Hessian Installation - "Adrift".

   

  Adrift is a sculptural installation created in the Shaun Project Space on the15th May 2012. Following on from Go with the flow, 2012, this springs from my interest in the actions, thoughts and objects which have been left behind – the lasting results of movement. I was aiming to create a series of works which took the viewer on a journey to experience a path not encountered before.

    I have documented the art work in a series of video slide shows made up of still and moving digital photographic images. After listening to an Artist Talk given by Kate Liston last week at the University, it made me reaffirm the importance of documenting "temporary" or "transient" art works using video. The work was only exhibited for a few hours"in the flesh" but lives on in the photographic record. In the future the work maybe solely a video presentation.

     I responded to the space and features available in the room. The position of the hessian pieces was influenced by the position of the available holes in the walls I found to screw hooks into. The fabric was suspended above the floor, some pieces touched the floor. I had no formal plan and hung the hessian forms as I went along, hanging them in response to the position and height of the previously placed pieces. A process very akin to drawing - drawing in 3D. The whole space in the room is occupied, either by the hessian forms themselves or the equally important negative space in between the material pieces and their fishing line supports. I constructed this piece so the viewer could get in amongst  and all around the edges, to interact with the work.         

      Unlike Go with the Flow  this can be classified as an sculptural installation rather than an individual sculpture. As the work fills the room, it is impossible to take a photograph of the whole piece in one go, nothing can be viewed from a long distance giving the work a greater degree of intimacy. 

     The following series of photographs were taken in reduced natural light ,highlighted with a single spotlight.The resulting accompanying shadows do add an extra dimension to the work. The colours and tones of the fabric can be perceived differently when lit this way.There appear to be a greater range of tones used. The room feels more populated, almost overfilled. I think I prefer the warmer tones produced in florescent light, which can be seen in the second video published on this post.

Adrift. (2012). Hessian fabric, scrim, coffee sacking, twine, rope, paste, suspended by fishing line.

Still Adrift. (2012). Hessian fabric, scrim, coffee sacking, twine, rope, paste, suspended by fishing line.

Most of these photographs we taken under fluorescent light, some of them with  the addition of a single spotlight. In the latter shots some subtle shadows can be observed. In this warmer lighting the separate forms appear more connected and suggest a flow of movement.

Moving Adrift. (2012). Hessian fabric, scrim, coffee sacking, twine, rope, paste, suspended by fishing line.

In this third video, I have used a short piece of moving image of the installation to see it recording it "in movement" increases the effectiveness. I have also added a electro - house soundtrack  (Good this News - J. Williams 2012). However, after comparing all versions I would put forward the videos of still images at this stage.

    I look forward developing and refining this method of exhibiting my work. I also plan to build this sculptural work again but place it in alternative settings. During this project I have further expanded on my use of the found object but as an confirmed "maker", I find I enjoy the challenge of modifying it's original form,  ever in the hope the result will suprise and excite.

Growing Hessian.

Hessian  floor mix. 2012.

Hessian family group. 2012.

I tried to create a sculptural piece using the hessian forms from the floor upwards, but could not achieve any significant height over the length of one coffee sack. These works remained floor sculptures. Some interesting forms evolved .

From the ashes.

This hanging sculptural work was composed from the pieces of hessian material, tape, scrim and rope ripped "carefully" from the 2 Ripped Off canvases. They work better than on the canvases. The shapes and forms created a far more dynamic and effective.  The3D aspect brings back the movement and life!

From the Ashes  (hessian fabric, scrim, rope, coffee sacks) 2012.

From the Ashes  (hessian fabric, scrim, rope, coffee sacks) 2012.

Adding spot lighting creates an extra dimension to the sculptural piece - shadowing. Also gives the form a stronger figurative reference, which was not planned or expected.

Curtains!

Took the opportunity to re hang my  re-modelled curtains in the Shaun Project Space. Photographed using spotlight to highlight and accentuate the folds and creased forms.

Velvet Crush  ( velvet curtains, paste, hand made wire hooks) 2012.

Canvases stripped and revealed.

