Methodology and presentation - "collection lecture two"

Formal methods of arrangement and display- Formal (archaeological and anthropological) presentation promotes reading similarity and difference. Formal methods tend to place an equal value to each constituent element of the collection. 

• Museology - Art is increasingly incorporating scientific methods of collecting, archiving and classifying. Many artists adopt pseudo-scientific approaches to the collection and presentation of the work. There is formal museum format such as individual elements that are altered in terms of their meaning through a process. Presentation is still formal, but more spatial, and arranged to suggest that the objects are relics of memories and the lost.

Other strategies for using collection:

• Removal of difference (overlaying), elements used to make specific form such as components selected for specific placement like duplication. Metaphor: Methodology (of straightening and repair) used as an act to embody a desire to repair and fix the remnants of a humanitarian disaster or it could have no visual collections. The act of collection becoming the work. 

 During my second lecture for collection i picked up on somethings that were said: the idea of not using colour is commonly used when presenting a collection to make the object look the same as colour can give it identity and character. Also, its all about the hidden message, the work should have a message behind it and every decision made when creating our own piece should have relevance to the meaning. For example the space, layout, materials etc. 

Optic and Haptic - "contextual practice day one"

OPTIC of or relating to the eye or sight. the eye. a lens of an optical instrument. The optical gaze suggests distance and perspective in order to survey and categorise. It is associated with knowledge and reason and sees a clear distinction between one thing and another.

HAPTIC of or relating to the sense of touch Digital Technology. of or relating to tactile sensations and the sense of touch as a method of interacting with computers and electronic devices:smartphones that incorporate haptic feedback; haptic technology Hap+c looking suggests an inmate and caressing gaze that brings the subject in close proximity with the object. It is an immersive and up-close experience that collapses distance and blurs familiarity.

We were taught during this lecture the difference between description and analysis. Describing something you see is something that the viewer can see and describing the details of what is seen in the work. However, analysing the work is about how to piece might make the viewer feel and the meaning of it. The meaning behind are mostly hidden messages but talking about that further is what makes it analysis.

Impact on Altered Spaces Research - "lecture day two"

I had found an image on Google images, I had searched up blank spaces and this image had came up. I wanted to start this painting project by doing something abstract and chaotic. So in response to the image I had seen on the internet, I had painted dramatic brush strokes using a dry brush around a white, empty space. It was my way of expressing clearly how a space of loudness and chaos becomes silenced as a part of the picture has been removed. I enjoyed using the paints and creating a texture. 

Language and Text - "contextual practice day two"

In the studio today we were told to read the selected texts on your tables which came from a book. The piece that I had gotten was the ending of the book where the author thanked everyone for being a part of her journey when writing the book.  We then had to cut out words and phrases you find interesting and create a new text with these. I didn't want to cut out words but I wanted to cut out sentences that stood out to me or sentences that I could relate to.

• Can I relate any of these phrases or words to any of the works I have made so far on the course? 

In our contextual practise, we were given a task to assemble a piece of text and create anything from it. I decided to make it link to the work that I have been producing in the "Altered Space" project where I had painted of the images I had taken and then used the text to replace that blank space. I used a page that had been take out of the ending of a book where the writer was talking about being grateful for her family and friends and specifically to her mother for helping her through the whole process of creating this book. I then used that text and cut out sections from it and incorporated it into the work to represent a sense of love, belonging and family. I then found a page that was probably the least interesting piece of writing I had found and ripped up small parts of it but resembled it as if it was something broken trying to be fixed. 

Altered spaces reflection

• What is the subject in the image? 

-The removal of space and removing the important space out of a photo. I painted over a child that was holding hands with his parents and also removed the "emotion of love" from an elderly couple that were linking arms. I was altering the image and the actual subjects within the image. I also hanged a blank box in class so that it made it harder for people in the class room to see one another and removed a section out of their sight. We also spoke about, during the critique, the idea that the blank space could represent that thing never existing and become a question of do we really exist? If everything we know dies eventually as well as the memory of our existence it could question... do we really exist?

• How does the subject matter relate to the style of painting? 

