Reclaim: New Beginnings
Core practice influences
M A T E R I A L S | P R O C E S S | S P A C E
“Create interventions and assemblages that interrupt the normal uses of our spaces.
These artworks will be temporary and made from materials such as fabric and textiles, found objects, cardboard and wood, rope and string etc. The materials will be arranged, styled, posed, (dis)/ organised, configured within different spaces, putting various fragments together, to compose a piece.”
Materials - where do they come from
Initially it’s important to assess the properties of materials, will they give meaningful value in my practice and will they achieve what I want them to do. Can they be printed on? Can it be stored easily? Do they expand into space and create volume? Are there interesting conversations around the material or topical values in culture?
I will look for utilitarian materials often in working environments. I have an interest in architecture, sites of labour and the materials and waste that result from these environments. Often those spaces are considered “hard” or “masculine” yet they display soft or tender qualities that could be seen as domestic or caring.
Concrete, Metal, Construction and Dirt is often coupled with elements of Wrapping, Folding, Bundling and Translucency.
What am I looking for in a material? For my practice they should be pre-used. This can often mean they are cheap or free. I look predominantly to the urban spaces for materials. I’m interested in how an everyday street scene can have an element of artistic value including the formal elements of art such as, Scale, Form, Colour, Space.
Materials - How do I use them.
The ways I use materials varies and I often choose to reuse my own materials, reworking them into new forms. I treat what I have as a kit that can be stored, moved and used in various forms.
Other ways I use materials is to replicate how I might find them when they have been used for the intended purpose. This may be in the street, in a skip, on a building, in a work site or a domestic setting.
Key material qualities
Can it be stored flat and be expandable?
Can it be printed on?
Does it have contemporary status?
Can it say something about values?
Process - how do I make work with these materials
Once a material has been identified as something that can be used I need to work out where to get it from. This will involve entering into conversations with people. I have reclaimed materials from scaffold companies, knocked on the doors of houses that have a skip in their garden, found things on Facebook market place, been given materials by friends/contemporaries, retrieved things from the skip at work and found things in the street.
Often I will print onto the materials. The repetition of screen printing is a process that I enjoy and it echoes the nature of the materials that I collect which are usually numerous and have an element of repetition within them. As the materials are pre-used they come with their own history of use. I like to keep these elements in the work. This could be stains, dust, dirt, tears, rips, holes or foot prints. These things add artistic value to the material as I then add to the surface or highlight certain elements that are interesting, for example printing over a damaged surface highlights both the damaged material and the artistic process Re-framing an object can also do this.
Overall my process is dictated by my circumstance. My practice is moulded to suite my means. This has resulted in some processes that influence the form of the work when it is displayed. Often my work will be stored in bundles and stacks or bound with straps. This storage form often appears in my exhibiting practice.
Process - Field work
During a 2 week period I carried 2 materials with me and every day made a new site specific work. This process allowed me to explore the materials qualities, and allowed me to explore different spaces.
Key process elements
Repetition
Efficiency and thrift
Exploring a materials quality
Space - somewhere to make work
Without a studio to make work, it is challenging to see what I make in a space. Unable to spread out I rarely get to expand some of my larger works, so when I get the opportunity of a space I treat it as my studio. Opportunities to do this have come in the form of exhibitions, invitations to use a space and the use of educational bookable spaces.
Playing with your work in any space will inform your ongoing decisions. It has allowed me to see what is possible and to work on different combinations and techniques. By documenting these experiments I have been able to understand how to talk about my work and to take images that will help others see the potential. This all helps with applications, social media and my website. It has lead to taking part in group exhibitions, a residency and ultimately the use of a space for solo exhibitions.
Key points about using space
Use it as a make shift studio
Find spaces that highlight different aspects of your work
Document as best you can
How do I start a process? Discuss…
Artists I look at
Phyllida Barlow
Laura Porter
Donna Mitchel
