Work for Assessment

Today I added the flowers and battery power candles to the piece. Spooky! Oh, and I also added a curtain on the other side so it is more closed off. It looks a lot better in real life, plus you get the smells of the flowers and them crunching under your feet!

Progress of work

I have finished putting the pictures on the wall, I have nailed them to the wall so that when people walk by them they blow in the breeze. This adds to the feeling of the piece. I have had quite a lot of feedback already, it seems to be getting quite a bit of attention. Some say they don't even make it half way down the corridor before they run back out! Interesting! The piece is not finished yet, I plan on laying dead flowers on the ground and using battery powered tea lights (health and safety!) I got my inspiration for this piece from Christian Boltanski who sets up 'shrines' for the lost.

Work so far

This is a piece I am doing which will hopefully be completed for the assessment coming up. I want to make the space feel uncomfortable and almost claustrophobic to the audience. The work basically comments on the exploitation of an image and how missing people can fade out of our minds. I used the image of Madeleine as this is a well recognised image and I think she is the perfect example of MWWS (Missing White Woman Syndrome). The narrow corridor and the repitition of the image will hopefully rouse some emotion of the viewer and make them feel rather uneasy.

Christian Boltanski

Patricia showed me a book containing the works of Christian Boltanski in my last review. I believe he will be a great source of inspiration for me as he deals with similiar themes. His work is all about loss and I find his work extremely moving. Especially his 'shrines'. After reading through the book and seeing his work I had a flood of ideas, which is always good for an artist! I can't convey enough how much I love Boltanski's work. I remember coming across his work that uses clothes, although I had never looked into anything else he had done. So I am pleased and greatful that Patricia showed me that book. I will do some more research on the artist's work and hopefully the ideas will keep flowing.

Work so far

This piece is coming along slowly, it is taking me a little longer than expected! I have had a few people come up to me and ask me about it and to say it's looking good. The cleaning ladies in the studio asked my mate about it and when she explained the MWWS they said 'oh yea, she's so right!' so at least it's gaining interest and people are becoming aware of the exploitation and the ignorance of other missing women. Jagjit also said she liked the piece and found it very moving. I understood what she meant by that, because the more I work on this and stand back from it the more of an impact it makes. Others have said they find it rather creepy and it makes them feel uncomfortable. I am glad people are getting feelings and emotions from this piece, as that is what I intended to do. At first I was a bit skeptical about this piece but after gaining more feedback I realise that it is touching people in some way. Now I just need to complete it and put the table inside to see how people engage with it.

Work so far

I set this up using my table I created over the summer. I have added a few more items to the table like the lamp and ashtray. I also added the vase and the mirror, hoping the colour of the flowers and the sky seen in the mirror contrast with the dull and boring items. I have been photographing this set up everyday that I am in the studio, and will continue to do so until the flowers wilt and die. I will print every photo I have and will think about some way of displaying them. I may also create a video piece using these photographs.