-The idea of a clear black or white empty space covering a chaotic area around it or have it hanging in an area that is busy (the entrance to the studio) creates a  mysterious space out of the photography that silences it. The style of painting is very blunt and bold and it helps with the meaning i want to create which is silencing the photo behind it. During the critique, my group spoke about degradation, which is the idea of dehumanising someone and making them feel like they are not important just another number and if you remove that it questioned them about who would care? It also linked to the subject matter as it was a empty space which they had quoted was very dark. 

• What associations do you have with the work? 

I linked it to Marlo Pascual who used 3D items to cover his work, almost like a collage. It also looked at the idea that i looked at when I was doing my collection project which is hidden identity. The idea that people don't really know everything about us. I like making art that questions the audience or makes the audience think so when it comes to creating a piece that made everyone want to talk about how they felt and how it made them feel made me realise that I had created something that i was proud of. 

• What do you think the work is trying to communicate?

The idea of loss and how we as humans do not live forever and will soon be forgotten. Which is dark and upsetting but it is the truth. I believe that we all sometimes worry and stress but don't really remember that it doesn't matter at the end of the day because we do not make it out alive at the end. I also wanted to get a message across that would help them understand that we should embrace life and appreciate life and the people that we have in our lives. As maybe some of us take it for granted but we should all be happy and do what we love. Obviously, most viewers wont understand that through the art but the idea of removing and taking out something important with in an image would make them think about what if that was really gone or what i it never existed? My critique group gave me an idea of taking videos around London in busy areas and cover my face or have a video of someone giving birth and having a white square covering their faces or have a video of a child walking with a white square constantly covering their face. 

Being Invisible Can Be Deadly - contextual practice "lecture day three"

Ideas:

• Hiding from everyone and running away from people and trying to be found
• Being followed by a camera but trying to hide like through a door
• Multiple views 6 different clips of different view points of the same person recording the editing being done
• Being recorded whilst editing
• Always being watched
• A chain of recording and being recorded through the Mac
• FBI

Rational: We were looking at the idea of no being able to be seen. However we spoke about even when we do hide we are not always hidden. We are always being watched by people of by CCTV or even the FBI people watching us through our phones or laptops. The video is all about us trying to hide but being watched and seen every where. Even in spaces where we may feel like we are alone like in a lift by ourselves or on a bus by ourselves we are being watched by cameras all the time. As group we aimed to question the audience can we really be invisible?

 Video below notes:

"How not to be seen": Being Invisible Can Be Deadly "contextual practice"

This video linked very well with my altered space and collection project as I use the idea of hiding and covering to make something not seen and invisible. I also looked at the idea of removing a space from an image and videos which is another way of being invisible. The process of hiding a feeling such as love and affection but also hiding the child by removing it both physically and painting over it as if it never existed links with invisibility.

Notes taken whilst watching the video:

PART ONE

• Invincibility- digital image
• Hide
• Remove
• Go off screen
• Disappear
• What isn’t captured is invisible

PART TWO

• Pretend you are not there
• Hide in plain sight
• Scroll
• Wipe
• To erase
• To shrink
• To take a picture
• Love is invisible
• War is invisible
• Capitalism is invisible

PART THREE

• Camouflage
• Conceal
• Painted
• Mimic

PART FOUR

• Living in a gated community, military zone, museum, Airport, invisibility cloak, hero, female and over 50, dead, WiFi signal, liquidated dissimulated
• 170,000 people disappear:illuminated deleted dispensed filter processed selected separated wiped out.

• Can you describe the style approach of the film?

 I found that the video was mundane, very simplistic and clearly spoken and presented. It had a list of instructions and was almost like a tutorial on how to be invisible. The video almost put me through a journey and was like a story even though it was just a list on ways to not be seen. It was very propaganda-like in the way it was recorded and very blunt.

• What ideas/ themes concern is the film exploring?

I found that it was very humorous and had a lot of comedy/ dystonia within the video. The fact that the size of the video was large but had very small details made the audience focus more on the video and not want to miss anything out. The mechanical voice in the video was very blunt and made it easy to understand what was shown but was very slow.

Making the sculpture Material News - "lecture day two"

• What processes and materials have you used today?

