Artist Statement for Project Two

I decided to continue with my first project and expand on it. I continued with the same materials (CDs, Fishing Net and Fishing Line) and tried to let the process dictate how it turned out. I moved away from the symbolism and created shapes as they occurred to me during the process.

I did not have a final plan for this work. I went in to the gallery and went in with the shapes I had created and put them together in a way I felt they should go. I feel the pieces flowed well together and the colours complimented each other. I also liked the juxtaposition of the materials. The harshness and aggressiveness of the CDs, compared to the delicate nature of the netting.

I looked at ghost nets, Sarah Sze and ocean documentaries for inspiration.

Tony Albert

Tony Albert is a contemporary Australian artist that works with painting, photography and mixed media. His work engages with the and historical issues of Australia and the Aboriginal culture. He also has a fascination with the kitsch.

In Headhunter Albert uses objects that he had been collecting over several yeas and makes the text an essential part of the work. Albert portrays the racism found within Australia's past and puts emphasis on the commodification of the Aboriginal people.

Sorry is another work by Albert that utilises text.This work commemorates the famous apology that Kevin Rudd, the former Prime Minister, gave to Indigenous Australians. This was an apology for the mistreatment and suffering from the Australian Government towards them in the past. Albert believes that the government offers many broken promises and  portrays this with the use of the kitsch faces in the piece. Albert only takes this apology at face value, until real change is observed. 

A Collected History by Albert uses a collection of Aboriginalia. This is a term that he uses to describe objects that feature the kitschness of some portrayals of Aboriginal culture. Albert refashions Aboriginal history and interrogates the naive nature of the images he uses. 

The Tissue Culture and Art Project

The Tissue Culture and Art Project is a project that explores the use of technology in artistic expression, Specifically, tissue technologies. This project investigates the concept of the Semi-Living. Parts of complex organisms that are sustained to live outside the body. These artistic experiments question the perceptions we have of life and identity. By doing this, they are able to highlight the positions we have on the relationship between humans and other living beings and the environment. They interrogate the ethics that surround issues of partial life and the future of them. 

Victimless Leather is a work that explores these issues. In particular, the relationship between animals and humans. Humans cover their bodies in an attempt to protect themselves from the environment. This is a social and complex issue that deals with social class and identity. Victimless Leather is grown out of cell lines which form a living layer of tissue. This tissue creates a leather like material. This project confronts people with the moral implications of wearing garments made from dead animals. Victimless Leather offers the possibility of wearing 'leather' that does not come from an animal. 

Atul Dodiya

Atul Dodiya is a contemporary Indian artist that works over a broad range of mediums. From assemblages and sculptures, to works on paper and paintings. Dodiya engages with both political and art history and connects that with Indian culture. In a lot of his works, Dodiya references myths, religion and folklore. In Sabari With Her Birds,  Dodiya references an episode in the Ramayana. This text embodies the fundamental concepts of Hinduism. 

'Shocked by the killing of birds for her wedding feast, Sabari renounces marriage and lives as a hermit in the forest. For many years she seeks out the single sweetest fruit in preparation for God’s visit. Finally Rama, an avatar of the supreme god Vishnu and hero of the Ramayana, wanders by and Sabari offers him the fruit. Although she has bitten it to test its sweetness (and so defiled it), Rama recognizes that the gift comes from her deep devotion and eats. In bliss, Sabari dies. '

Dodiya layers his work with the imagery of mythic, national and personal references. Sabari's actions symbolizes the grinding passage of her time. The red branches holding the birds reflects both the horrifying wedding feast and her union with the natural world. Dodiya has also linked this imagery to the ancient Indian motif of a woman intertwined with a tree. 

In Woman from Kabul, Dodiya has created a work about living in Afghanistan at the turn of the millennium. He recall a country that was once rich in history, but now it has collapsed from the weight of war. The elderly woman is revealed as skin and bones and squats over a decorative backdrop. Here, Dodiya is referenced the oppression and poverty that has taken over the city. He highlights the plight of the refugee. 

