Albeit belated, I’m displaying some images here from the Free Range exhibition I took part in at the Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane in London, July 2010. These images shown are a continuation of my third year university work, a good way to end my degree!
Here is Celestion (the large charcoal drawing) displayed for the student art and design exhibition at Staffordshire University degree show. You get a much better sense of the size and scale of the piece in this image:
The wonderful Phil Sayers has kindly loaned me his graphite collection, and today has been a day of playing and experimentation! New favourite material? Graphite powder…
Beautiful stuff.
The texture of the powder is just so manageable, its really incredibly convenient!
Ok so I have finally decided on my Graduate Exhibition work. It’s been a long hard week but my final resolution to this theme is becoming clearer by the day.
Taking the Waterford 365g paper, I’ve decided on using the full width of the roll (measuring 1.53m) and in order to keep with the regular proportions of my previous work, I have calculated that I need a length of 2.34m. This drawing is going to be quite stunning in size, and hopefully also in detail and content too.
Potential presentation of the work:
What to choose, what to choose… Bockingford 190g or Waterford 365g… More testing required.
Having thought long and hard about how to present my work, I’ve come to the conclusion that representing my photographic documentations of my radio insides would be perfect for the graduate show 2009. Right now Im pondering the scale of the work…. although I have been working on an A2 size, I’m thinking that bigger will be better this time. Im also thinking that, to bring the theme and scope back around, the production (or rather reproduction) of an object (based on the drawing) would link everything together and link back to the beginnings of my documentation and re-presentation through personalised renditions.
Essentially, my work flows from:
– collection of an interesting object
– in-depth documentation through photography
– creation of my own graphite/charcoal rendition (typically A2 in size) using only the photograph as reference
Im hoping that the next step of ‘creating a miniature model of the original object, using only the drawing as reference’ will be a successful endeavour. I cannot decide, however, if I want to create a miniature model (perhaps closer in size to the original object) or if I want to enlarge the model to a ridiculous and impossible scale. Experimentation is definitely needed here.
Im also considering creating a massive drawing – something closer in size to A0 or larger. I think it is necessary for me to express the intensity of my slaving away at something so detailed over a long period of time – I dont think the general viewing public will understand this unless the scale (be it oversized or tiny) is extreme.
Continuing with these graphite and charcoal renditions, I hadnt really stopped to think about the reasons why I started doing them in the first place. So I went back to the original object, and looking inside at the circuitry and wiring, the piece took on a whole new meaning and feel to it. I felt like I was looking at a model of my drawings, as opposed to the basis of them. It was a very peculiar feeling; I had already recognised the similarities in the macro photographs I had taken of the radio that are usually present in architectural designs, but had not predicted this changed view.
These works I am creating are more than just drawings, they are experiences. Each time I look at one, my mind is filled with an assortment of imagery. Amongst the bombardment lies affiliations with Blade Runner (1982) city scapes, Metropolis (1927) machinery, doomsday devices, buttons that could stop the World, old science fiction perhaps. My references are generally visually cinematic, perhaps because that is where my interests lie. I enjoy the dirt and grime of an old movie, whirring and clunking its way through each reel. There’s something really interesting and perhaps disappointing in having this feeling of nostalgia for something I never had the opportunity to live/experience myself; I feel I need to protect and reserve these ‘artefacts’ that I base my work around; forever re-rendering them in different formats, the need to conserve and document is really quite evident.
I’m not entirely sure where this is going yet, but I do have several ideas involving cinematic endeavours… Stay tuned.
FINAL COMPLETION:
Having completed this initial drawing, I can see a strong resemblance between these images, my previous button sketches and the imagery used in the first scene of Metropolis (1927). This has led me to think about installations and sound as a way of furthering my work and the ways in which viewers can appreciate the art. Im still unsure of what I want to use yet, but there is certainly scope for further accompaniment here.
Having been informed of a “retro-looking” heater in the skip, I ventured forth and came back with said heater (though Im not sure its in working condition – Im not brave enough to plug it in to the mains) and photographed each point of interest: labels, dirt, dust, the lot. A select few of these images are below – hopefully they will act as reference points for further drawings, much like my radio images
With the recent success of my 528-16305 piece, I thought I might continue using my radio as the basis for my next work – perhaps a continuation of the series? Im unsure as to whats coming next, but I would like to experiment further with colour washes and artist leads, as opposed to cheap graphite and charcoal… We’ll see… Below are some close-up images of the electrical components inside the radio that I may or may not work from.
Ok, so here is the final triptych created from the initial macro photographs taken of my Bush radio. The larger A2 scale is the ideal size for making an impact with these delicate switches and buttons; the increased scale seems to give a greater impact visually. It also seems to make the actual items in the drawings more tangible (as opposed to the sheet on which the sketch is drawn) and more ‘real’. Below are some images of the exhibited piece, including some close-up shots, too:
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