Today I have used plastic knifes which I had purchased at the pound shop which I melted and moulded using the heating gun. The material was a great plastic to use at it made the knifes look as if they were metal. Also the colour of the knifes made it look as if they were real also. Using the heating gun for the first time was a great experience and being able to work in the workshop with other students as well as the technicians was a great experience today. The process required me to do each knife one by one and making sure that I had exactly 132 knifes. I then, one by one, heated them to the point the lost their shape and them bent and shaped them so that they looked completely different. The aim was to make them look as if they have been destroyed an used which I wanted to make link to the idea of teenagers being moulded and damaged by gang violence. I used a dome shaped platform to mould them onto and then used the glue gun to stick each together. The aim was to create a ball shape. It took the whole day to create the ball of knifes but I was very happy with the result. The reason for it's shape was to show that knife crime is a trap and that the size of the ball would only increase if nothing is done about it. 

• Is your progress with these as expected or have you needed to change your approach? / What have you discovered from the advice of technicians and other students in the workshop?

 I made sure that I tested out the heat gun with the knifes that I wanted to use before actually making the sculpture. So yes, it planned out how I expected however, I planned to make a ball that wasn't hollow and was going to just melt all the knifes and scrunch it into a ball. However, the technicians advised me to use a round surface and use that as a way to make the ball shape. It worked out better as it became larger in sizer and resulted in students questioning how I had created it into that shape and using those utensils. Changing this approach made me feel a lot more happy with the outcome and looked a lot more pleasing than I anticipated. Also I was complemented buy other students in my class and told me that they were looking forward to seeing the end result, as were i. Also, when heating the knifes I had realised that they would twist and curl up which I wasn't expecting but I realised that it could add to the meaning behind knife crime and the idea that they have been damaged and manipulated the same way the knifes have. 

• What have you learned from making today? 

 I have learned a lot more about the machines in the wood and plastic workshop. I had also learned that I am capable of making something that took a lot of patience and time. I was really happy with this outcome as it looks so complex but was quiet easy to make (but just took a lot of time). I also learned a lot from the technicians as they helped me a lot and advised me on what would look nicer and be an easier process to work around (using a round surface. I also learned that I am quite independent. I didn't feel like I wanted to ask anyone for help as I wanted to figure it out for myself but the help from the technicians was extremely helpful.

• Have you pushed yourself to experiment and take risks?

 Today I felt like I had taken a risk as I didn't really know how it would all come together. I believe that although this was the most complex project I have made so far , I wanted it to work out so well because I had a clear image in my head of what I wanted to create. So I had to force myself to try and find a way to create something without knowing how. The risk of just walking into the workshop with 150 plastic knifes and trying to figure out what to make from it was probably the biggest risk. I think I would have been stuck or made something completely different to what I had made. 

• Have you made good use of workshops?

 I loved spending the whole day in the workshop, although I may have left with a headache. But yes, I believe I had great use of the workshop, It was a fun environment to work in as I was with other people in my class who created other things for the workshop and seeing everyone so focused on what they are trying to make was so motivating. Also the machines that we were able to use was great also. They were really easy to use and I was given simple instructions on how to use the machines. The technicians were super helpful and understanding and help advice me.

• What do you need to prepare for tomorrow?

 I am going to need to touch up some parts of the sculpture in the morning and I would also need some time thinking about how I want to explain my work. Because it is so personal to me I didn't want to go too deep into the reasons why i was so passionate about this project but instead just plan on talking about knife crime and how I wanted people to have discussions on knife crime and talk about it. But i am also excited to see what they may think it is about and what they might think it is about. 

Proximity, Context, Meaning Approaches to What? - contextual practice "lecture day 4"

Different Sounds in Different Locations:

How are we perceived by others through sounds that we make and hear?

• talking
• music
• noise
• rhythm
• walking - think of various atmosphere
• banging objects together
• breaking objects
• moving
• time
• clocks
• structure
• repeat
• silence
• ASMR
• singing
• heart beat

How sounds is heard in different spaces/ environment?

