I wanted to continue to use readymades for this project because this is something that I have used previously for my practice and I enjoy re-using objects and repurposing them. I had the idea to cast objects using concrete because this was something I wanted to explore as a material, having only used it once or twice before. I started to look at objects that had ties to war and religious symbolism. I began by casting a wooden sword in concrete, I was curious about whether I could do this. Originally I had the idea to cast several swords and take photos of them standing up right in a field. I then changed my mind and started to use other weaponry that represented both fantasy and reality. Fantasy sometimes mirrors reality and I found that concept really interesting.
Overall I wanted my final outcome to provoke ideas of suppression of thought and for my arrangements to communicate this with the viewer. The final outcome has not really achieved what I set out to do because I wanted to display my swords standing upright, however, unfortunately the cast items were broken and I had to look at ways to display them on the floor.
Tony Cragg’s ‘Axe Head’ (1982) is a good example of how another artist has approached the use of objects and displayed them on a floor. Each object looks to be placed from large to small. I'm getting an ecowarrior feel with Cragg's set of wooden objects for collection of readymade natural pieces carved, smoothed, finished for domestic life. Each piece connects to one another without linking the wooden elements. The negative space around the ready-mades improves the exhibition shots and makes it better viewing for the audience. The material links to evolution of man of which is man-made and if left outside would rot and break. Only in water logged areas will wood last and then become an artefact. These certain sites would last, but only in the right climate.
Sir Anthony Gormley's 'Another Place' (2005) is an example of cast objects placed in a public space. I’ve been playing with the idea of placing objects outside in the elements to see how they look in an uncontrolled environment. Gormley’s work rusts and decays in the sea and sand which changes the appearance of his sculptures. When placing my sword casts in the snow it has a lost and found effect, like you have stumbled across an ancient artefact, making the item appear special and precious. The snow changes the appearance of the concrete, making it darker and moist. If left out over time, like Gormley’s work, it would take on a green colour and look like a much older piece.
David Mach's 'Train' (1997). Mach works both inside and outside a gallery space creating large installations using readymade objects. In ‘Train’ he uses bricks to produce a large scale train. From a distance it looks like a pixelated representation of a train. It’s an example of how I could work on a grander scale, perhaps something I would like to explore in the future.
My work has had a variety of responses from others, some have picked up on the mixture of past, present and future. The overall layout seems to flow and has direction to it. The work could also be viewed as ambiguous and open to interpretation.
To develop my work, I would like to enlarge the casts that I’m working with and place the objects outside, leaving them to change in the elements. I would capture the changes to the work by using photography.
A challenge I came up against was the fact that the swords were fragile and prone to breaking. I also found that I was limited by space when it came to exploring the layout of the work. I perhaps could have considered arranging the work outdoors rather than in my studio space. The cast objects also faded in to the background against the studio floor, I found that the snow became a much better backdrop for the work, making it stand out more.
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