THIRD YEAR INTERIM SHOW

Here are a few images from the first term interim show, set up in the style of the Royal Academy Summer Shows, our 'Academy Show' consists of a bulk collection of our experiements, contextual research, sketches, intial images and statements (displayed like Frazer Muggeridge graphic collage pages... an experiement for additional pages in our Degree Show Catalogue)...Enjoy!

The Spaghetti Experiment...

Although I intend to conduct my spaghetti experiments again, (this time with further preparation, scruffy clothes and a little less tomato sauce!) for the intial practice I placed spaghetti alphabet letters on to plates in the form of quotes from Dodie Smith's novel, 'I Capture the Castle', and got my flatmate to film the process of me washing the dishes... washing the spaghetti letters off the plates and throwing the leftovers into the bin.
I chose this particular novel mainly as I found it very influential and relatable to my own thoughts as I was growing up and reading it throughout my teenage years, not to mention for its narrative (diaristic) qualities. The intensity of the protagonist's particular thoughts at intervals throughout the novel identifies with my interests in narrative formulation and individual development. In a novel describing a potentionally amusing and comical situation; there are moments of great pain and self-doubt. The entries concerning religion and belief particuarly interest me, and I found whilst reading through and ascertaining quotes that I often shared the same thoughts on the subject as the main character, Cassandra Mortmain.

The process of placing the alphabet letters on to the plates (an act involving stamp tweezers, fingers, flatmate assistance and a great deal of patience) became very ritualistic, and I became entirely involved in its execution; returning to the book constantly and re arranging the letters to formulate more structured sentences.
Once the fliming began I tried to emulate my ordinary methods of washing up as much as possible to ensure the filming didn't appear rehearsed, yet in that mindset I became more ritualisticaly involved with the process of the act as ritual... making it appear as a reverant demonstration of cleansing and purification. The physical movement of my hands and wrist whilst washing was also notably intruiging, as watching over the tape showed them from a perspective I had not previously considered; turning the everyday, mundane act into a dance, a reverie of self-absorption and contemplation...

Alphabet Letters and the Formulation of Ritual: Initial Experiements...

 

To kick-start my considerations of text and the formulation of ritual, I decided to use magnetic alphabet letters (and laser-cutting cut outs from a previous text installation project- 'Phoenix') as the initial material and visual stimulant for my experiments; in the hopes of directing the vague wandering of my ideas. 

I played with them- forming quotes and developing structures (as children do when learning to read and write) placing them over books from which I chose pertinent quotes, images I deemed as contrasting for the backdrop of the textual questioning, and images from films (whilst playing on the television screen) to add doses of satirical irony. This, although simple and relatively literal, had a powerful effect in making me consider the visual language of texts as viewed and questionned during our development... making me think back to childhood days when the simple and obvious questions seemed so important; and now ignored by those who had questionned them before... 

I then went on to experiment with the projection of alphabet letters with a broken projector (acquired from the depths of Martin's studio) and made some very Barbara Kruger-esque projections, accentuated by the shadows of the shattered glass of the screen.

After several failed attempts to capture shattered glass shards exploding and disrupting formulated alphabet letter quotes (taken from the bible , in this particular case 'I'm sorry that I made any of them' Genesis)... which I intend to try again at a later date... I have begun to formulate more experimental ideas that use motifs of ritual in their enaction; covering with candle wax, burning, washing, submerging, sinking, burying, cutting, breaking, reforming, exposing to the elements... etc, the majority of which I will carry out this Christmas Holiday back in the Falklands.

I also have a vision of creating a video exploring the cleansing/washing away of or the disguise within ritual, by filming the everyday process (and for me rather a habitual obsession!) of washing the dishes, but washing away spaghetti letter quotes which have been stuck and encrusted to the dirty dishes. I am intruiged by the conceptual dilemma of cleansing as a healing, purifying act; or a disguise to mask what was considered to be wrong...

Ritual in the Wasteland... and similar togography of displacement...

Continuing on from a similar vein in my previous second and first year projects- though this time concentrating more upon the formulation of text and narrative structure than the fantastical metaphors of creative writing- I am going to continue 'navigating the imaginary landscape of my displacement' until a destination is reached.

However, throughout this year I intend to complement this narrative exploration with more in-depth visual experiments; focusing not only upon the linguistic formulation of text but the metaphorical situation of text placement and understanding.

I see my fascination with text and narrative structure as the encapsulation of my need for ritualistic process... the need to contemplate fantasy in reality in relation to self-realisation and understanding... a narrative journey in search of purification, cleansing, forgiveness, reconciliation, ceremony... rite of passage... manifesting into physical (and at times mundane, yet obsessive) actions which reflect these ritual considerations.
Using the visual stimulant of alphabet letters- as a means for bringing a three-dimensional installation into my narrative habits- I will use ritualistic processes particularly to allegorically and metaphorically explore topics of interest which reflect my preoccupation with ritual; and contribute to the allusion of 'wasteland' which figures predominantly in my conceptual artistic practice.

Religion and narrative discrepancy, use and misuse of the Allegorical, Apocalyptic landscape, Romanticism and the Enlightenment, Postmodern Narrative techniques, Questioning identity and social paradigms, Depression and the mental psyche, Fantasy and the Real, Unknown and the Terror of the Sublime, The Anti-Hero and ulterior motives, Loss and Replacement, Action and Consequence, Stream of consciousness and inner-monologue, the concept of Sin and Redemption, and Rite of Passage... to name a few examples, are particular themes of interest in both my practical and conceptual ideas... and will be considered within my creative writing and visual experiments throughout the year.

For once I am quite unsure of the complete direction in which my project is going, or of its end product and destination; but I am attempting to enjoy this uncertainty and work with it... journeying into the unknown regions of my displacement to discover new realisations and conceptual wanderings...