STUDIO WORK
Sketching Ideas
My idea so far is to create a miniature city of ruins that is contained within a small room. The ruins will be covered in real plants and the walls of the room will have moss all over that I will grow myself, as if nature is finally taking back what humans had stolen.
There will be small windows on the outside, some at the same level of the ruins, some higher than the ruins and some looking down on the ruins from a birds-eye-view. I also want to use a smoke machine. The smoke will represent high levels of pollution and will create an eerie atmosphere and to act as a reminder of the destruction of our planet, caused by humans.
Testing Materials
I wanted to use environmentally friendly/recyclable materials for this installation instead of buying new materials that would most likely come wrapped in excessive amounts of plastic, creating more waste.
I decided to make a 'clay' using newspaper, water and PVA glue. I found that the best way to source newspapers was to pick up already used papers that had been left on public transport, or newspapers that were being given out for free. This also led me to think about the contents of the newspapers such as Brexit headlines and articles on the environmental crisis, which I have been keeping a log of.
I then shredded the newspaper using a second-hand mini shredder that I bought on Ebay, instead of buying a brand-new one. Once the paper was shredded, I added water and used a masher and my own hands to mash the paper and water to a pulp. Once mashed, I added PVA glue until the consistency was clay-like and held its form, as well as being malleable.
When wet, the clay on its own is not very sturdy, so I used wooden skewers to create a skeleton to work from which helped the structure stay up until it dried. Once dried, the ruins were lightweight yet sturdy, however, next time I will create more of a skeleton so I have more freedom to create different shaped ruins without worrying about it collapsing while drying.
Growing Moss
As stated earlier, I am planning to cover the walls of the installation with moss, showing that nature will always be more powerful than man. For this to be successful I need to experiment with growing moss and finding the most effective way to keep moss alive when contained in the installation.
The first moss growing method that I have tried is blending moss and natural yogurt together, to create a paste which was then spread onto some scrap cardboard and some paper. At first I kept the experiment in the bathroom because it is a damp room, but then I realised that in order to grow moss, the mixture would need sunlight to grow the moss, so I moved it to the windowsill during daylight. I have also been spraying the mixture with water daily.
Update: This method didn't work! In hindsight, maybe I should try growing it outside first and then bring it inside to experiment with keeping it alive.
Improving the Sculptures
After the first attempt at building the sculptures, I realised that in order to create windows I would have to make the sculpture more sturdy. To do this, I added more sticks to support the clay, a bit like a skeleton. I also added horizontal sticks so the windows wouldn't collapse.
One thing that I have been struggling with is keeping the sculptures upright until they have dried. A few times the sculpture has collapsed when still wet. Having something for them to lean on has helped and I have learnt to allow pieces of the sculpture to dry before adding more parts. Covering them in glue at the end also helps to fill in any cracks.
Experimenting With Plastic
Since moving back home for lockdown due to the pandemic I have had to make use of materials that I have found around the house. I wanted to continue with recycling materials or using found objects so the first thing that I tried was melting and deforming plastic with a heat gun. I tried different methods such as using the heat gun to melt holes into the plastic, cutting slits into the plastic then using the heat gun to open the slits, and cutting rectangles into the plastic before using the heat gun. I also tried this with different kinds of plastic such as yogurt pots, milk cartons and other plastic packaging.
Wood Burning Pen With Plastic
After not achieving the results that I wanted with the heat gun, I decided to experiment with using my wood burning pen with plastic to see if I could create more detailed holes.
First I practised using the wood burning pen on a plastic water bottle and I was extremely pleased with how much control I had over the pen and the holes that it made in the plastic.
I decided that in order to create fairly sturdy ruins I needed to use a thicker plastic than the water bottle, so I tried the method on some old takeaway tubs, which I found to be the perfect type of plastic for me to use. Later on I wanted to make some slightly larger ruins so used some plastic drawer dividers that were being thrown out as they were a similar type of plastic to the takeaway tubs.
