Tag: Objects of Memory

Rusting Objects

by shesafineartist, posted in MA Fine Art Digital

Having found several fragmented objects on my site visits I have been collecting lots of rusting household remnants such as hinges bolts and nails. All things that are akin to those objects I found. below is an example of the current state of the objects and what I hope to achieve.

I have rusted items quickly in the past with a view of making rust prints and I’m keen to use latex to acquire the rust from the objects.

So I sought out a solution called Rusty 3000 (I’m no chemist so this is probably the extent of my chemical experimentation) 16 oz of Hydrogen Peroxide, 2 oz of White Vinegar and a tablespoon of salt. Highly corrosive so rubber gloves were used.

I’ve made two solution baths and placed a door handle in a jam jar.

Below are photos from within the first few minutes.

I removed the door knob from the jam jar so not sure how effective this will be for the door knob in the long run.

After 1 day:

After 2 days:

Leaving it now for a week to let it cook.

Meanwhile I decided to take advantage of the rusty froth and make some prints too.

Reflection

This was a really successful exercise – the liquid was very caustic so I had to be extra careful and this scared me a little bit, however the end results were really good.

I learned that not everything rusts as well and additional things on the surface of the metal can hinder the process – paint for example.

I really liked the bit of video I recorded where I could see the interaction of the liquid with the object and definitely plan to investigate this further.

The greatest challenge would have to be not getting burned – I’m really clumsy at the best of times and working with a caustic liquid was difficult for me.

 

 

Fragments and Latex – Part 1 – Objects

by shesafineartist, posted in MA Fine Art Digital

While on my site visits I collect some fragments of buildings that had previously been underwater- only small rusty metal parts and broken pottery that most would overlook – however in these broken remains I see the life that these objects once had and the representation of the lost communities and the collective memories having become distorted – no longer like their original state – a metaphor for our own personal memories that become distorted over time.

I’m still experimenting with latex and wanted to see what objects I could produce that show the essence of the space that the object once inhabited.

So I decided to use the slate as a base for these objects – not my best idea in terms of a well thought out process yet I continued anyway.

Some of the objects were and immediate fail moving as I painted them – yet I managed to gain some success with this experiment.

The more successful ones after three coats I covered with fabric before adding an extra two coats.

Partly here I succumbed to my lack of patience and removed them the same day – with some success but overall pleased with the outcome.

What I particularly like is that the latex has really taken on remnants of the rust and dirt on the objects and that this has lead the imprints to become metaphorical in their own right.

The less successful ones I rescued and continued with a new experiment with ink jet paper in Fragments and Latex – Part 2 – Prints

Still to experiment with a pouring method.

Reflection

I began this work early in the morning and my head wasn’t really in the right space, so I struggled to get the objects to stay still on the slates and in fact this reduced the number of final objects completed.

I would definitely find a way of fixing these objects to the surface prior to painting the latex on and indeed plan to experiment with pouring latex around the object so as to fix them in place early on.

I definitely enjoy working with latex and like the way that it takes on rust and dirt from the object you are casting.

The overall effect I am happy with and I like the effect of the space that the object had inhabited creating the essence of negative space akin to the work of Rachel Whiteread where she casts the space around the objects of her attention.

The most tedious and challenging aspect of this work for me is waiting for it to dry enough to apply additional layers and then to finally cure. This really challenges my lack of patience.

Research – Evocative Objects

by shesafineartist, posted in MA Fine Art Digital, Research

I have been reading the book, Evocative Objects by Sherry Turkle and am fascinated by the meaning we place on objects around us, making the seemingly ordinary and insignificant possess greater significance in our lives. Certain objects can bring a sense of reminiscence for us, evoking memories and recollections from our past. The meaning that we place on specific objects can change as time passes and our memories fade. This book is a collective of stories where people are providing a narrative relating to familiar every day objects that they have pinned this sense of remembrance onto.

Using theory Turkle explores the role that everyday objects play in our inner lives and how this affinity and associations we possess for our own evocative objects brings the outer world into our inner world connecting objects to and preserving our relationships with our memories, bringing thoughts and feelings and melding our ideas and passions together.

There are six theoretical themes in this collection; Objects of Design and Play, Discipline and Desire, History and Exchange, Transition and Passage, Mourning and Memory and Meditation and New Vision. Bringing together a collection of personal stories about objects with strong connections to daily life that are then further reflected on and related to theoretical texts.

Jewellery invoking emotions and feelings about the immigration status of a mother and daughter. A student who identifies through the car she is driving who finally changes her Ford Falcon to a Station Wagon when she becomes a mother. A child with a bunny that can read her mind. A rock reminding a widow of the presence of her deceased husband. A sense of oneness between a gentleman and his glucometer akin to the oneness we feel for our modern technology. A grandfathers life-long association with his SX-70 Polaroid camera and photo transformation leaving his family with a representation of familiar people and places on his passing. A collection of salvaged photographs recovered after a fire.

Most objects have this value to people because of the circumstances in their lives around the time that the object was part of their lives. Yet some seem to have a more natural, uncanny resonance with memory, recognizable, yet unfamiliar, creating an ambiguity with what is known and not known about our inner self and the outer world.

The Knot Lady, as she was formerly known observed a student who was subconsciously using knots in her Knot Laboratory to process her feelings and emotions experienced during a difficult time in her home life, the divorce of her parents. Feeling torn between her mum and dad, she expressed these feelings of being pulled in two different directions through her knot making and also began to overcome some of these emotions at the same time. An expression of her own inner reflection on the outer world and circumstances around her. This particular story is paried with a reference to the Paris archives La Fondation Le Corbusier, the experience of visiting the archives in person to reflect on the archived drawings and their materiality and their subsequent digitisation. Observing the archives online lead to a greater sense of anonymity and a lack of connection with the physicality of the archive. The physical essence of the painstakingly hand-drawn drawings covered with directly fingerprints and smudges on the really thin paper was lost when viewed digitally.

An MIT student describing her laptop as irreplaceable may not seem an out of place ideal in today’s society. Yet her associations with her laptop may not be what would first come to mind. Her early romantic relationships were intrinsically associated with her laptop, in particular being the medium for the initial connection with her first love. So much so that any interaction with her laptop would remind her of this person supporting the idea that we can imbue an object with emotional value, bringing reminders of a person or situation whenever we associate with that object. In this particular case, the student already passionate about computers with early romantic associations is naturally reminded of love when she interacts with her computer. A reference is also made to another student with “romantic” ideals who spends all his time at his computer, but not to avoid the outside world, seeing the computer as a pathway to a web of social interactions and relationships and potentially a way to fall in love again.

The associations we subconsciously create with objects can subtly alter over time as circumstances, emotions, feelings, thoughts and opinions change and develop. We use these associations with the familiar to connect our inner being with the outer world. We can forget how these objects came to be so important or natural in our lives, yet these natural objects have historical significance to us as our lives progress.

In my current artwork I am creating associations and connections with seemingly inanimate objects to reflect on memory; collective, personal, historical, social, known, unknown, fading, changing and assumed in an attempt to express the relationship between the experience of the inner self and the outer world.

Bibliography

Turkle, S. (2011). Evocative objects. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.