EVALUATION

In January, my project revolved around ideas about the fragility of human existence and power of human mind. This helped assist in the making of my first piece which was a glass wax head, the properties of the wax itself representing our fragility: delicate, easily bruised and broken. Inside the sculpture was a light which resembled the human mind. John Wells became an influence when considering these ideas, because he saw the delicate nature of the cellular structure as symbolic of fragile human existence. It is interesting to note that Wells was previously a doctor before becoming an artist, therefore noticed something so strong in humanity that art was the only way he could communicate his thoughts. The piece became part of an exhibition me and a few other artists put on at Centrespace in February, an educational, fun yet stressful experience as pushing through to meet deadlines was vital.

After thinking about the power of the human mind it came to my attention that not always is it a strength. Our thinking has brought us pleasure, but it has created pollution and destruction all over the planet: toxic dumping in oceans, oil spills, climate change etc. Fukushima, a catastrophic man-made disaster, is a powerful example of this and has been referenced in the final videos. These issues influenced me to create my final piece to raise an awareness. ‘Holoscenes’ is a performance piece created in Miami that relates to this. Four artists acted out daily jobs in a tank as it slowly filled up with water, relating to climate change and sea levels rising. Raising awareness of climate change through the art form is an aspect I wanted to fulfil in my own work therefore some common themes are shared.

Our intelligence is shared with an uncommon friend yet common theme in my art; an invertebrate. Octopods are incredibly smart and possibly sentient, which is why it was shocking to discover they are a delicacy in Korea to be eaten alive. Seeing this horrific act made me want to suggest alternative ways of uniting with nature peacefully, not through the stomach. Sy Montgomery’s book ‘The Soul of An Octopus’ has been a huge influence. One of the audio tracks is composed of passages I selected from the book, “a surprising exploration into the wonder of consciousness”. The passages tell stories of octopods as if human beings, which is important in exposing our relationship with animals and suggests other ways we can interact with them.

John Akomfrah’s ‘Vertigo Sea’ exhibition which recently finished at the Arnolfini was a huge inpiration for me in this project. I became fully absorbed into the 48 minute long film that spread across 3 screens. The installation addressed man’s relationship with the sea through reliving historical moments in film. With this experience in mind, I designed my installation to hopefully be as immersive and powerful. The tight space is to make the viewer feel trapped, like that of Octopus hiding from its predators. The netting resembles huge fishing nets that sweep millions of fish out of the oceans, including by-kill: whales, sharks, octopods etc. The two screens allow the viewer to believe they can escape upsetting imagery. They are in control of an element in the installation, as they are able to look at what pleases them. But, towards the end both screens show the same imagery which they cannot escape from. Not being able to escape is something sea life suffers today.

A strength gained throughout this module has been expanding my technical skills. Not only in learning about the properties of Glass Wax, but also using Audition and Premiere confidently. Although, a problem has been editing two simultaneous videos that are to be played at the same time, due to limitations of one screen. Editing both audios to unite timely with both videos was also an extensive area of practice. Using Tascam is a future development to further professional aspects of the audio.