I've been experimenting with placements using one of my casted concrete swords. This photo shoot looks complex as it isn't very simple to arrange, I was worried that the concrete sword would fall and crash to the floor and break into several pieces if I hadn't supported it using fabric and tilted the sword at an angle. The cast relic, the cloths and sprayed background help it to fit into an exhibition space. Overall it reminds me of an installation located in Tate Liverpool from a trip I went on back in March last year. I'm referring to the work by Michelangelo Pistoletto called 'Venus of the Rags' in which a relic statue was entrenched in ragged clothes facing the wall. However in this work I am playing with the fables of the sword in the stone in an surreal way but it is only hinted at. The relic (cast sword) hold up a frame by gravity alone.
The second arrangement (the bottom image) displays the cast concrete sword resting across a black computer chair. The image suggests a minimalist power mindset for the contemporary villain seeking global control through censorship. The reason for this is the placement of the sword on the chair. The lack of colour creates a dystopian tone. It is rough and unforgiving. Overall it feels like a cell.
In the arrangement below I have fixed the concrete sword to a wall using string and supported it using a lamp clamp. I've positioned it over the top of newspaper cuttings, this creates an interesting backdrop. It creates a contrast between the sword (which refers to ancient relics) and the newspapers drawing our attention to current affairs. I have referenced earlier work that I have created here, by using newspaper articles that show the corona virus cell. I used this as a stencil for my readymade can work.
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