19.1.21 - Project Evaluation

In the first days of the project, I found the word 'Power' quite intimidating. There are so many ways it could be interpreted and everyone has their own ideas in their head of what power means, which may be influenced by the way they live. For instance, a feminist might hear power and think of female empowerment and the patriarchy, a racial justice activist might hear it and think of black power and minorities. These are all things that I considered, but using the word list that was provided with the brief helped me realise which words I felt captivated by as I began to highlight them and make notes on my associations.

Working with text helped me understand how messages can be communicated in different ways depending on the imagery, materials and fonts used. I became fixed on the word 'DESTROY' which led me to think about human impact on the environment and nuclear fallout. I think at this point my ideas really flourished and I came up with elaborate concepts like 'post-nuclear hybrids' in a future dystopian setting. Although I felt inspired, I think I found it hard to translate my imagination onto paper and create things that lived up to these visions, so I think in future I will try and keep things simple in the beginning so that I can actually achieve what I set out to do and feel more fulfilled. 

One of my favourite parts of this project was the deconstruction and gathering of materials, I had a real curiosity about what was inside the different hardwares that I took apart and enjoyed seeing how far I could reduce them to as many small parts as possible. I was able to draw a lot of parallels between the work I was doing with man made objects, and many aspects of nature. There was something anatomical about the inside of the mechanisms and computer parts, like wires for veins and batteries for organs - I almost felt like I was performing surgery on a robot. I also referred to fossil hunting and archaeological excavation quite a lot, firstly because of the element of the Unknown when breaking things apart to discover something beautiful hidden inside, and then physically carving into my horseshoe crabs to further expose the embedded objects. For me this represents our human footprint being ingrained into nature, in a ubiquitous and perpetual way. 

I wanted to comment on how our consumerism and pollution as modern humans is infiltrating nature irreversibly, to the point where trash is becoming in integral part of some creatures lives, like the hermit crabs I wrote about and the sea birds in my previous project. This is a power that is really scary to me and gives me anxieties about my future, so I felt really strongly about making my project about it and hopefully communicating these worries with the viewer. I think art helps us to make sense of and cope with the world, and this project has made me realise how significant a space these thoughts of apocalypse occupy in my head, and makes me want to do more about it. I have written about how I'm going to be more resourceful in my art and I wanted to emphasise that with this evaluation. 

In terms of the final piece, I have been able to produce my four horseshoe crabs while at college before lockdown, however I will be unable to assemble them in the box as planned. Although I had wanted to create a background at one point that would involve urban imagery, the horseshoe crabs seemed to be enough to fill the box without needing anything else going on and taking away from them. The colour of the wooden box reminded me of sand, so there was an idea of putting a layer of sand in the box with the crabs on top like they are on a beach. For this I would need to think about whether I would create patterns and contours in the sand or leave it flat and quite level. Another variable to consider is how to arrange the crabs, whether to create a formulaic, structured lay out or something more organic that would feel like the box holds a moment in time, captured in a square frame. 

This is the only image I have of all four crabs laid out, taken on the last day before the end of term. I like the way they are facing each other, and it creates an X shape that is symbolic of danger, like a hazard sign. The diagonal lines are also striking with the pointed tails of the horse shoe crabs facing outward as if they are creating a spiky defence. 

I don't think my final piece really looks as 'classy' as the work of the other artists I researched, but I think I will improve over time as my practise becomes more professional and advanced, and this is where a lot of my motivation comes from. Overall, I think the end result successfully encapsulates all my ideas that I have had throughout the journey, in a way that I had not expected it to in the beginning of the project. Although I had my doubts about using reclaimed materials, I gained confidence and validation by researching artists, like Brian Mock, who work in this way. It reminded me that even though it is made of rubbish, the final artwork will be much more than that, because it has gone through a process of transformation and been assigned meaning.