Wall to Wall Week 1

The first week of Wall to Wall has been challenging as many of the painters have not yet started on their walls other than for initial sketches, which has made it hard for me to respond to the proposals I was most interested in working with. However I have actually been really interested in two of the paintings which I didn't think I would like to respond to at all. The 'demon' like skull in Sorias drawing reminds me of my research of Charles Freger's Wildermann, as many of the ritual costumes throughout different cultures often use skulls of animals to symbolise different demons and beasts. I found this aspect of the drawing combined with the feminine aspects of it an interesting juxtaposition, as the two contrast each other. Even though it is just a basic sketch at the moment and there will be paint and potentially objects on the wall by the end of the exhibition, I think it is interesting to respond to the different stages of the paintings rather than just the finished thing, which is what I had initially had in mind. This, as I realised this week, will mean that most of the spectacles I make for this project will be quite experimental.

Whilst planning the different spectacles for this exhibition I have thought more thoroughly about the meaning behind the materials I choose and how these then effect the meaning of the work. If I use reds, pinks or blacks together then this will create a more sexualised meaning, particularly if i use materials like leather or silk. If I use browns and more natural tones - especially for the wildermann inspired spectacle, then the work will become more beast like. Thinking about this has made me realise that bright colours are especially important in my work, as I think the bright colours help to deter any deeper meaning, which will help the audience take in how the work appears in a purely visual way.  Bright colours also help add to the comical element of my work.

For Emila's painting she has created a giant gash across the wall which is both gruesome and slightly sexualised. I initially thought I wanted to recreate the entire cut which comes across the body, however I think it will be more interesting to respond to just one part of the cut and try and really focus on the textures of the wound.

In response to Anna's wall, I want to recreate a Ghillie suit, using a mixture of silky fabrics and found leaves which is what she has used to create drapes on her wall. This spectacle I think will be the most time consuming, as I want to stitch or tie each individual real leaf or silk leaf together and then onto netting, similar to the actually way of making Ghillie suits. This means that it should be done by the end of the exhibition, meaning I can camouflage myself into her wall when it is complete as well as when it is a working process.

So far every artist I have spoken to hasn't minded me measuring up their walls or invading their painting space with my materials and ideas and it has been really exciting to hear how everyone is on board with my ambitious plans. 

SECOND UNIT Wall to Wall - Initial ideas from proposals

Natural camouflage - maybe using leaves and other found materials??? silks!

creases. hanging - similar ruffles and creases in a wearable piece? maybe a hat! Hiding behind the curtains..

Ask if she wants to use my body as a canvas. Responding not just to the painting but the surrouding environment, maybe a combination of more than one wall?

Headpiece - very abstract and very colourful - using different textures to respond to the different marks

Drawing around people - get her to draw around me then use my siholette as a base for the spectacle. Get some pictures using different shutter speeds to show movement of the body. Paint my body and then camouflage me in?

A chance to work in black and white and push myself out of my comfort zone? Using a shape similar to the shrimp spectacle 

Dress up like this man! A felt suit inspired by Bueys perhaps

Plans for a short yet ridiculous film

After researching Fischli and Weiss I was really inspired by their film 'The point of least resistance', and the amateur quality of it, as well as the satirical point of view it had on the art world. From this, I have planned to devise and direct my own short film, to take place in the EAST gallery. I have already spoken to the gallery, who said that it would be okay for me to go into the gallery in the morning before it was open to the public to do some filming. I would have liked to have had done this before the end of BA3a, but alongside my extended essay I know I will not have the time. However, I will continue to plan and set this up for the next unit. As I have never done something like this before, it will have an amateur feel to it, so I am hoping that it echoes the work of Fischli and Weiss. One of the costumes for the film will be the pink shrimp spectacle that I showed in the Interim exhibition, but I am undecided as to what the other will be. I think I shall make a new spectacle for it. 

This is a very rough storyboard for the film, I don't want to plan it too much, because I want to be able to think through the filming and direct most of it on the day, as I think the most interesting things will happen this way. The basic plot goes like this:

The pink shrimp spectacle sculks through the gallery shuffling around
it tries to sneakily steal a piece of artwork
but
a policman catches him 
'HANDS UP'
a chase around the gallery ensues 

Neither of the people wearing the costumes will be able to see, so the chase will be slow and probably catastrophic. I will have to do a risk assessment for this I think to make sure there are little trip hazards. At the moment I haven't thought about whether I want sound or music in the background of the film, or whether I want it to be raw and unedited, but these are both things I can figure out later. Ultimately this is going to be a big experiment, and I kind of like not knowing how it is going to turn out. 

WALL TO WALL PROPOSAL

^^^^^ Perhaps something like this??? Camouflaged as a shape into the wall.