• tunnels
• beaches
• church
• through fabric
• metal poles
• under water
• phone conversation
• recording
• low quality and high quality
• streets
• market
• Oxford street
• night club
• underground
• weather
• clocks

Place

For the place project I have decided to look into the country I am from, Morocco. I love my culture, the people, the language and the food. The smells of Morocco when it comes to the city streets, markets and the kitchen is what reminds me of home. I believe the first thing that people think about when it comes to a place is a place that they feel happy and safe as well as comfortable. The first thing that originally came to mind was my old house in London which was in a block of flats but that was more of a childhood memory where it reminds me of memories I had made as a child. I then thought about a place where I'm happy and surrounded by family and culture and that is in Morocco. I want to aim to create an experience for the audience to understand my "comfort place". I think about my culture and think about what could be the best way to present my place in CSM Kings Cross? I knew I wanted to do a sculpture and create something that makes the audience interact with it. I had to think about what is the one thing that reminds me of home and I first pictured myself outside my family's door. The idea of seeing the door and knowing that behind it I am happy and at home. I believe that the door subconsciously makes everyone happy. After a long day at work or a long day of uni, I always look at my door and feel relaxed and excited to go to bed. So I looked into remaking a door that is commonly seen in Morocco which has a specific arch and are really small. I then thought about what material would be best to make this door and decided to use wood as it would be lighter to carry when taking it to CSM Kings Cross. I was going to make an actual door but I like the idea of making it abstract and decided to do just the frame and then maybe have clothe wrapped around to show how m cultured is something i cherish. It also links to the culture of wearing a head scarf and clothing that is usually made by thin fabric as it gets very hot. Another reason why I chose to do a door was to show the idea of transportation and how the door takes you into another place, the point in which two worlds are connected. I believe that I am a representation of the door as I am cultured but I’ve just been made and created in London. Taking a culture and making it fit into another culture (Moroccan culture to British Culture) The process of making the door required a lot of small sketches and planning as well as mathematics. I had brought a slab of wood where I cut out a door arch inspired by a door I have back home, which is also commonly seen all around Morocco. I then had to think about how I would make this stand independently. With the help of the work shop assistants, I was able to find a way for it to stand interdependently and made a platform at the bottom for it to stand straight.  The fabric will be Moroccan fabric commonly used as curtains but I don’t want them draping over the door but have them wrapping and dangling around the arch frame. I then like the idea of also making the area smell like Morocco also. So I have decided to do the scented sticks which we normally have in our house which you set a light and it has scented smoke. It is also used in mediation and to remove any bad vibes around the area. i would have them being placed in a very traditional stick holder which are seen around Morocco often and definitely in Moroccan houses. I am looking forward to making this idea come to life and be able to present it in CSM Kings Cross for everyone else to enjoy. 

• Consider you relationship to your chosen place how can you advance your understanding of this site through the use of alternative methods and mediums? Installation, performance, projection, sculpture, text. etc.

I believe that Morocco can be represented in all ways. Any country can, it is just more meaningful when it is your own. I am a very proud Moroccan I believe that if I were to preform something inspired by Moroccan culture or if I were to do a painting of a Moroccan landscape. But creating a sculpture that allows the audience to interact with would make the experience a lot more memorable and more realistic to the setting. Doing a painting will only make a window space for the viewer to experience or having a video being played would be a different experience for the audience.

• Consider ways in which you can reveal/deny an interpretation of your chosen place?

 I want to be able to make the audience reveal an interpretation they want. I want them to understand that no matter where they are from they are home and they are belonged.  They may feel like they are lost or feel as if they might not fit in but London is so multi cultural and is the main reason why London i so beautiful. I would also want them to understand that walking though the door they choose where they belong. The whole idea of the door was to show the start of a journey and an end. Like leaving your home to go work; you leave your front door to go on a journey and then you back to the same door to end it. I feel like because I made this personal, and aimed it towards Arab culture not many people might come up with that interpretation but I would like to believe that it has something to do with my culture and the fact that I made a door would make them think about why a Moroccan door being placed in London could link to me. 

• How has the specificity of the siting of your work (King's Cross) effected the development  of your outcome. Was this challenging if so why and how?

 The placement of my work didn't effect the development of my work as it was visible for viewers to see. The work around the piece was somewhat distracting away from the door. The fact that the walls were white made it quite hard for the door to be visible. It was quite challenging however I was happy with the outcome and happy that it tuned out the way it did. 

