space matters - making some new work - experiments with first aid items

Since my MA project is currently entitled 'Space Matters', looking at the need for breathing spaces, I took a first aid space blanket to the woods this week and laid it out on the ground.

As you do.

If you are an 'artist' you can do almost anything and call it 'research'.


And yes, I did watch carefully to make sure there was no one else around.

Having photographed it I used as the base for a double exposure.

Space/space blanket/first aid/station were the words in my mind.

I placed it in the air, up a tree, on the ground.

It felt good to be making something new.

Over the pond.

I am not sure what I was trying to achieve.

Just playing. Which is how my work usually evolves.

Keep trying different things until something catches my attention and feels right.

When I got back and looked at the images I was initially excited, and then felt that I was not really conveying the message that was intended.

I seem to have a desire to wrap things.

I am often taking photographs of bits of string.

What does this mean?

I really don't know.

But I did label one series of images of electric fence tape  'Don't fence me in' which should tell me something.


I took the 'blanket' to Dungeness. Plenty of space there. And lots of wind too. It was very difficult to pin down. I used stones.


 I found it difficult to make anything work, but a video of it blowing in the wind was more successful

.

The wind put me off using the space blanket a the beach, and when I returned to the woods I tried taking photographs of it wrapping a tree.



Such a different feeling. I felt as though I was trying to keep the tree safe.

I enjoyed this too.


Again nobody was looking....

Having tried a space blanket I felt obliged to try a bandage. I wrapped it around the branches of a tree.



And then overlaid it onto another tree.

I am not sure about the twigs from the first tree showing up.

I like the random colour overlay in the colour version of double exposure.

Now I need some more authentic bandages, preferably gauze or open weave.

I don't know where this is going, but I am enjoying the process.

And yes I am a bit mad. Probably have been for some years....

It reminds me of collography and using some open gauze tape as my subject matter for printing.

Themes that come to mind;

tape /wrap/fence/protect/enclose/confine

what do these have to do with 'space'?

It seems to be more about lack of space and being fenced in or enclosed; the opposite to what I seek in the landscape.

So how could I represent this opposite more effectively?

hmmm. I will sleep on that.

last night's transient  middle of the night idea was wrapping twigs.....