'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