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Friday 28 October 2011

Camden arts centre

Went to see Nathalie Djurberg 'A world of glass' at Camden arts centre, along with Haroon Mirza 'I saw square triangle sine'.
Djurberg has produced some really interesting animations that are dark and provocative. The installation of these 4 videos are synchronised in the gallery space and have a sound track created by Hans Berg. Along with the videos are glass objects displayed on tables, that for me represent the fragility of life. There is a lot of inclusion of animals, a sense of harm and violence along with the naked human form (female) which for me again show this fragile-ness & vulnerability of the feminine.
Miraza's work was very different. He addresses movement & sound with this installation of instruments. Each instrument creates a noise, less of a musical sound, the crackle of a radio, the constant drone of a keyboard key pressed permanently down, the microphone lead rubbing around the edge of a symbol, but together they create a rhythmic audio, for me it was womb like, the comforting rhythm of a heartbeat. The added part is the installation was the drum kit that the viewer can play, placed so that whilst playing he/she can view the set of paintings on the far wall.  I didn't think i would enjoy Mirza's work as much as i did, i enjoyed the interactive part but unusually for me i like the sound aspect, something maybe for me to consider in my own work, I've not used audio as i have tended to be focused on video but could be a good challenge to explore. i don't often find sound pieces i like. The only part of this installation i didn't particularly get or connect with was the purpose of the paintings!?

Now what?.....

I have started 'The Voice' project but that is an ongoing piece and not at all finished for a long while so need to get working on another piece.
I have a brief from my chosen elective 'Artists film & video', plus i need to get going on some more work, but... i feel really stagnant and stuck, a block! I feel lost as to where my work is and where it is going, i've lost inspiration, drive and direction i think.
I don't feel i've made anything significantly successful or interesting since being at Chelsea, i feel my work was more interesting when on my foundation/access course. So i am thinking i may take the advice of Gill Addison from last year and consider revisiting old work. I am looking at previous video and photography pieces and will start to question where and what was successful & interesting, what was not successful but of interest and what could be improved, worked on. At least then i will be working rather than feeling stuck!

Thursday 20 October 2011

www.we-voice.blogspot.com

Have been working my ideas through regarding my most recent project on 'giving women a voice'. I wanted to collect women's personal experiences of 'being woman'. After spending time filming women for my previous pieces i found it interesting how these women opened themselves up to be filmed even though they hadnt felt too comfortable with it. They found some trust in me and opened up themselves off camera too, it was these conversations that got me thinking.
I am now moving forward by asking women to write me their experiences of 'being woman' (and no this is not a typo, i want it to read woman not women). I have put posters up in uni, i have emailed every woman i know and asked them to forward to all women they know. I have set up a blog and a new email account to collect these pieces.
I am going to start collecting email addresses of women's centres, women's publications, feminist publications, female artists, writers, women in the public eye etc. I will then be emailing them with my poster, blog and email address in hope of building interest and hopefully entries to the project.
This piece will become the women who contributes to it's. I will not edit or pick and choose, everything within reason that is sent to me will be entered, obviously excluding anything obviously offensive, abusive etc. I will have to make careful decisions as i really don't want to edit people out, this is about giving ALL women a voice if they want to be heard.
I presented this project to my tutor group this week and got some useful (and some not so useful) feedback. The useful were questions that i am thinking through now and will be able to use to clarify my practice and this piece.

www.we-voice.blogspot.com

Tuesday 18 October 2011

reading

As i am interested in documentry film and am interested in the interview techniques. i understand that interviewers will adjust their questions to get the answers and angle they are looking for so i am reading 'Doing interviews' by Steinar Kvale as it has been recommened.