'Endgame' - Final context

Our last context, 'Endgame', is about refining out practice, reflecting on previous work and asking ourselves critical questions. This is is also the lead up to our end of year show which unfortunately due to the current situation will have to take place on an online platform. Though this is not the ideal thing for our work to be displayed I think it will be a really interesting opportunity to problem solve as well as adapting to self-isolation. It could, in fact, lead our practice in different ways. I think it is important that I continue to make as much as I can and experiment with materials in order to explore the concepts in my practice of play, sensory and interactivity. From the brief, I have taken a couple of questions to begin this context being mindful to the direction to best take my work forward to complete Year 2.

What is important within my practice?

Play and sensorial dialogue is a key context within my work and research during this year and I hope to continue it further in understanding the role of practical play with materials. It has been prevalent to me during this year that interaction with my work is at the core of my practice. I had found that previously I would make work and think "that's done", however, upon reflection, it is through the participation of the viewer which activates the work otherwise the sculptures take on the role of a decoration. The idea of the decoration in some ways can be used to effect such as 'Loops and Rings' piece at the Bargehouse but perhaps with other elements that provoke interactivity or in an environment/workshop which directly informs the viewer they can touch. Furthermore, it is important that the interactions remain as natural as they can as I want my work to reflect the nature of the viewer and their response to playing without it becoming a performance. Tactility and play with materials is another important part of my practice, in a digitalised world I think that our engagement with the handmade, especially to create sensory actions, is vital, forming a physical connection to the viewer. I like to form different dialogues with sculptures in space - how materials meet, connect, moreover, the connection such materials have with the body and the experience they can create for the audience whether that be playful or therapeutic.

What is it I want to say? ... and how best to say it?

I want my work to create immersive environments or reliefs in an exhibition space invite people in and allow the viewer to interact with the work in whatever way they want whether that be through lying done, throwing pieces, squishing sculptures - ultimately, exploring the dynamics of play. I want the audience to be able to alter the work through physical actions in the space and their internal experience. Like in the work of Pipilotti Rist, the viewer does not change the physicality of the space but the value comes from the social experience, immersing and being seduced by the colours of the screens and sculptures - an internalisation of participation. There is a therapeutic quality to Rist's work which I hope to emulate in future experiments, much like a sensory room where both play and interaction can take place. To explore these ideas I would like to continue experimenting with soft sculptures due to the tangibility that creates scope of interaction. Perhaps on a large scale or try out ideas of filling the entire space (floor, ceiling and walks) - if possible. Also, I would like to explore how film/animation can be used in my work to translate sensory and materiality through the screen.

To begin thinking about approaches to play in this context and in contemporary practice, I have recently researched Carsten Höller's slide piece at the Tate Modern.'Test Site' (2006) utilises the vast space in the turbine to great huge slides from different levels of the gallery, taking a similar form to slides found in a children's playground. The work plays on the idea of challenging and furthermore disrupting our usual forms of transport to a mode of movement which is in some way humorous yet is still efficient. Carsten Höller described the slides as"a device for experiencing an emotional state that is a unique condition somewhere between delight and madness", I think its important to note that the original intentions of a slide are for amusement, especially for children, and it is interesting to see how Höller used them as a device in a public setting to form social experiences of playfulness and as simple as getting from A to B. 'Test Site' was an experimental piece, the slides used as a catalyst to observe the interaction of the public and transforming the exhibition environment. The slides ultimately disrupt the space, however, the viewer's experience is still at the forefront of the experimental work - I would like to explore how my sculptures and other future work can both enhance and alter the dynamic of the space in the reflection of play and interaction, especially the involvement of adults and their response to playing.

CRIT SHOW #2

For this crit show, I didn't want to simply display the sculptures I had made for the intent of play for them only to remain still in the space. Instead, I wanted to activate the work by elaborating to the viewer how the soft sculptures can be utilised for practical play. I had edited all the footage that I took from the play workshop in Portsmouth, and this became a documentation of play inspired by ‘Boys and Play’. I found it interesting watching back the footage and observing how the children approached the sculptures, how they began wearing them and the dynamics of games and imagination the children imbued upon the work. I didn't want it to become a montage of play and for this reason, I kept the video clips in a chronological order to allow it to be an accurate representation of how a group of children play and what took place. Through discussions with my tutor, I experimented with the order of the play - beginning with the children jumping out of the sculptures. This look visually interesting to watch; however, it became more about the aesthetics of the video rather than a documentary.

