24.5.21 - More Information on Mandrakes

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29.1.21 - Objects in the Bath and Shower

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One of the first things that came to mind when I got the re-arrangement brief was to do something with my collection of beanies. Because they are so colourful, I decided they should go against a plain background, so I cleaned the bath out and started filling it with the animals.  The first set of photos shows the animals in a random arrangement where I photographed them from different angles... For these close up images I placed the camera in the bath with the animals and blindly took the photographs, not knowing what the results would be. The flash came on for these pictures which makes the in-focus areas appear very sharp with a clear representation of the animals' surface textures. They also remind me of claw machines in arcades, which gives the images a nostalgic feel - all of these beanies were manufactured in the 1990's and early 2000's. This is the thing that opens and closes the plughole in the bath, and it created some strange reflections of the beanies which look ...
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Mike Kelley Style Photoshoot

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  Mike Kelley's 'Ahh... Youth' piece inspired me to make my own version using old teddies from home, including some from my parent's childhood and some from my own - plus a recently acquired 90's troll doll from a car boot sale. I set up the studio lighting in a way that would reduce shadows behind the objects and used a white background like Kelley's image, which gives a professional atmosphere that  elevates them from being worn-out old creatures to something special and celebrity-like. I used a tripod so that they are all to scale with each other, and I like the empty space around them, it's like they have room to breathe and think. I also had to adjust the ISO, white balance and shutter speed on the camera to suit the light and conditions of the space, then I used manual focus to get the sharpness that allows you to see all the details and textures. After uploading the photos to the computer, I cropped them on photoshop and classified them into two separ...
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Marbled Cartons

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 My next set of cartons are an experiment with different coloured slips to make a marbled effect. When my last set came out of the kiln I noted that the black one reminded me of oil and the problems we face because of it, especially in the ocean. I imagined that marbling black slip into the body clay would create a fluid pattern similar to that of an oil spill, and represent pollution contaminating the water.  swirling dyed black slip into plain earthenware slip Here's how it looks straight out of the mold. The black is quite subdued but I know from my nerikomi test pieces that the stained clay shows up very strongly after firing. The pattern it has created was exactly what I was going for, it has swirling lines and blotches of black that mimic the behaviour of oil on water, and it kind of reminds me of mould too. This idea of decay keeps coming back to me throughout the project and I think it's a reflection of the fading hope that our generation faces when we look to the futu...
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