showed up just before 11 but Taylor didn’t.I went down to reception to collect the photographer and the receptionist made a fuss saying i would need ‘a press release’ in order for the photographer to take photo’s of us inside the university and that he wouldn’t be allowed here anyway as no visitors are allowed currently due to lockdown restrictions.I advised her several times that the photo’s were going to be taken outside in the foyer area.Went away to ask Anita Taylor’s permission but she was about to go into a meeting then asking another pen pusher who said we would only be allowed to get photo’s taken outside the building.(Which is what i had told them we would be doing in the first place)The receptionist even commented that she ‘hadn’t seen anyone doing fundraising in a while’ well no wonder when everything is made so difficult!!
Photoshoot took place on the grounds with us posing beside and walking beside Katrina.Holding the poster and ribbons up.
No sooner had I spoken to the receptionist the Vice principal (or someone of some kind of importance) decided to send out a really feeble emailing saying that the uni ‘stood in solidarity with Ukraine’ and that in order to show this the chaplaincy were organising for people to meet up on the ground to show this.Absoloutely no mention of our walk which was actually going to make a difference unlike the universities pathetic all talk no action as per usual.
DAY 5
Today our story made it into the paper and on the online paper also.
Reporter had made up that myself and Alyssia had said things which we hadn’t.(He hadn’t even spoken to Alyssia) Had written that we were all doing the walk (which we weren’t).The online article had more photo’s etc but the link wasn’t very clear at all so it made no difference to our donations because people clearly didn’t know where to click.So we ended up making more money through our stall.I think what I hated about this the most is that we couldn’t be in control of the outcome of how it would be written or look in the paper and that we just had to trust that the reporter would do his best to raise awareness but upon reading the article Kristina stated that she could of written it better herself and English isn’t even her first language!They also mentioned the university in the post alot which I thought the university would make a fuss about but so far so good.
In other news…
I finally finished off the headcage for the red lady.The technician finally agreed to let me tack myself (as i had never done this type of welding before) I actually found it alot easier but my tacks were visable compared to the parts he had done as it was too fidderly to get the hidden the way he managed and as he said ‘it doesn’t matter aslong as you have managed to join the metal’
You can visably see the top two tacks compared to where the tecnhician has neatly hidden his on the bars below.
Very pleased with the outcome altho the cage it’s self weighs a ton and falls alot lower on my body due to the sheer weight of it.
Artifact no6
I had brought in the rusty bolt I had found at my front door in the hope it could be used for this piece but the technician advised that it would need to have a pretty big hole made for it and it would be better just to blow torch a new bolt to make it look old.
Hammering a hole into the Artifact caused the debris from the bottom to come away but I soon sorted this by glueing it back on.The bigger issue became that the top once attached was too heavy for the metal strip and would bend it if you didn’t support the top when picking it up.I think I may consider re-inforcing the rod with a strip of metal somehow attached underneath it altho this may ruin the asthetics.
This week was a busy week,inductions and my very first face to face crit since coming back!
But first of all we’ll start off with the Blacksmithing induction.
My intial idea was to make a shaman’s staff but it turned out that that idea was a little too adventurous. First of all we took some industrial metal rods and cut them up,We then filed the sharp edges off ready for heating up in the machine (of which I have forgotten the name)The rod slid into the machine but wasn’t able to touch to sides of the coil it went into otherwise you may be given an electric shock so the teacher had made a stand to use so that you could easily slide the metal into the machine.
This machine was used to remove any sharp edges on the metal.The metal must be held at either a 45 degrees angle or straight against it so that it didn’t get caught and fly from your hands.The machine used for heating the rod up.All of the grey scale from the metal must be gone and the metal must be yellow in colour before the metal is ready to be hammeredThe axel is what is used to lay whatever your hammering onto.In order to add the twist the metal but be clamped into the vice then clamped again and twisted.Depnding on how tight or how far you twisted the metal effected the final outcome of the lines!If the stick was slighly out of shape a cow hide hammer which is softer would help mould it back into shape.This was best done not when the metal had returned to it’s grey colour but still hot.The stick must be kept close to the leg and when hammering you must hold the hammer from the middle because as I found out,if you don’t it strains your wrist and makes everything much harder work then it allready is!In order to achieve the tip the metal must be continously hit from a certain angle whilst the metal is rolled to make sure all angles are equal.I found this very difficult to achieve especially within the time limit of trying to do it before the metal cooled again.As you can see the angle is still slightly off but not too bad for a first try.The gold tip was created simply by using a metal brush with gold coated steel wire on it which then transfered onto the mental when brushed with it whilst still hot.