To form this into an exhibition piece, I decided to display the video alongside many of the soft sculptures that I had made throughout the year. By presenting the video and sculptures together it represented the toy and how they are played with. My original idea was to create a pile of soft sculptures to imitate a soft play area or an exaggerated ball pit, a colourful inviting environment that has the appeal of a children's soft play centre. I decided to use as many sculptures as I could to make an impact in the room and this would be achieved by stacking them up against the wall and spreading across the floor to create an immersive environment. I originally to display the edited video on a screen, after discussions with people in the studio I came to the realization that the link between the soft sculptures and video would become lost. It would create a harsh distinction in the physicality of the sculptures and the immateriality of the screen.

Pipilott Rist constructs environments full of sensory dialogue in exhibition spaces. The viewer is seduced by the highly saturated images on the screen whilst engaging with sculptures present. In '‘4th Floor to Mildness’ (2016) the audience can articulate around the installation and participate by walking through, lying down on the beds and being immersed in the lights and large video projections. Rist draws a relationship between her video work and paintings “The screen for me is like a back-glass painting, but it moves, it has every second a different image” (Louisiana Channel, 2016). I find her use of projection really interesting as, unlike a screen, it floods the space with imagery and colour. I wanted to explore the use of projection in this crit.

During the installation, I was assigned a small space in the studio with Felix, who was displaying her textile-based work 'Skin Scarf'. We had to work out the logistics of the space, as I had originally intended for my work to be in the centre of the room but this would have blocked her work. I also realised that the projector would not be able to be placed on the floor as due to the space of the room it would be a trip hazard which led me to use a projector mount. The ceiling was not an option as it was slopped, so with the help of the technicians I had the projector and the mount installed on one side and the sculptures stacked in the corner diagonal to this. Felix and I both used the corners of the space so that neither of our work was disrupted. Due to the video projecting into the corner and the angle of the projector, the video distorted and I had to experiment with the keyframe to make the image clear. I also played around with the blending the projection - by putting masking tape around the lens of the projector I faded out the image which stopped harsh lines and made the work feel dream-like which I thought was interesting, furthermore, I made the projection fade into the sculptures to create a connection between the sculptures and the interaction.

CRIT NOTES:

• Looks aesthetically pleasing, the colour choice is greater.

• The video adds an extra layer of depth to the sculptures

• Your inner child takes over and you just want to touch them, perhaps make it more accessible for viewers of the work to interact with.

• Not sure if the context is anything more than play - perhaps look to play used as a tool for therapy

• In your previous work, people didn't want to interact with it. But in this piece, it's interesting to see it being activated through the children playing.

• A good resolution to your current ideas of play

• Adults may experience the work in a different way, this would make an interesting second workshop

• The overhead projector is effective, makes you feel like you are involved in the act of playing

• Experiment with projecting fully onto the sculpture

• How can you manipulate the way you play with the sculptures? Perhaps obstacles or a more immersive space

• Needs to fill an entire space

• Research Sheila Hicks - fibre artist

Upon reflection, I think this has been one of my more refined crit show works due to the contrasting elements of the projection and sculptures as well as the context of play in this documentation piece is present. By using the projecting helped to engage in the ideas of interactivity in play rather than just having a stack of sculptures that may or may not be interacted with. During the crit, I had some really interesting and constructive feedback. The general feedback is that I have got to fill the entire space to create an environment that is immersive, thus promoting the viewer as an extension of the work and to interact through play. This is a recurring comment that I have in my crits and I'm finding this difficult to achieve due to the time and cost of the soft sculptures - perhaps I could try out new materials or use projection as a way of filling the space much like Pipilotti Rist. I would like to look at different avenues of play, as suggested, how play can be therapeutic in an exhibition environment. Moreover, I was interested in people's idea to recreate the play workshop with adults to observe their approach to contrast in the interaction of the children. These videos could be displayed simultaneously as a piece to visually represent the contrast side by side. Lots to think about...

