Self-Directed Project: 'Tsukumogami'

For my first self-directed project in university, I wanted to try and explore a similar theme while exploring new methods to express my ideas. The result was this idea for an installation piece.

The idea dawned upon when I looked under the tables clustered together in my studio. How the extra unused lockers were all gathered together at such an irregular fashion drew an odd impression of a space one may try to crawl through. I considered the possibility of offering someone a view of being like a lost object.

At its most ambitious scale, I felt it would have been ideal if I were to somehow set up a space to use and build a maze-like structure for people to crawl into and under. Otherwise, I considered to settle with using a table to substitute as a simple roof. In any case, the low-lying walls are to be lined with lockers, being key to people in their function in storing items of importance. I spoke to other students about kinds of objects they had lost and considered the possibility of gathering a collection of such objects to scatter within the maze.

In the end, the latter idea was put to use as I was unable to find the place or time to get a large area for a low-lying maze structure, however simple its design may be. A table was used as a roof, with lockers in the centre and around the edges to give support and ensure the whole thing didn't fall in on itself.

I chose to name the piece Tsukumogami, after a part of Japanese folklore that spoke of inanimate objects that would manifest life of their own after a hundred years of no longer being used by their former human masters. This premise of the object and how it outlives the owner intrigued me and probably worked to draw a connection to a major inspiration for this project, Mike Nelson.

The Coral Reef (2000) by Mike Nelson

Nelson is an artist who produced a room-based installation piece entitled The Coral Reef (2000). This piece is to work as a representation of ideologies of minorities dwelling deep within the base of a capitalistic society. Here, they have 'calcified' among each other, even with those seeming to contradict, as if they have in turn become lost ideals. I found a hauntingly fascinating experience in entering The Coral Reef.

The Coral Reef (2000) by Mike Nelson

"To enter Mike Nelson's 'The Coral Reef' is to leave the physical fabric of the city and enter a parallel world. Rooms, doors, passageways, all bear traces of habitation and decay, making narrative promises that are never fulfilled. The visitor to 'The Coral Reef'' soon becomes disorientated, even lost, as they explore its depths."

Tsukumogami (2010)

In having attempted such a similar idea now, and now with hindsight, I have sometimes wondered whether there might be a factor of admiring and emulating being different issues. Although I can still certainly say that I greatly admire the work and idea behind Nelson's piece, I can't say I felt particularly satisfied with my means of exploring for this project. It may be that this was too much of a diversion from what I primarily wished to invest in exploring for my artwork. This certainly went on to feel more apparent later on in my time at university.

Interior of Tsukumogami (2010)

'The Weight of History'

For my second university project brief, one of the tutors assigned each student a book from the library at random. We were to take out our chosen texts and select something to base our art piece on. All the students' outcomes were to be collectively exhibited around the walls of the studio in order of their date of origin, from which the title comes into play. However, since I never actively recorded any of this in terms of photography, what I can discuss is the subject I had been assigned, what information I selected from it and how I expressed it.

The text I was assigned with for this project brief was entitled Art: A Sex Book by John Waters and Bruce Hainley.

The book is a compilation of various works from artists that range from startling to graphic depictions of the human body and activities to more abstract images that can imply eroticism or at least something that seems unnerving. Among the collection of these works is a conversation between Waters and Hainley where they discuss the nature behind contemporary art and its provoking language and relationship with people. For my sketchbook I chose to highlight certain quotes from the book that I felt I could connect to in terms of their ideas on the nature of modern (provocative) art.

Contemporary art is rarely about making normal bodies.
- John Waters

Many designers' inspiration is haute recycling from the garbage.

- Bruce Hainley

 

Good art always brings up destruction, anarchy. Rebelling against - over turning - the old forms, the established regimes, that's the history of art.

- Waters & Hainley

 

The art world is a secret world with a secret language... People learn the language if they're interested enough.

- Waters

 

You see, we're laughing when we talk about contemporary art but we're laughing with it. What you have to do is be delighted by the nerve of contemporary art. You don't have contempt before investigation and yet contempt is what 98% of people have for contemporary art.

- Waters

 

People complain about certain images: 'Oh, it's pornographic, not art' and yet... we love to see certain things repeated over and over... There's something sexy about all that looking, but there's also something a little disturbing about it, pornographic. Contemporary art deals powerfully with the strangeness of looking at anything at all.