Altho the idea was initatlly to make a shaman’s staff I feel that it was important to get the technique right first before trying anything more adventurous plus I ended up making an interesting looking arrow/wand which really isn’t too bad at all!
So for my crit this week I decided to use a performance art technique which I had seen used in the past.I told the handful of people in my crit to sit on the floor and i had choosen a spot in which to put a chair with the symbol i had choosen for my character above it.I went and put on my head piece and retrieved the arrow whilst letting suspense grow.I had also painted the symbol on my eye and was wearing the red cloak.
The feedback was what I was hoping to achieve,so therefore i felt that the crit was sucessful.Some of the feedback was as follows; ‘I hated it,I felt as if I was loosing my nerve.’ (this was from the woman whom squirmed) haha.
‘Sitting on the floor felt like being in a position of weakness,I felt small and un-nerved’
‘The symbol had an egyptian feel and made you look almost like a Spynx’
‘Thou shall not pass’
‘Dystophian,handmaids tale’
‘Alien like’
‘Plague mask’
‘Make-up very sci-fi,should of disapered mid way through someone elses crit and came back with it on’
‘It went from a fanciful fairytale to scifi’
‘Was wondering if there was going to be a speach’
‘Noise brought you back into the room’
It was suggested that i could also of used the staff/wand/arrow to point at different people.
In the future I could do a performance piece within the uni where I jump out on people.
Piece was reminiscent of Marina Abramovic where she sits and stares individually at each person who ques to sit infront of her.
I felt that personally I got the reaction that i wanted from the audience but as the tutor said it would of been interesting to see if i could of held composure should people of not of had their masks on.Which made me wonder how the people I saw do it how they managed.What did they think of?
I think i do want to use the staff as part of the act in the future as I feel that this character should remain silent and reaction should be caused by her movement and eye contact.Part of her back story is that she was tortured for being a tale tale and not allowed to speak so she inserts her control using other methods.I allways remember growing up that when me and my friend had been up to mischief her mum wouldn’t even say anything she would just give us a look that was more scornful and terrifying then a telling could possibly ever be and that it the kind of power that i want this character to purvey.
I don’t know how confident i feel about staring at people within the uni.I suppose within an art school environment your pretty safe but it’s deffinately not something I would want to try in public.I feel that i am happy to perform in a space that has been organised to perform in and I am interested in making short films but that is it.Ofcourse the publics reaction is allways going to be more interesting but there is also nothing more unpredictable or volatile then the general public and having worked with them for many years I wouldn’t feel safe,I mean after all a member of the public held a handgun to Marina Abramovics head when he was given the opertunity so anything is possible.
Is there anything more powerful then a stare?The eyes are the windows to our souls after all.
Lazercutting and Lino printing
I found lazercutting alot more technical then I thought it would be.I really struggle with anything technical due to my dyspraxia.I have a short term memory because of this and because there are so many instructions with anything digital/technical i get lost really easily and have to keep asking the tutor to repeat themselves.I still really enjoyed the process especially how unpredictable the end image is.I felt that my image turned out closer to the original image then anyone elses did as there’s were alot more detailed then mine.The small dots made by the lazer gave it a real pop art feel.It was difficult to get the esact right amount of ink on the lino cut (i have in the past put too much) and then when i got the right amount i managed to get a flek of ink in the middle of the symbol.It’s also difficult to get the print straight on the paper.But practice makes perfect and prints are deffinately something I want to take further in my work so I am currently in the process of booking an induction with the main print workshop.
