Object Elective

I have been developing my work further through an elective which was based on the the use of consumable and throw away materials. The intention was to create an object which would qualify as a 'sculptural expression'. The elective gave me the chance to explore many different processes using materials such as twigs, bark chippings and organic canvas which I had previously produced in my Collaborative project.
The images above are one of the outcomes of the week. Small incisions were made into the length of the large twigs. These were then fixed into dome shaped plaster as bases. Using old reels of cotton I wound the thread from branch to branch using the incisions to keep a tension on the work.Subconsciously i was realizing voids of negative spaces which appropriates the rural landscape; the shapes and forms of the land.

 The images here are the result of the organic canvas being wrapped around chicken wire and the direct application of heat from a heat gun onto it's surface. This has produced an interesting aesthetic transformation of a 2D surface into a 3D texture. The work does have historical and archeology connotations and I am drawn to the element of heat and fire as a medium.

Rural Environment from above

These images from Google Earth highlight the immense mark humanity leaves on the rural environment. The satellite imagery produced highlights the penetration of the land and the patterns and forms that result in these interventions.These marks are made through the cultivation and the physical actions of penetrating the earth. The traces are shaped through the repetitive process of planting crops and the track marks left from the machinery used to carry out the procedure.
 

Rural Landscapes

The presence of mankind's intervention with the land is visible in these images. The cultivation of the land involves the penetration of the earth to enable the growth of crops. The building of dry stone walls creates the sectioning of the land forming areas for grazing animals. These textured surfaces and three dimensional forms leave the traces and evidence of humanity. For me, the exciting thing about these landscapes is their vastness and the immensity of mankind's ability to transform the landscape through the labour of agriculture and farming.

Revisiting previous work

Reverse side of paper prick templates after use

Rust Pigment trace prints


After writing an essay about the lack of physicality and interaction of society through our increased reliance on technology, it has become more apparent that an important aspect of my work is how, as a society, we leave our mark on the land and the world around us.

Re visiting some previous work I created with pin pricks and rust pigment has emphasised how the process of much of my work actually reflects aspects of the way we leave our physical presence on the earth. The process of ‘piercing’ appropriates the penetration of the landscape through agriculture and farming, the building of dwellings and the forming of societies. The textures and traces formed through this process embodies the forms and structures created by mankind.

Willow & Organic Canvas

I have been working on trying to combine the two materials of willow and the organic canvases from the Beckwithshaw School visit together. I have struggled to find a concept that works. I stripped and flaying the willow; an instinctive process that appropriates mankind’s impulse to explore the characteristics of organic materials. How will the materials work for us, how can we use the material to survive!

Through the process of stitch I combined the two materials together. None of the work seems to succeed and  feel that I am not achieving anything of significance! However, the process has highlighted the reason why I am drawn to the action of “piercing” materials.