19 September 2020
I received a formal feedback today and think it is important to comment and reflect on this as soon as possible. Having started on Part Three and listening/watching a video by Bloomberg, ( How Richard Mosse documents life in photography/Brilliant Ideas Ep. 75) my tutors’ feedback suddenly made more sense. I was battling with her challenge to integrate my own practice into the theoretical work I have been doing in Part Two. He talks about asking more questions than providing answers, and and artist being able to dig a bit deeper.
Living between homes the last 6 months was difficult in the sense that I found my working space was temporary and sometimes a very disruptive place – we are busy renovating the house, and I had to move around rooms. We are booked on a repatriation flight back to Dubai on 26 September and I will be able to find some stability in terms of a workspace. I chose UVC2 as my first subject on level 2 for the reason that I thought it would be more theoretical, whilst away from our home, due to the Covid 19 Lockdown and travel restrictions.
I have battled with keeping up a regular work practice and trying to get ahead with the theoretical work – a lot of reading. I cannot hide from this disassociation longer. My practice at this stage was being more experimental and not asking for finished outcomes. I applied learning about other ways of using paint and materials and experimented with cement and collage. Looking at the exercise of Form/Content on Kentridge and Wright, I realise my own need for understanding about the WHY I make art. I have many ideas for content to use in my own work, but can get reluctant to put it onto canvas or out there. This reluctance is a fear of not being competent and of failing. I have to put in the hours in the studio.
My tutors feedback is positive in terms of my understanding of the work as well as my critical and evaluation skills through the context of practice in Part Two. I am encouraged to entangle these ideas and taking ownership of my own viewing, by thinking ‘more through practice’. At least this is quite normal at this stage of the studies, but I reading what to make and show my thinking about what I want to say. My tutor suggested ..”don’t worry too much about audience for now” I see the value more clearly.
In my work up to now I experimented with use of cement and cement products used in plastering and flooring to create a sculpture. I discovered it is not so soft as clay, but it dries quicker and I can add layers with other materials on top of it to continue working on the material over time. It implies that a work can be worked, it can change form and deconstruct meaning. I can create more raw and tactile subject matter in this way and experiment more with this in my work practice. Using collage can also help to show more layers of meaning, the material being a consumer product, like a magazine and giving the picture I used, new meaning.
I would like to act on the pointers my tutor suggested for the next assignment. She suggested to
- use my strength of research and analysis by taking key texts back to making.
- With regards to my strengths on questioning, I can concentrate on the manufacturing and collapse of presence/absence when questioning my reading and reviewing in the chapter – again thinking more around material enquiry.
- I should also use my analytical skills to my own making – analysis and critique your own making.