Using A Glue Gun To Create Levels
After showing my plastic sculptures to the 3D team on the 3D Open Forum Session, they suggested that I use a glue gun to draw flooring and other layers to glue to the sculptures in order to create more detail and depth.
While trying this I was very happy that the colour of the glue matched that of the plastic, it was nearly a perfect match. I tried making both a solid glue flooring and also tried drawing floorboards. The solid glue flooring looked too dense compared to the rest of the sculpture, the floorboards looked much better. In the end, I decided against both methods because the glue gun was very difficult to draw with and did not create the effect that I desired.
Growing Crystals
After successfully growing crystals using the limestone and vinegar method I became inspired by Roger Hiorns growing crystals on various objects and surfaces, I decided to experiment with growing crystals on my plastic sculptures different methods. All experiments were left for 3 weeks.
1. Table Salt and Boiling Water
Stirring table salt into boiling water until no more salt will dissolve: I tried this in a large jug and also a smaller jar. In the large jug the crystals only grew on the string but in the small jar they did grow on the plastic.
2. Copper Sulphate and Boiling Water
On the first try the crystals grew on the bottom of the jar but wouldn't stick to the plastic, so I poured the solution into another jar but it still didn't work.
3. Epsom Salt and Hot Water
I poured 1 part epsom salt into 1 part hot water, stirred and placed it into the fridge. Unfortunately nothing happened.
Glue Drawings
During a group tutorial I realised the potential that drawing with a glue gun had. I had sent the group a photo of the glue floorboards that I'd been creating, who then suggested that I further pursue this method of drawing with glue.
With the first glue drawings that I made I used the canal buildings as a reference, using a different style for each one, coming to the conclusion that drawing number 1 was the most successful.
The second group were made by firstly holding the glue gun up high so I had less control over the markings that were made. I then used the same method but also closing my eyes, further decreasing my control.
Clearing Out The Shed
I felt that documenting the clearing out of my shed so that I could hang my plastic sculptures in there was important as this activity was a key part of the artwork. This was quite performative in a way, almost like an archaeological excavation of the shed. It felt like we were stripping back layers of history and it made me think about who might have lived here in the past and what their lives may have been like. Our house was built in the Victorian era and the shed used to be a wash room. At the back of the shed where I planned to hand my sculptures you can see the remains of a chimney, furnace and copper. This detail is important as it was around this time that the canal was built and that Newtown really began to thrive as a market town and in the textile industry, tying my work together.
Shed Installation
In the shed these plastic sculptures became a site-specific installation of their own. The fragility of the ghostly sculptures resonated with that of the crumbling brick shed along with the traces of the furnace and wash basin of its former life as a wash house.
I took photographs of the installation both in daylight and in the dark of night, illuminating the scene with a strong orange light which created dark shadows and the illusion that the sculptures were glowing, a strong contrast.
The combination of the transparent plastic ruins of the future to the site of the old Victorian wash house nicely bring together my research into a post-human future and the history of my hometown.
Practising Night Photographs on Shed
Before heading to the canal to take night photographs of the derelict buildings that run along there, I decided to practice taking these photographs on the shed where I had installed the plastic sculptures. I went out between 10:30pm and 11:30pm to experiment with exposure times, ISO settings and aperture settings. I also took some photographs using a torch to paint the shed with light which gave them a surreal and eerie quality.
Canal Night Photography
After practising night photography on the shed it was finally time to head out to the canal. The photographs from the first trip to the canal were slightly dark because I only used one torch to illuminate them with an exposure of twenty seconds. I also used a low aperture so struggled to get the buildings in focus.
On my second trip to the canal I lit up the buildings using two torches, making the scene a lot brighter. I also used a higher aperture and longer exposure to ensure they were in focus.
I experimented with photographing one of my plastic sculptures in front of the buildings. The long exposure created a ghostly, blurred effect as the sculpture was slightly moving while shooting.
I also tried drawing my sculptures in front of the buildings with a small light, something that I would like to further experiment with.
