The opportunity to create an exhibition at Signal provided a unique opportunity to come together as a team and create a public experience that would be both aesthetically pleasing and though provoking. I’d seen Signal doing previous exhibitions once or twice while going past on the train and was intrigued by its location. A relatively inconspicuous building during the day yet activated as an outlet for art during the evening. The iGlass windows, which stretched around the front corner of the building, established a dynamic effect on anything that I had seen projected, whether or not it was incorporated into the work. Signals high visibility by passing people-traffic also enhanced the appeal of the space. By having people view any artwork, especially if unintentionally, added further appeal and inspiration for any work that might be installed.
After having the first meeting with Signal, we found out exactly what is required when creating a piece to be exhibited and how it all works. Due the nature of the space, more consideration than usual for a project of this type was required. I was instantly drawn to simplicity in my concepts. I wanted something that would translate well to passing people and would be bold and eye-catching. I also wanted it to be a non-narrative piece. Something that didn’t follow a story based structure and required no previous understanding to appreciate. Movement was also an appealing aspect, something that could travel along the space or interact with the corner window. All these initial thoughts also seemed to resonate with many others in the class. Clearly Signal inspired certain consistent thoughts and inspiration due to its set up and location. This seems due to the way to work is presented and the fleeting way in which work would be displayed.
My initial concept was to divide the projection screen into its four individual windows and on each project a close-up of a relatively non-descript mouth and have the mouth leak out colourful foods, liquids or other materials. The idea behind this was to inject vibrant colour and life into a space, next to Flinders Street Station, that otherwise lacked this kind of visual stimulation. Things to come out of the mouth included jelly, custard, soy sauce and 100’s & 1000’s. The 100’s & 1000’s in connection with the mouth was a visual concept that I had previously explored as an element in a short film I’d made and thought it had potential in this new environment.
While still considering this idea I was also remained receptive to anything that might inspire the development of something new, due to a few things I was unhappy with with this current idea, including the cross beams of the window obscuring the mouth. An a method of gathering inspiration, I was drawn to the practice of ‘Noticing’ outlined in John Mason’s book Researching Your Own Practice: The Discipline of Noticing. Through this I discovered the visual stimulus that sparked a new Signal idea. In the street I saw a puddle that had oil floating on top creating coloured ripples on the surface. Whenever anything disrupted the puddle it would settle again and the coloured surface would bulge, ripple, transform and merge. Paying particular attention to this regular occurrence gave rise to a new inspiration. I wanted to create a clip that displayed this merging and interaction of colour, a visual attraction common to almost everyone. This was still in line with my original idea and it’s focus on colour but removed the subject, simplifying it, and focusing purely on the visual interaction and relationship of moving colour.
I considered just recreating the oil and water occurrence, but after considering it wanted something more vibrant, fluid and moving. Something that appeared more alive than the puddle. The problem with the puddle was it included too many other thing happening, including reflections from the surrounding environment. I wasn’t to isolate purely the colour with a stark background. This led me to consider using food-dye. The movement food-dye expressed when moving through other liquids was close, if not more engaging, than the oil on water. At first I thought of dropping it into clear water but wanted more solid and bold colour without being able to see through it. The childhood experiment of milk, food-dye and detergent occurred to me then. The milk would provide the appropriate background/canvas, the colour would be solid and vibrant and its movement would provide engaging interaction between still distinguishable threads of pulsing colour.
I filmed and edited the sequence, experimenting with different amounts of the varying liquids, theirs colours and ways of creating movement. I ended up making a lot of mess and producing a lot of footage that was dull and unusable. I also managed to create some footage that closely matched my intended visual goals. Once I’d chosen the footage and begun to edit I decided the most effective way for it to be displayed would be to cover the entire projection screen, having the blending colours envelop the entire window.
Watching my footage on the night I was pleased when a friend pointed out that often my footage created a gap in many of the created pieces that involved actual people. There were also a few that were similar to mine, yet mine were still discernable as a set.
I feel I achieved my intended goal, to create something that added vibrancy, foreign movement and a sense of immersion to a location that otherwise lacked these element (unless during the time of other exhibitions)
Reference
Mason, John. ‘Researching Your Own Practise: The Discipline of Noticing’. Routledge, USA & Canada, 2002. P2-14
