how much is enough?

when you have enough to share, he said.



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talbot rice show / work in progress

It has actually been such a long time after the model of Talbot Rice foyer was finished. Unfortunately i don't have any idea about it until the deadline is close. At first, i thought i will put some objects that i collected or maybe those were in my photographs to link with my degree show works. However, after trying to put some objects inside the model and found out that the visual outcome was not that interesting and people still can tell the fact that there were some small size objects in a small size model.

After the trial, I think maybe it will also be good to create this image from my personal interests and daily life. Since i built my tiny garden in my studio's window shelf, i had this idea of building a garden in the foyer. Instead of using plants, i decided to put vegetables that i would eat them in my daily life  within the model to create a vege-garden! Here are some photographs of the working process.

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two pages

Our MFA group will have a publication for the degree show. We not only work by ourselves but also cooperate with theory students for their show in Talbot Rice Gallery. Through the group discussion, we decided treat this publication as another (2D) space for showing our works but not as a catalogue which is full of installation shots of the show. Each of us has two pages to express our concept or echo to our works in degree show.  

This publication is not a catalogue and its name is 'LL BROWN'.

Parts of my pages as follow.

Also, we will print it by risograph with black and gold. I am so excited about this Lo-Fi atmosphere in our publication. Can't wait to see it!

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new thought

I don't know why this situation always happens to me. The idea comes to me when i am super busy. WHY??? However, having new idea isn't a bad thing anyway and i always can carry on in the future.

I got several boxes of slides in the flee market and recently i found small projectors in the car boot sale. The experience is completely different to view those slides directly and see through a proper projector. I am amazed by light and colour and of course images themselves. Apart from landscape pictures, i especially love those family photos on the road and journey. Every single image is so touching and makes me feel nostalgic. Their life and personality suddenly appear in the space and tell some intimate stories to me.

My plan is to combine the projection with the domestic environment. I don't have a crystal clear idea or goal to achieve right now but i think i can discover more through trial. The outcome will be very intimate and cosy in my vision.

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work in progress - slices of ham

Those films are just like slices of ham in the sandwich. The size is 4in x 5in each.

Can't wait to scan them!!!




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Taj Mahal of my obsession

Here is a tumblr about organising and composing objects. I found out lots of people did things similar to me but for different purposes.There are tons of objects to look at! This site is such a treat to me :D

http://thingsorganizedneatly.tumblr.com/




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work in progress - 4 x 5 final step

Finally, I started to use 4x5 camera to take photographs. After thinking for a while and discussing with our technician Andrew, he suggested that I should still use ambient light rather than studio lighting because the artificial light will make my objects look like commercial products which is not my expectation at all. Therefore I booked the photography project space to do my photo shoot. 

This space is my dream studio! Big window facing the north which means I won't get direct sunlight and the whole space becomes like a enormous soft box. There is another window on the ceiling as well and it even makes the room brighter. In terms of the space, the giant window, high ceiling and wide wall spaces make it a fantastic studio. Also the castle view is another bonus. Honestly I can move in and stay here all the time. I feel so lucky to work here!!! 

Thanks a lot to Andrew for the solution of taking pictures from bird's eye view with large format camera. It really works very well. I also need to thank casting John(my hero) for lending me the band for casting so the tripod can be attached tight onto the table and make the whole system work.

I hope I can finish all the pictures by Thursday and get them developed by Friday. Everything comes into place gradually, HOORAY!

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the final triad

I have the final sign-up triad today with Niall, Alexandra and Kenny. I signed up in this group because i want to have some feedback for my sculptures from sculpture tutor. Kenny was the tutor in my first year project space. He gave me some constructive comments and direction of my sculpture-making(owl army) at that time so i thought it would be good to have some feedback from him for the bronze trash-making. The thing i like about triad is that it's always good to know other people's projects and works and i can get something new and distinct from others. However the role of observer always confused me. Personally i would like to say something that i really want to say. In addition, i need more time to digest and think about what people say and hopefully i can give them useful feedback. Due to lack of the background of contemporary art, i find triad is really difficult for me. Not to mention the problem of English, it is also hard for me to compose my speaking within limited time. Anyway, i tried my best.

We started with Alexandra's works, mine next and Niall was the last. My speaking was mainly about my plan for degree show because it is the final stage to me now. First of all, I explained my interest toward objects, daily life and memory and show pictures of my assembling plates which i am going to exhibit in degree show to them. These photos are the starting point of my sculptures. I used objects in my life to compose photographs and through this process, some meaningless things became meaningful. Led by this idea, I transformed the trash from cheap materials to bronze. I hope the process can also elevate the value of those trashy objects and give the audience something to think about. Bringing up the recycling or environmental issues is not my intention. I just want to give people some experiences of looking at something that they might overlook in their daily life. After the explanation of my works, I raised the questions about the colour of bronze and how to display them in the degree show. Also, I asked them about the connection between my photographs and sculptures. Being the audience, is there any relation between these two bodies of works to them?

They talked about the colour first. Kenny gave me this idea of using their original colours like yellow for banana or white for polystyrene box. It will be interesting because people may think these are real trash when they see from certain distance and find out these are not when they come closer to the bronze trash. He taught me to use acrylic to paint the bronze. I got comment from several colleagues that I should let them be in shiny gold. However it is almost impossible to do because i will lose every detail on them during the process. In addition, using gold for bronze somehow is predictable in a way. I guess it will make the idea too obvious and direct. I want to try the real colour of the object onto those bronze sculptures. In my imagination, the colour won't be vivid and it will look a little bit worn out on the contrary. In terms of display, kenny said they will work either on the plinth or on the ground. Somehow i prefer to display them on the floor because i think that is the nature of litter on the street. I got some several ideas now to place them. Some decisions need to be made soon!

I was really glad that i sign up for this final triad. I earned a lot! Thank you so much, Kenny, Niall and Alexandra!!!

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