- Hainley

 

Among the shown pieces, one in particular I developed an interest in was a conceptual art piece by Tom Friedman, called 1000 Hours of Staring. This piece features a blank piece of paper which Friedman supposedly looked at for one thousand hours. Much like other conceptual works of Friedman's, this is about developing intrigue in a basic object by providing an unusual circumstance to its being.

 

1000 Hours of Staring (1992-1997) by Tom Friedman

 

Contemporary art requires some amount of trust. Did Tom Friedman really stare at a piece of paper for a thousand hours?

- Hainley

 

...That's one of my favourite pieces... What did he have on when he was staring? Was he nude? What was he thinking? If he has stared for a thousand hours he had to do some fantasising... There's confidence in paying for the result of his staring - it requires belief in what you're doing... Imaging him staring for all those hours: you're having a fantasy about his fantasy.

- Waters

Sketch of setup for projection response to 1000 Hours of Staring

 

What I aimed to produce in response to Friedman's 1000 Hours of Staring was a projection/audio installation piece. Contemplating on the possible occurrences throughout the 1000 hours looking into a piece of paper, I recorded the background noise from within my own room, and kept it at an ambient level so I could subtly loop the audio (for practicality reasons). Although it was certainly an entertaining notion for me to work on a more conceptual piece compared to what I've normally explored, in hindsight, I didn't feel greatly engaged with the work as a whole.

'Winchester 360': Introduction to the Little People

For my first project brief at university, entitled Winchester 360, we were assigned to various locations to attempt to develop artwork on. The aim was to create a piece that challenges how people may primarily perceive the location in question. I was originally assigned to look into The Great Hall and the Winnall Moor Nature Reserve, however, I would eventually find out that it was not completely necessary to make my artwork purely based on either of these locations. This was fortunate on account of being unable to make arrangements with staff from Great Hall when I did finally develop on an idea for a project.

One idea I considered was a video/audio installation piece that displayed a walkthrough of the nature reserve. This was to be projected onto large screen that appears to break into smaller sections when alternative paths were made open. However, this became too complicated and daunting to pull off on account of being completely inexperienced in this kind of digital media.

Do Not (Disturb) (2011)

Another idea that did stick however, was able to be expanded to multiple locations within Winchester itself. In fact, my designated site for the project became the main street through the Winchester city centre. Inspired by the works Slinkachu and his railway model people, I produced my own series of photos that eventually grew into what I now call Project Anthill.

I See You Walking Past Me (2011)

Sunny Day (2011)

Riding...! (2011)

Although these figures are generally non-distinctive from one another due to their lack of detail, they are highly adaptable to a variety of situations and are conceived under the notion of existing within a single collective community. I provide a good enough explanation behind the nature of Anthill in my first original post:

"The title “Project Anthill” didn’t come to mind until a few weeks after my first photos for the piece were taken. I thought about the livelihood of these ‘little people’ and how overlooked they most likely are. It’s comparable to life beyond our typical visual understanding. We often think of our environment as purely our own (houses, towns, cities, etc.) yet plenty of other life forms adapt here and settle in. At the same time, the residents of “Anthill” function as a microcosm to the diversity of society, in a similar fashion to how Slinkachu’s photographs work."

My Heart Will Go On (2011)

Lookout (2011)

The efforts of Project Anthill are fuelled by a need to recall the child-like sense of wonder in exploration, allowing one's self to find something new in even the most familiar of places.

Into the Lair (2011)

 

You can see this project and how it has grown (and hopefully continues to do so) on its own blog on Tumblr.

 

Project Anthill @ Tumblr



'Myths & Mysteries': Conclusion

When I started this project, I was still restricting myself in use of materials and hence, possibly restricting myself in range of ideas. My immediate reference had been Giacometti, still very much narrowing myself down to similar works to the wire sculptures I produced from my 'Body & Form' project.

However, I would fortunately expand on my range in a short amount of time as I discovered artists like Thomas Houseago, Jacob Epstein and even the likes of Chapman Brothers. As my knowledge for possible materials and methods increased, so did my rate in developing ideas. As a results, I had to select what seemed to be the best ideas to work from, either as maquettes (the small-scale sculptures) or as 'complete' scultural pieces. I found a great interest in the use of materials like plaster and balsa wood. Very shortly, I would expand to attempt producing mixed media sculptures, including my final pieces.

The most effective of my small-scale sculptures appeared to be my balsa wood figures. In particular, 'Bullman Idol', one of my earliest works from the project, had gained the most appeal. I had attempted to experiment, notably, with the use of toys. However, it would seem that a number of them appear to be the least substantial of my work. Perhaps further experimentation with such material is required. I have considered this for any possible future projects.

