Unit 02 Portfolio

Unit 02 has been a unit of ups and downs, success and failures. I have had some tough tutorials at time and with the critique identifying a lot of issues in my project direction I have had to take some steps back. I do feel though on reflection very happy about where the project will end up. I think the tutors could see that project and myself had a lot more to give and that it could be a very successful project.  Despite my unit 02 portfolio not being as advanced as I would have perhaps wanted, I have produced a lot of work this term and this has really helped me break down each element.  

For unit 01 I was praised by my peers and tutors for the presentation of my work and this is something that I again wanted to ensure was high end. Learning from the previous unit feedback, I have made sure that their is more context within my books that supports the visual imagery. My QR scan actually works this time, so my reflective blog will be seen and assessed. The portfolio very much reflects the term with me having to discuss why particular parts of the project will not be taken forwards. I have spent a lot of time laying out my work and building my visual communication skills. I have used a similar format in the idea of an archive box that will hold all my components.

Although this units marks will not impact on my final grade it would be great that despite how the term has gone that I can match or build upon my B+. This portfolio also includes an updated study plan and a printed copy of my critical research paper.

 

Proposal drawing

I have been thinking about how this drawing is going to come together and work in the form of communicating the spatial narrative. For the final show I know that the text will be presented alongside this [although I need to consider how this will also be presented]. I have started to think about each element as its own drawing and then place these together to produce the final installation.

I need to work at a reasonable scale, but also a scale that depends on the space I am given for the final show [to be discussed in my unit 02 feedback]. The installation will consist of four layers of information presented at heights that deals with their relationship to the body.

1. A concrete cast of the Gagosian floor plan giving an indication of the space that I am walking around. This will be presented on the floor of the gallery space

2. The drawing of weight. this is one of the more difficult elements to explain as I am working on how I can produce marks that start to communicate weight distribution [matching the descriptions in the text]. This will be suspended just above the concrete cast in line with my ankle height. I am looking into Japanese printmaking papers that are light weight in GSM but incredibly strong

3. steel box section that will show a linear route of where I moved. According to Frank [technician] this is easy to work work and I have already started to look at the various junctions I can purchase to help with the angles of my direction. This will be suspended at the height of my waist. A fixed center point of my body.

4. Wire that will be a series of lines welded together showing line of sight. This is complex and will take a lot of time to draw up ensuring that I work with angles and duration lines. This will be suspended in line with own eye line.

To support the potential installation process I have considered the idea of a timber framed reflective mount that would act as a perimeter line of the space. This will enable me to suspend the work form this frame and not into the ceiling. The issue I have is that the final MA show is in studios that will not be clear until mid-august. It is really important that I get an allocated space asap and can start to measure up. The concrete floor is going to have to be made on site and in location as once it is set it is very unlikely that I will be able to move it without it breaking.

MA ISD Interim Show

MA ISD Interim Show

Interim show H&S briefing

This morning we all met in the colleges Triangle space [gallery 1] for an interim show briefing. The show is a collaboration between MA Textile design and ISD students. Although the curatorial team was mixed the rest of us had never met each other. We are still unsure as to why we are having a joint show? there is an awful lot of us and I think everyone is slightly nervous about how the show will come together.  We have just two days to prep and install ahead of Tuesdays 17:00 private view. Having done shows every year with students I know the stress, stupidity and chaos of these situations . . this could be interesting.

Personally  however, I feel OK about the interim show. I will be purely presenting my narrative on my plinth and have decided that for distribution issues and costs I will be printing my narrative on sheets of paper and not in a book format. I have a simple installation set-up and just need to focus on getting a space that works for the project.

The original proposed location of my work is situated close to the bar and it doesn't work for me. I want my work to be placed within the entrance space due to the nature of the work [the audience picking up my narrative] too far into the space and it could feel like a sculpture that people may not engage with.

Thinking through drawing

This morning I had another tutorial and just showed Pete and my peers the spatial plan I had developed that had been helping me construct my narrative. I also wanted to take the opportunity to clear up anything unclear and spoke about drawing in a more sculptural and installation sense. Pete seemed happy with this and was starting to get excited about the prospects of my project [a huge change from last week!] This restored some faith in myself and that I was making sense with my proposal. Pete advised me to use unit 02 to give him some indication of what could come and to include proposal drawings in my portfolio submission. Drawing my experience is going to be a huge task and I am slightly lost as to where to start. How do I produce a drawing that shows body movement, weight and line of sight??

mapping out my notes taken from walking around the gallery

Every week I am bombarded with emails form the college that have a continuous line up of events for postgraduate students to attend. I haven't signed up to any before, mainly due to time but there was an event advertised at LCF entitled "thinking through drawing". With the direction of my project bringing up "drawing" as a fundamental element I decided to sign up and see what the workshop offered. If anything I was expecting perhaps a critical discussion about the importance of drawing and how I could approach drawing my experience [that was starting to consider multiple elements].  

The session was an introduction about drawing [as an approach]. It was very much focused on the discussion but did provide interesting exercises where we had to talk and draw with a partner. My role as tutor has helped me when working with student during tutorials and that exact process of mapping out and drawing whilst talking. I found it helpful as it forced me to consider how this drawing/sculpture/installation would communicate my ideas and experience. I know feel more confident in submitting some drawings that would hopefully start to communicate my proposal.

Activity 1 Mark making / Activity 2 drawing a problem through lines & forms

Activity 3 Drawing whilst talking

Activity 4 drawing your proposal in four different ways

Steel plinth fabricated

The plinth has been fabricated and it looks beautiful! it has had a counter weight welded into the base giving it weight that will prevent it from moving during the interim show.  The size of the plinth relates to my bodily walking measurements. A scale used in my unit 01 work when developing the route systems. the base is 1 Fardell foot x 1 Fardell foot with the height 1 Fardell step. Although this information is personal to me and will not be published to the audience I will disclose it to my tutors. I think having it fabricated from scratch has really added value to the work and I am looking forward to seeing how this will situate itself within the white gallery space and present my narrative.

The plinth will remain outside in my garden until I drop it off at Chelsea on Saturday 6th May. everyday I will be spraying the steel in a 60/40 mix of water and malt vinegar to speed up the rusting process.