Ghost Nets

GhostNets Australia

The Ghost Net Art Project aims to facilitate community art projects using washed up nets from the ocean. Through this project they have created a whole new genre of art, using discarded pieces of rubbish to make something wonderful. They raise awareness of the damage being done to the marine environment. 

Ocean Inspiration

Throughout this project I was inspired by documentaries on the ocean. The Cove focused on the culling of dolphins within Japan, and the affect it has on the species, the ocean and the towns of Japan. Mission Blue is about an oceanographer and environmentalist, Sylvia Earle, and her campaign to create protected marine sanctuaries around the world. 

I also looked into The Great Pacific Garbage Patch which is a trash vortex filled with micro plastic. Mammals get tangled in abandoned fishing nets, which are often discarded due to their low cost. I decided to use netting within my work to reference this. 

I hope that though my work I can explore the concept of the everyday, the ephemeral and the throw away - and show the affect it has on the ocean. 

Artist Statement

I began this project by looking at everyday objects that are cheap and considered to be a throw away. We discard so much ‘trash’ every single day and unfortunately it all has to go somewhere.

I have recently been looking at a lot of documentaries on the impact we humans have on the world, and more specifically them impact we have on the ocean. Mission Blue was one documentary that really stuck with me. It is about an oceanographer and environmentalist, Sylvia Earle, and her campaign to create protected marine sanctuaries around the world. She travelled throughout the world to show the destruction and decay of the ocean floor and what we can do to protect them.

I recently moved house and as I was unpacking I realised I have a lot of disposable items, one of which was CD’s. I wanted to upcycle them into a work that discussed the issues of cheap and throw away items as part of our everyday world. I also wanted to use a material that largely referenced the ocean, and I chose to use netting. I liked the juxtaposition of the soft, flowing net against the hard, stiff CD’s.

I chose to hang the work in the shape of an egg or chrysalis to symbolise the life and transformation of the ocean. I then put the CD’s together in a very aggressive way and embedded them throughout the netting to symbolise the destruction throw away objects have on the ocean floor, which ultimately turns to death. 

Progress #3

At first I thought I would hang the fishing net in the shape of a fishing net, at an angle cascading down from the ceiling.

I decided that was a bit too literal for my project and went with a different shape. I have been thinking alot about symbolism and decided to go with something that represented life. I went with a chrysalis/egg shape and spiralled the CDs through to represent the aggressiveness and destruction of the ocean.

Progress #2

Some more progress work on my project.I have decided to juxtapose the material of the net with the hard CD's.

Progress #1

In the beginning I envisioned that my work would be a single hanging piece. That all the sections would be connected in a single spiral. Unfortunately the work became to heavy and unstable and it broke apart. I think this was partly from the glue as well, so I bought a new glue gun and rethought how the work would hang.

Sarah Sze - 'Triple Point'

Sarah Sze is known for her site-specific installations that are created with everyday-found objects. She uses toothpicks, plastic bottles, sponges, light bulbs and other objects. She investigates the value we put onto objects and the meaning we place on locations and times we occupy. Sze explores the notion of location and the need to locate ourselves in a disorienting world. She transforms the space with shifts in scale while creating stability and balance within the installation 

I am interested in the use of found objects within installations and I really like the way Sze has assembled her work. 

Richard Maloy

In 2012 Richard Maloy created Big Yellow in the 7th Asia Pacific Triennial at GOMA. In this work Maloy taped together recycled cardboard and then covered it in glossy yellow paint. He used these industrial materials to create playful environments for visitors to explore. Big Yellow is a gigantic work that experiments with the audience's experience. Maloy creates an environment that completely immerses the visitor. 

This work is a site specific installation that draws in the viewer to become an active participant. The colour of this work is bright and inviting and successfully creates a surreal environment that surrounds the participant. 

Blue Dog is another playful work that Maloy has created specifically for younger audience members. It's a whimsical and playful work that seeks to spark the imagination of these viewers. Here, Maloy has upcycled a synthetic toy dog that has been coated in acrylic paint. 

A recurring them in Maloy's work is the use of recycled materials and he manipulates them in unique and fun ways. His installations are inviting and actively engage with the viewer. His work comments on throw away objects and the use of unconventional materials in a gallery setting.

