Moving away from stacking directly on the shelf, I began using sand to support fragmented porcelain pieces. This placement allows for distance between the individual pieces meaning I can make my work larger whilst the negative spaaces still retain interest.
I initially used a board balanced on two stools while I felt this was a good height I found that the stools detracted from the piece, although they grounded the work I felt they spoke about different things and changed the work. Through this I have come to realize that any elements I use to display my work will have significant impact and therefore no item may be used without thorough consideration.
I moved away from the stools and tried suspending the shelf, in order to do this I first had to make a T to stop the wood from bowing in the middle, then using cables the wooden shelf was suspended. I feel this looks much more professional and sophisticated, the simple wire holding the wood are subtle enough not to detract from the overall piece, the wire being metal works well as I prefer to stay away from synthetic materials such as plastic fishing wire.
Spine like,
I have deliberately suggested a spine like shape using the porcelain pieces like parts of a fragmented vertebrae, I feel that this comes from my work with paleontology and often drawing vertebrae when in the museum, I also have several fossil vertebrae from various specimens. Being on sand this also reminds me of a particular dig last November and what can be found and when found were placed on the beach. After one discussion someone suggested I should try putting a curve in the piece alike most spines, I will try this but I believe it will become too obvious and perhaps not work as well overall as a piece. The idea of vertebrae is also interesting in itself as any viewer has a direct connection with a spine.
50°39’21.0″N 1°28’06.9″W
Using sand,
when I found some sand in the studio Immediately I wanted to try working with it, sand is very useful as it can be manipulated into any shape to support the pieces whilst maintaining the idea of nature as the as the participles settle, (this also links back to my undergraduate pieces considering probability and the second law of thermodynamics). The sand acts as a subtle barrier between the shelf and the pieces meaning the individual sheets of porcelain are stronger against the sand background. Sand resonates with the porcelain through process as when heated sand particles turn to glass, the porcelain has already gone through a process of vitrification in the kiln which juxtaposes the loose sand particles.
The sand also acts as a metaphor for time and erosion, therefore connecting with my inspiration from living with these cliffs that continually erode and become part of the beach.
Time,
since my undergraduate I have been interested in the concepts of time, I choose the word concepts due to reading the conflicting opinions and ideas of philosophers and scientists, often I find the Philosophy connected with art to completely contradict scientific understanding, yet through my practice I am obliged to investigate both, I find however, I tend to side with the scientific minds more so than that most philosophy, but perhaps scientists are the modern day philosophers.
For me time is about many things, it is about a moment sometimes purely the present, sometimes it becomes about being in a moment but connecting to history and the history of a landscape through finding a trace of its previous being.
I feel the shelf being raised reflects this idea of a single moment that engages with a greater time than itself, by placing the porcelain on sand I am directly introducing the concept of time into my work, the fragmented porcelain shards appear bone like which is furthered through my placement of them.
The height of the shelf is also important and I will experiment further with the height possibly raising the pieces to be more at eye level, I am interested in getting the viewer close to the fragments of porcelain, the current height makes the viewer bend to see the pieces which some people felt reflected a museum like experience with my work, I have to decide whether I wish to imply this idea of museum display, however without a case it is already once removed from the curiosity cabinet.