Altogether, I have produced three major sculptures to become final pieces. Firstly, 'Cerberus as Gluttony' was perhaps my best adapted piece in how it developed when I found it to not be entirely matching its design.

The second piece, 'Typhon & Echidna Coupling', has experienced very few changes in terms of its transition from design to final outcome. I personally consider it to be the least substantial of the three major artworks, mainly because I would have preferred it to stand out more from its influence, as it remained for me very closely connected to the works of Thomas Houseago throughout its development.

In my opinion, '21st Century Baphomet' has become the most developed, technically and ideallym arguably making it the strongest piece I made since taking up my Foundation course. I also consider it my most personal artwork conceived. Not only do I feel its focus represents a part of my own thoughts and beliefs, it was also ultimately drove me to do more than merely create and represent Baphomet. I was wanting to become Baphomet. Producing it as a theatrical piece as well as a sculptural one gave me this peculiar feeling that I gave life to the icon, even if only to an extent. More importantly, this project has given me the realisation of numerous possibilties from which I make my ideas take shape.

There still many ideas locked within my sketchbook, possibly more waiting to take their form within my mind. In any case, even upon 'finishing' this final brief, I feel as if the project has still very much begun.

'Myths & Mysteries': Portfolio and Exhibition Pt. 7

Main Artwork

This post is to feature the three main pieces I produced for the project: Cerberus as Gluttony, Typhon & Echidna Coupling and 21st Century Baphomet. I am also featuring additional artwork produced for the portfolio and the descriptions I provided with them for the exhibition.

Cerberus as Gluttony (2011)

This piece is inspired by Cerberus as described by Dante Alighieri in his poem 'The Divine Comedy I: Inferno'. In the poem, Cerberus has the role in Hell as the punisher of the Gluttunous, forever rending their gorged bodies. Dante employed the monster as the embodiment and perversion of the sinners' own unbridled appetite. My original design was to make it more anatomical and less "like a roast chicken" compared to the actual finished piece but this was developed to the point of serving as an even stronger depiction of Cerberus as the embodiment of gluttony. Although I had intended Cerberus to be genderless, the pastel drawing features a limp phallus. This was not incorporated to suggest Cerberus has definately male but to emphasise the creature's impotence (in almost every sense of the word).

Typhon & Echidna Coupling (2011)

In original ancient Greek descriptions, Typhon and Echidna are both frightful monsters that together conceived many of the now iconic beasts of Greek mythology; the Lernaean Hydra, the Chimera and Cerberus to name a few. However, in this piece, the two have been depicted as beings that are otherwordly yet possess great capacity for human compassion (certainly for each other). They embrace one another as if the most intimate of lovers. Constantin Brancussi's 'The Kiss' (1907) was a major influence on the sculpture's form and its construction inspired by the works of Thomas Houseago and Sarah Lucas.

21st Century Baphomet (2011)

The original figure is a mystery on its own, due to the continual misunderstanding of its existence. Although the name had existed centuries before its established image, Baphomet was officially conceived in 1855 by magician Eliphas Levi as a symbol of humanity attaining intellectual divinity through understanding and neutrality. However, with the passing of the 20th century, I feel Levi's romanticised image for humanity will never pass anything beyond a fantasy. So, this curious creature was to be depicted as something wretched and sinister. Its body is now broken and battered due to our preoccupation with conflict, hence much of piece was constructed from military uniform and equipment. Such composition is very much like Michael Sandle's similarly titled 'Twentieth Century Memorial' (1971-1978) and this Baphomet stands with a surprisingly imposing demeanour comparable to Jacob Epstein's original 'Rock Drill' (1913).

Self Portrait as 21st Century Baphomet (2011)

'Myths & Mysteries': Portfolio and Exhibition Pt. 6

Portfolio Drawings:

Various drawn interpretations to the wire sculpture Langsuir (2010).

Top to bottom: marker pen, graphite, chalk and tippex.

Backgrounds on all applied by acrylic paint.

Just as I had (slightly) experimented with reinterpreting the forms of my wire sculptures from the 'Body & Form' project, I decided to produce various drawings/paintings to further explore media.