• How was the peer critique what was said and is there any ideas you would like to take forward?

My critique from my peers were mainly concerns about using the scented sticks and making sure that the door is secure and stable to make sure that it is safe for anyone to walk through it. I was also told that it was a very complex thing to make as a sculpture due to the size and the weight of the actual object, however i wouldn't have wanted it any bigger or smaller, I was happy with the way it had turned out. 

Contextual Review Draft

For Part One, I have felt as if I have been on a roller coaster of happiness, excitement but it has been intense. I have learnt so much during this course so far and look forward to what the rest of the course has to bring.  The most enjoyable part of being on this course would definitely be meeting new people from all different type of backgrounds. I would have never imagined meeting so many lovely people who have the same passion and love for art as I do. Doing the critiques at the end of each session, made me more confident talking about my work and ideas and also learning how to question other people’s thoughts; I felt like I was learning from my classmates as well as my teachers.  I have also enjoyed using all 3 of the workshops and creating such large scale and challenging objects for all of my projects, all in which I have learnt new skills and techniques which I will never forget and continue to use. 

But it has also been challenging. Although I enjoy challenging myself the speed of the course made me feel as if I had to be quick with my ideas and process which didn't make me feel as confident as I normally do with my work. The first idea that would come into my head would be the idea I carry through out each project. However, this method of learning had taught what I am capable of creating within such a small space of time. I also found the 4D projects challenging as it was something I was not as confident in doing. It was enjoyable to learn the different techniques but in terms of creating videos and editing them, I was not that confident and thankful that in most sessions, we worked in groups. Which was a complete surprise for me as I enjoy taking videos almost every day of things that interest me.

The projects and ideas I have explored, throughout the duration of Part One, has allowed me to explore multiple materials, processes as well as artists.

For my Collection project I looked at the idea of typology which was inspired by artists: Bernd and Holla Becher, Taryn Simon and Francis Alys. All whom look at the idea of things being the same yet being different. Therefore, I adapted this into my own collection piece which was inspired by sitting in the back of the class and seeing the back of everyone's heads. I saw a "collection" of young adults who come from all around the world with a common love for art, typology. I also visited the Victoria and Albert Museum as well as Tate, where they both had a whole section based on Collection which inspired me and influenced my work even more. Overall, the first project allowed me to get closer with other students as they were part of my collection piece as well as the process and final outcome of it. 

For my painting project I looked into Altered Spaces where I spoke about the important space which aims to question the audience what life would be like without the person they love, or what life would be like without the feeling of love. I created this by painting a perfect white box over the "important space" and therefore altering the image. Artists, Marlo Pascual, Toba Khedoori, Marlo Pascual who look into the idea of hiding and creating an empty space inspired me. Pascual physically covers and hides a space using a red square which irritated me as I had come up with the idea of covering the important space with a white square. Nevertheless, it taught me that it was the meaning that differed and that was all that mattered. Overall, I enjoyed the thought process and meaning I had created for this piece and it was very abstract which I also enjoyed. 

For the sculpture project I had felt the most confident and comfortable but was also the most challenging. I was able to create a piece that I was proud of and looked forward to sharing at the critique. Material News was out theme and I looked into knife crime and how it has affected so many people. It was a very personal project which is why it was so challenging as I didn't want anything to go wrong. I purchased 132 knifes for the 132 lives taken so far in 2019 and melted and moulded them into a ball as someone close to me was killed through knife crime and wanted to be a football player. I found it hard telling the group of people in my critique but after telling them they were able to tell me about stories about people they knew which was what I wanted my piece to do. Build conversations where conversations are not being made which was something I had been taught by Lubaina Himid, Doris Salcedo and Damian Ortega who all look into massacres round the world.

Overall, sculpture is something that I would love to continue with as I had created a sculpture piece for my Altered Spaces project, Material News project and Places project. The places project i looked at the idea of "home" and where I belong. Consequently, I was able to create a door inspired by Moroccan Culture as Morocco is my home as well as London. Although sculpture interests me the most, I look forward to what I have got to learn from Part Two and looking forward to the rest of this amazing journey of life.