Céleste Boursier-Mougenot

Céleste Boursier-Mougenot is a French artist that creates immersive expericences. He explores the rhythms of everyday life and unlocks the musical potential within unconventional materials.

The work 'From Here to Ear' is a sonic installation that was set up at the Peabody Essex Museum. Boursier-Mougenot created a gallery-turned-aviary that housed 70 zebra finches and amplified guitars. In this Boursier-Mougenot explores realities that are not meant to be experienced through sight. He invites small groups of visitors into the room to experience the finches flying through the gallery creating surreal sounds and music. 

'From Here to Ear' is an extremely effective work. It's a beautiful installation that invites the audience to participate and allows them to view unique creature in a surreal environment. It creates a once in a lifetime experience and is an extremely intimate sensory journey/

In 2015 Céleste Boursier-Mougenot's work 'Revolutions' was chosen to represent France in the Venice Biennale.Once again Boursier-Mougenot creates an installation that engages the audience.  'Revolutions' was set up as an organic island of refuge where visitors could rest and relax. The glass from the skylight was removed and within the wooden walkways of the gallery, trees move in time with their metabolisms. The trees are machine and nature hybrids that are sensitive to the light. Their are electrical currents resulting from the bond between the earth and the trees and it surrounds the installation. It creates an environment that is relaxing and reflective for the visitor. 

Boursier-Mougenot creates intricate installations that engage the visitor. He allows the audience to become a crucial element in the work and sparks reflection in the way they view art. He questions the idea of a gallery space and explores the bond between nature, art and us.

Review of APT8

This week I visited GOMA to see the APT8 (The 8th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art) exhibition. This exhibition is a collection of works from 80 artists from over 30 countries. It occupies the entire gallery, with works on all levels of GOMA and a few works were actually created over multiple levels.

The main thing I noticed was the amount of mixed media installations. Many artists used video installation within their works and lots of exhibits were self contained.

One of my favourite works from this exhibition is "All we leave behind are the memories" is by Asim Waqif, This work borrows the catchphrase from the Deen Brothers, a well-known Brisbane demolition company.The artist is a trained architect that re purposes neglected, decaying and discarded materials. This installation spans over three levels in the gallery and is an interactive work. In this he attempts to challenge the boundaries of a museum/gallery space and how we interact with controlled environments. While I was at the gallery, there was a school group passing through and this installation proved to be very popular. It successfully managed to draw in active participants and got them to interact with the environment around them. 

Another work that I found quite interesting is "SaVAge K'lub". This work is a self contained space that was created by a group of Pacific artists. This installation is a response to the colonial practice of collecting, storing and displaying cultural treasures that belong/ed to the Pacific people. The setup of the work closely references a gentleman's club that was established in the 19th Century in London and draws on the decor of these exclusive clubs. Pieces from museum storerooms were moved to articulate contemporary Pacific culture. The video screen on the wall showed cultural performances from the artist's involved in creating the space. I found this work to be very successful, the space correctly referenced the gentleman's club and instead of excluding the Pacific culture, it invites them to participate. The VA in the title refers to the Samoan way of thinking of the space as 'active'. The artists specifically chose the pieces on display and interact with them in their performances. 

Class #4

This week we learnt about the use of video in installations. This is my creation for the week. "The Mechanical Headache"

Class #3

In class this week we were set the task of creating a sculpture out of wire. This was created with the prompt 'The Nest'.

Class #2

In week two we were set the task of creating a sculptural work out of plasticine. I chose the prompt 'Tar and Feathers', this is what I created.

Sean Avery

I am very interested in recycled art. I recycle in my everyday life and reuse so many things and that can really benefit my art. It gives me opportunities to collect different materials, just in case they ever come in handy. One thing I have realised I have a lot of, is CD's. With the shift in technology and the move to digital devices, I have a lot of useless CD's lying around. 

In my research of recycled artist's, I came across Sean Avery. Sean uses CD's to create beautiful sculptures of plants and animals. I am drawn to the sharpness of the creatures and their colours, I can imagine them reflecting the light that shines off them. 

I know that I will use recycled materials for my project and I keep coming back to the use of CD's to create it......