People and Characters exhibition

Our exhibition for the People and Characters unit within our module was a collaborative exercise, and I worked in a group of 6 including myself.

In my group were:

Emma Barnes
Callum Griffiths
Thomas Williams
Tom Lewis
Sean Miller

We had a really large space of wall to fill and so we needed a substantial piece to cover the walls. Because the exhibition was SUPPOSED to be based on the people within Hartlepool, we decided to go with a sea theme, featuring a power plant and landfill area polluting the sea. Towards the left of our panel we planned a fisherman sat on a pier, fishing out bottles containing characters of present and past times from Hartlepool.

Progress Pictures

We used a variety of different mediums in this mural. The sea was a mix of acrylic paints, and the acid cloud was watercolour and ink. The sky was done with soft pastels, and I used a few different grades of pencils to shade the fisherman. We also hung monoprints of bottled characters a long the pier which gave our colleague Alan a way to thread our works in together by using his string to make it look as though they were hanging properly!

Sayaka Ganz

Sayaka Ganz uses found objects to create her fluid, momentous sculptures. She sorts plastic objects into different bins for each colours and when she has enough material of one colour she decides on her subject.

 

This exhibition called 'Emergence' is my favourite by her. I think the way she has used the exhibition space is really interesting because it adds a whole new depth to the movement of the installation. The horses look as if they are actually charging through the space and the forms really fit well with each other.

detail in 'emergence'

Sayaka pays incredible attention to detail in her works and plans the general layout of her pieces but not so much that each piece is set in it's own defnite space.  In the following quote she describes part of her working method:

'This is like a puzzle to me. I make sure that all the objects are properly aligned to maximize the effect of motion, then add, step back, add something else, step back again and then maybe remove a piece. I keep on going until the piece looks completely formed but not overly dense...When my sculptures are observed from a distance, they represent the great beauty and harmony in our community. Through my sculptures I believe that I transmit a message of hope.'  Sayaka Ganz

This relates to my group's exhibition work in that we also had a general plan of action when it came to painting our piece- however as we continued working on it we made different decisions regarding the composition and the content of the piece. 

This sculpture was another one that I really liked. Again Sayaka had utilized the exhibiton space to work extremely well with her work and this is a talent I really admire of hers.

(all images for research only)

Nele Azevedo

When I seen a picture of Nele's installation work I was really intrigued by it- she sculpted hundreds of miniature men out of ice and placed them in public places in major cities around the world, calling them 'Melting Men'.

 

The installations only last about 30-40 minutes depending on the weather. I liked it because it just solidifies the fact that nothing is permanent, much like our own exhibition- just like ours will be painted over, hers eventually leave only puddles. 

(all images research only)

Risa Fukui

Risa Fukui is an installation artist that works in the Japanese art of paper cutting (also known as kirie).

from risafukui.jp

Her works are done totally by hand- no laser cutting or any other tools are involved- which is amazing in itself because the scribbly detail of the actual works look like they were actually drawn with pencil.

from visualnews.com

In her most recent exhibition 'LIFE SIZED' at Pola Museum Annex (seen above) there was obviously a lot of planning needed for the space to work with the pieces and to be effective in the way an audience would see it.

from visualnews.com

I think the biggest planning with this exhibition would have been finding the best actual exhibition space. I think these works really needed the light that's in the exhibition space because with the light behind them it really brings out the intricate detail. The light is also important because of the shadows cast by the images- they add another element of awesome to the exhibition.