- Take an existing piece of work and disrupt it in some way
- Take a found image or object and disrupt that
- Bring the two together to create a new piece
We had certain parameters in creating our newest prompted piece, most of which focused on moving away from our current area of practice. As much of my body of work to date is about digital disruption I decided I would make a physical piece and no digital was allowed until the final recording of the work in order to be able to share it for the next group crit.
Taking a painting from my A3 sketchbook that I was happy with elements of but had decided I was not very happy with overall I decided to make an object of it. This involved folding to create a short concertina and then cutting two slots so those strips could be folded out. While I use book-forms a reasonable amount I have never done it with painting or created a ‘pop-out’ effect before. Once the form was made, I really liked how the drips and the splashes of cerise interacted in a completely different way to the 2D paining.
Deciding on a found object or images was a bit harder. I had wondered about putting something spikey into the ‘vessels’ formed in the book. This would be a reflection on all the images we are seeing of the Covid-19 virus with its spikes. Apparently, we don’t have barbed wire lying about so I had to reconsider! This pointed me at a pile of window envelopes and how there is so much confused advice as to whether it’s safe to touch surfaces. Suddenly, things that were unremarkable and everyday take on a new significance.
Sticking pins through the envelope created the effect I wanted but it needed washi tape on the back to hold them in place. When I turned it over, I was taken by the effect they made, like plasters trying to make things better.
I combined the two pieces in various ways, but I think the most successful is the image of the envelope upside down, the pins become surreal and dangerous legs. The envelope takes on a new and more ominous scale.
This project definitely came more slowly than Under Cover, I suspect because our current context has become more waring and I don’t feel I am generating ideas as easily. Nonetheless, I feel positive about what was achieved, and gave me several insights:
- Keeping an idea simple can be very effective
- Remember to invert, upend or move pieces around to get a different perspective
- Serendipity can be a friend – it was interesting to note how the various shades of blue interacted without me being very conscious of them i.e. I chose the blue washi tape because it was the one I had to hand!
- Pushing outside of my usual boundaries can mean small steps as well as giant leaps