I decided to rip the hessian off the canvas works.What is left - minimal ,abstract marks - traces of what was once there. I'm preferring these compositions to their previous incarnations.This construct and de-construct process is worth consideration for creation of future works.

Ripped off , Acrylic paint, ink,hessian residue on canvas 228x107cm   

Ripped off 1 , Acrylic paint, ink,hessian residue on canvas 228x107cm  

These canvases do work better than their previous relief editions..The paint, ink and torn pieces of fabric left behind on the canvas surface are intriguing. I like their random appearance and  the minimal application of shapes and forms leaving much of the canvas visible. 

Shaun Project Space interrupted.....

Hanging of the 2 canvases with hessian relief  and ink drawings in the Shaun Project Space.

The  canvases and drawings work well together in the white cube space, however they lack the impact made by the 3D pieces, they are "stuck" on the wall and don't travel  far enough.

 

Hessian canvases in close up.

I have taken a series of digital photographs of both my Hessian based canvases. These close up images, on the whole, are more successful than the complete canvases. The abstracted forms created provide simplified effective compositions - with possibilities to rework and reconstruct ?

This video is best viewed on YouTube - the definition is much better.

Hiding away from the light

An old pair of velvet curtains, they used to hang in my son James' room, before he left home. They have been given the same treatment at the hessian material and sacks ( soaked in wallpaper paste, moulded over household objects, left to dry.) and hung as if on a washing line or at a window. Using this alternative, more opaque fabric has adds different quality and effect to my previous hanging sculptural pieces. The viewer cannot see through to "the other side" giving the work a more mysterious, almost sinister feel. I like the shapes and forms created, they can be observed here more clearly than  on the hessian pieces. Hung together the curtains an absorbing sequence. I need to exhibit this piece in a larger white cube space and possibly try different  background settings.

Working on Hessian Canvases.

Further developing the Hessian relief canvases with application of acrylic paints and inks. Picking up colours and tones in hessian scrim and sack pieces to extend the impact of the composition. I want the fabric to become part of the canvas and appear it's moving in and out of the space it occupies. I am producing a very different way of working with the hessian and ending up with flowing abstract forms which are pinned down to the wall rather than free hanging in open space.  

The Hessian Forms travel further afield.

Seeing my Hessian Forms considered by other artists e.g;    

http://shaggymodernism.wordpress.com/2012/03/ helps inspire me to continue pursuing the creation of these structures but also think seriously about the universal availability of my work. When examining the following images it makes me question how much human interaction I want to promote in each art piece.

Hessian landscapes -relief on canvas.

Adding paint/ink marks to canvas and hessian forms. Picking up colours / tones found on coffee sacks used on the canvas and making similar marks created in previous ink drawings. More work needed to resolve composition.

More Hessian Ink Drawings on Bread and Butter.

More "hessian" drawings. Starting to increase colour palette.

Hessian Landscape Canvases.

2 stretchers,228x107cm -Hessian on canvas. Fabric soaked in paste and composed in various depths of relief. I wanted to take the hessian used in my sculptures and develop into  wall based works, still with elements of 3D left intact. At this stage, not as dynamic as sculptures.

Hessian ink drawings.

A1 ink drawings (sepia and black) inspired by Go with the flow.2012.

These drawings work in conveying the transitory process of movement. Portraying hessian in sepia ink is effective and evokes the nature of hessian.

"Blown"- Shaun Project Space 8/9th February 2012.

http://shaunprojectspace.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/sps-presents-blown/

Go with the flow, 2012, evolves from my interest in the actions, thoughts and objects which have been left behind – the lasting results of movement. I wanted to create a sculptural/installation work which took the viewer on a journey to experience a path not encountered before. I chose to use hessian, new fabric and found coffee bean sacks. I was drawn to the natural tones and the fact I could source a number of different weaves within a small tonal range to concentrate on shape and form. It also made successful casts when moulded and stiffened with paste over and around various made and found constructs. Most of the individually shaped pieces of hessian, hung from a grid of fishing line, are physically separated, unconnected, but when viewing the work as a whole, along with the negative shapes created, it just flows.