Sandcasting.
Sandcasting was such a long and complex process,again alot longer then I thought it would be.The technician advised me that the process would normally be done over a couple of days but due to the restrictions and class sizes it now has to be done in a day.
The biscuits were first glued to a board of sorts,had a special kind of sand with oil in it added then a cast was made of that before the boards were drilled together and the liquid bronze poured in.Before this could happen tho it had to reach a certain temparture. (this was checked regulary by using a probe)The liquid travelled down the funnels made in the sand down to where the biscuit casts were.
The biscuits casts were then sanded down to get rid of the rough edges before being sandblasted.They were then taken to be painted using a certain paint that needed to be applied by using the heat of a welding gun.I choose to go for emerald green and magenta/blue.The biscuits then had waxed applied and were polished to bring closer attention to detail.
Before the paint and polishAfter the paint and polishThe outcome was deffinately worth the wait but I just don’t think I could see myself using the foundry in the future.I found the process far too time comsuming.Maybe it has something to do with my very short attention span but I like to work on serval things at the same time and sandcasting doesn’t really allow time for that and what if you go through such a long process just for the outcome not to be what you expected?!?I am glad however that I gave it a try.Nothing ventured nothing gained.
And for my next trick..
This weekend I plan on making a black and white silent movie in the woods.It will involve the character pacing amongst the trees and disapearing from one area then re-appearing in the next.I also have an idea for the character screaming at the camera in a silent rage.I would like to experiment with different music and sound in the background.(Hopefully I can get some asistance from the i.t lab with this)I like the thought of white noise playing whilst she screams but these things don’t allways turn out quite as you expect. This weekend I plan on making a black and white silent movie in the woods.It will involve the character pacing amongst the trees and disapearing from one area then re-appearing in the next.I also have an idea for the character screaming at the camera in a silent rage.I would like to experiment with different music and sound in the background.I like the thought of white noise playing whilst she screams but these things don’t allways turn out quite as you expect.
I have found myself becoming inspired by a mixture of different cultures,from witchcraft,to shamans to ancient egyptians to vikings!I think mainly because all these things have allways interested me.So it makes sense that i bring all these elements to my work.Oh and the more morbid the better.My Mum was allways worried about my obsession with The Return to Oz as a kid because I especially loved the part where the queen could choose a different head to wear from all the heads she had cut off and I guess my morbid frame of mind has continued ever since!
Objects bound in a banishment spell.
The aesthic,style and strength of a viking woman has allways been something to be admired..I want to bring parts of this into my character and the development.
I find the egyptian eye make up quite inspirational and also the power of the female queens.
I have also started to wonder if the warrior like/strongness of the character has become my alter ego.The strong part of me that has prehaps carried me throught the last few months and prehaps even the last few years.
’I’m too sad to tell you’ by Bas Jan Ader.I find this piece quite unsettling.Not due to the fact that it is a male crying but due to the fact that I feel like it’s a private moment that us,the audience are sat in on.You want to stop watching, but almost like car crash television you can’t.I feel that this piece would of been very controversial for its era.As men were told not to cry, otherwise it would destroy their image of masculinity.And I personally think that the artist wanted to raise awareness of this issue and get the message across of how every man cries and how it is acceptable to cry.But in this era,personally I don’t feel like it’s nothing new as men are free to express their emotions whether they want to or not.So I feel like the value of this message was a lot more important and stronger back then than it is now.
Born 19th April 1942-disappeared 1975 Ader was a Dutch performance and conceptual artist as well as photographer.Due to the nature of his work it was often presented as photographs and films.He made performative installations.
Ader was lost at sea in 1975 after attempting to cross the Atlantic Ocean from the American cost to England.Altho the boat was later found off the coast of Ireland in 1976 it is still unknown what happened to Ader.
Ader was a conceptual artist whose works mostly came to fame in the 70 ‘s.He is mostly known for photography,film,video, performance and installation.
Other associated artists of this movement during that era include: Joseph Beuys,Bruce Mclean and Gilbert and George amongst many others
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