Degree Show Proposal
In essence, the artwork developed throughout our investigation reflects on the relevance of context in the interpretation of gestures, emphasizing that what we consider to be offensive depends on our own personal judgment and experience. Determined to convey these outlooks to our audience we wanted to ensure that every element in our final display could be interacted with freely, encouraging people to draw their own conclusion on the subject matter and how we’ve chosen to present our observations. We want our exhibition to be based on engaging patterns such as the rule of three and the square format. The idea was to maintain a sense of harmony throughout the arrangement in a way that didn’t impose a set starting point for the audience.
Laser cuts
Our display is composed of three principal outcomes, which include our laser-cut view-finders, gesture moulds and final publication. Although they can be explored separately, they’re also fundamentally linked to one another, working to compliment one another in the same exhibition space.
Given that these objects were made to be handled and manipulated by the audience, we chose to display them in a way that would assert their interactive nature and function, accentuating how they could be used as the contextual components of a situation. Our initial thought was to have them hanging on a 1m x 1m board in order to make them easily accessible. By implementing a shelf as a working surface at the bottom of the board audiences members would be able to pick out various view-finders and build up their own composition, securing them with the nuts and bolts at their disposal. After discussing the idea with our peers, the lack of display space for the participants final compositions was pointed out. We realised people might be more inclined to follow the process if they knew the end result would be seen as a contribution rather than a fleeting exercise. Taking this into consideration, we redesigned the basic structure of our exhibition board so that the compositions built by the audience would be highlighted. Instead of having the viewfinders hanging from the board, they would now be arranged on a table or flat surface in front of it. The board itself will be fitted with shelves holding examples of compositions. Participants would be enticed to follow the process and would then be able to display their own publications.
Cement sculptures
Publication
As a way of illustrating our thought process and how we developed our work in regards to our chosen subject, this publication functions as a sort of artist’s statement that audience members can refer to as they discover the our exhibited outcomes. Several copies will be displayed on shelves fixed to a 1m x 1m board, mirroring the surface dimensions of the viewfinder station, as well as the structure created with the gesture molds. We also discussed the possibility of exhibiting business cards and small cement sculptures that could be given away or sold during the degree show alongside our publication; this would be a great way for us to promote our work as well as inform the audience on how we operate as a collective.
The sixteen moulds that compose this layout were made to fit close together, creating one imposing structure that the audience could interact with openly. Although we had discussed the plausibility of having to display them directly on the ground, we initially visualized them as being arranged in ranks of four on top of a low 1m x 1m table. Slightly elevated, the three-dimensional qualities of this abstract sculpture would be emphasized, making it easier for viewers to circulate around it and focus on certain of its details or shapes.
