Specialism, Latex and layers layers layers...

In preparation for Third Year (eeek!) we have started on a self directed project. 

The Brief: 12 Week Project. 

Produce a range of experimental, playful and explorative work that investigates: 

Your chosen specialist use of material techniques and processes to produce finished outcomes.
Your chosen mean of production: bespoke, batch or mass production.Your chosen context of work: Gallery, high street, high-end retail, commission, display, public, domestic etc.

Initially wanting to continue with what I had been investigating in my last project, I made the decision today to embark along a new line of questioning...I started to think about what it is that interests me in terms of design/art/culture, what it is that has driven my research thus far and looking back to all I have thought about and experimented with before. 

I felt that an exploratory process led project was key, so, with an interest in the construction and deconstruction of an object; the notion of decay as a result of natural process, and the intention of an object being placed within a space (I'm constantly drawn to installation so why hide away from it?) I am looking to produce a range of objects that explore the ideas of layering, material investigation and juxtaposition of surface/form.

Through a process of initial exploration, then to mould making, casting and reconstruction, I will explore the chosen materials in their widest sense and develop an understanding of the objects I have created.

Using mould making as a process to inform batch production, I will look to its ability to cast across different materials and create a number of outcomes to assess for installation within a chosen platform/gallery/site specific space.

I started by exploring latex. I have never used the material before and still with in an interest in wrapping/concealing/layering I thought it would be a good starting point. Here are some of my initial experiments: 

samples drying with altered surface texture, bubble wrap, netting, egg box 

stretching over forms to distort and layer

using a framework to create structure

Alongside this I have been developing a better relationship with my sketchbook. I don't feel like I've been using it to its full potential on this course and after an inspiring session on visual research last week it really got me thinking about how I could do that.

I'm a keen collector of paper/found object and have boxes of the stuff at home just sitting there. They have moved house with me time after time and I just cant face to throw them away ("you never know when you're going to need them", right?) So, I figured that in terms of this project and what I want to get out of it, I would start exploring what it is about these objects that make me want to pick them up in the first place!? 


I looked back through some old photographs and realised that I had amassed a lot on compositional decay. I chose these particular two as a starting point:

and notice that they both contain circles! Sifting through more images, more circles appeared, so I started looking through my boxes of treasured papers and these popped out:

I then set myself the task of picking up all that jumped out at me on the way to uni today and assembled a few things before my tutorial:

This was an interesting activity - very reactive. It reminded me a little of the Streetcombing Project by Margo Weijer and is something I would like to keep up. 

I feel that the project has real scope overall and these two strands of discovery could be very good for one another. I am going to further my explorations this week by creating a variety of structures to pull and stretch the latex over. I'll update on progress in about a week.