Langsuir/Manananggal (2011)

Silver Centaur (2011)

Although the above silver marker and white acrylic was a more literal presentation of the original sculpture, I took a significantly different approach with the brushpen drawing. I tried to play around with the sculpture's form and appropriately translate it as part of the creature's anatomy. Because of the curving of Siilver Centaur's body, following the lines of it made the figure appear rather alien in comparison to the typical depiction that may be seen of a centaur, certainly compared to what you'd expect to see from any major film, for instance.

Centaur the Sagittarius (2011)

Bullman's Lair (2011)

Bullman's Lair was definately the more experimental of any of my Japanese-inspired drawings, not only was the drawing done on a piece of card taken from Langsuir/Manananggal but was also the only one 'drawn' using an actual brush and ink. I decided the bring out the details on the Bullman's musculature using tippex.

Lernaean Hydra (2011)

I very much liked how simplified the original form of the Hydra piece was so I kept close to that using minimal colours to create another abstracted representation of the creature. With the bulk of its body being black acrylic, I used grey to highlight parts of its body, the necks in particular. I like to think the grey helps give a little more sense of movement from the creature, perhaps more so than the sculpture.

Basilisk - Purple Body (2011)

For both depictions of the Basilisk sculpture, I hoped to create the sense of movement suggested by its body, given the comment received with regards to the original piece. At times, I wonder if the legs can be difficult to distinguish with the ink/marker pen drawing as there isn't exactly any apparent lines to set the thin legs apart from each other.

Basilisk (2011)
 

Decomposition (2011)

Decomposition was actually produced after all other ink/paint based works, as a more literal presentation of Life Cycle of Salamanders. The other artwork relating to Salamanders, however, I consider more interesting, more so due to how they explore the Salamander's relation as a pivotal icon within alchemy and potentially symbolism itself.

Indestructible in Fire (2011)

Salamanders (2011)

Lizards in Alchemy (2011)

Coatlicue, the Serpent Goddess Enters (2011)

Because of how much the rubber snakes used for the sculpture stood out from the Indian ink black figure, I decided to incorporate colour for detail on the snakes of Coatlicue for this drawing. The layout of the image, with Coatlicue ascending what appears to be the staircase of a temple of some sort, was actually inspired by a scene called The Emerald Altar, made by fantasy artist Luis Royo.

The Dagda (2011)

For the drawings based on my Dagda Idol I ended up producing two images. The one shown above was to emphasise on the details of the sculpture put into drawing. Various details to Dagda's anatomy has been reinterpreated accordingly to their representation on the sculpture: the asymmetry of his eyes, shape of his left hand held out and simplified shape of the genitals, even the club has been drawn to refer to the scupture's club being a rolled sheet of metal.

Although I feel the drawing provides an interesting vision for a rarely recognised mythological figure, it is more than understandable how peers found my other image, more emphasising on its possible environment, was more welcoming.

The Dagda's Resting Valley (2011)

Untitled (KFCockatrice) (2011)

This picture for the sculpture KFC (Kentucky Fried Cockatrice) was produced from a mix of ink, acrylic paint, mod-roc and marker pen. PVA glue was applied to both keep the mod-roc in place during presentation in my portfolio and give the body its gloss, not unlike the original sculpture.

I never created any drawn or painted re-imaginings of the Tsuchigumo sculpture, due to the lack of appeal gained from any people. However, it would certainly seem unnecessary to produce at least a brushpen depiction, on account of how the model sculpture itself was a reconstruction of scenes as shown in the sort of traditional Japanese artworks that inspired its conception.

Tsuchigumo no Sōshi Emaki (13th cen.), artist unknown.

Colchion Dragon (2011)

Much like the painting for the Hydra sculpture, that of the Colchion Dragon was abstracted from most detail to the point I consider this more appealing to the chaotic coiling of Lernaean Hydra. The brushpen drawing then served as a contrast in detail, attempting to develop detail similar to that of Japanese ink landscapes, and applying them to the Colchion Dragon to make it blend in with its surroundings. This was made to focus on the role of the dragon as a guardian, its presence easily concealed by its surroundings to catch those nearby off guard.

"Dragons often protect treasure, perhaps representing the value of deep understanding to be found in the chthonic depths with which the dragon is also frequently associated."
- The Oxford Companion to World Mythology by David Leeming

Colchion Dragon Guarding the Fleece (2011)

Dullahan, the Headless Sentry (2011)

Admittedly, this concept was originally developed as an attempt to fill in space for my portfolio, on account of my urgent need to catch up for assessment purposes. The main idea was rather simplistic, like many other pieces shown here. I used different materials in different colours to produce two contrasting representations of the same figure.