Play Workshop @ Art Space Portsmouth

I was inspired by Eva Rothschild's 'Boys and Sculpture' (2012) which I saw at the 'Play Well' exhibition at the Welcome Collective (see previous 'Play Well' blog post). It was really interesting to see how the boys disrupted the aesthetics of sculpture through play and they are adapting the exhibition space into chaos - this chaos, however, was due to the fact the boys had the freedom to participate in whatever way they chose and I think this was important to the work. I wanted to create a workshop/environment in which children could interact with the soft sculptures I had made throughout the year in whatever way they chose in order to observe how they would naturally play rather than a performance. To explore this, with the help of my tutor I was able to set up a play 'workshop' with a group of six children (1x 6 years, 2x 5 years, 1x 3years, 1x 8months, 1x 3months) really interesting dynamic of 4 lively children with 2 babies - it was mostly an all-girl group so it was interesting to see the dynamic shift from 'Boys and Sculpture'.

To begin the workshop I brought as many of my soft sculptures as I possibly could down to Portsmouth Arts Space, here I laid them out across the floor - similar to how they would in a nursery of soft play centre at the start of the day - to create an initial playful environment for the children to entre. The room was quite an intimate space and this worked well as the space didn't overpower the sculptures. Like Eva Rothschild, I didn't want to give the children instructions, just that they could play with the sculptures however they wanted. The babies who were accompanied by their mothers, would lie across the sculptures and, for them, it became more about the sensory experience - stroking, patting and pushing the sculptures. This was a smaller part of the workshop and I would like to set up one another time just with infants 1 year and bellow to observe the contrast in play.

Initially, the children were drawn to the large sculptures – especially the flowers – as they were able to get into them and wear them, becoming physically part of the work. They then created spaces for themselves with the sculptures saying "this is my home, that one can be yours", which was interesting to see that the children wanted to mark there territory even when playing collaboratively. After the boundaries of "this is mine" were broken, the girls began to play together. The chains proved a success in this respect. Three of the girls got into rings of the same chain, pulling each other and moving around the space, creating a comedic dialogue. It was really interesting to see how the participation digressed throughout the workshop (i have broken these down into three sections of play):

HIDE AND SEEK: The children became fascinated with the idea of hiding amongst the sculptures. To begin with, they would have a larger sculpture over there lap or legs, almost like a blanket, before pulling other pieces on top of themselves until they were completely covered. They would then ask the nearest adult in the room to find them, which they took much joy in the adults circling around them and the children jumped out or giggled when an adult felt through the sculptures to the child. This was a repetitive process, becoming more elaborate each time and, in the end, they felt their hiding skills weren't enough and asked their parents to hide them in even large mounds of soft sculptures before asking someone to 'seek' them - repeating the process again for 30 minutes.

ROLE PLAY: Three of the girls set out a 'base' in the corner of the room of a surface of lots of sculptures, perhaps imitating a home. They would then give each other character roles of a family "I'll be the baby, you can be the mummy...", once roles were established, they began acting as there characters and creating scenarios that they believed would take place in the home. I found it so interesting how they could take the abstract forms and turn them into an imaginary set for their games. Later on, their characters switched. They wanted to be animals, once one said "I'll be a Cheetah" sure enough that is what they all wanted to be! Growling, crawling across the floor and pretending to feed each other meat. This change in the dynamic of play was really fascinating and humorous to observe.

FLOOR IS LAVA: Using the looped chains, with my help, the children began making a track across the floor. They informed me that the floor now lava and the only place safe was on the trail. The children would walk across the floor, then one would shout "1,2,3 the floor is lava", quickly the children would rush to the sculptures especially the largest of the sculptures which they later established as the 'safe zone'. Their game then expanded... not only was the floor lava but there were now monsters (which were played by a couple of the parents). The children would run-up to the parent whose back was turned and begin making noises in a way of 'tormenting' them to chase them. The parent would then turn to face them and the children would run back to the safe zone.

Overall, this was a really rewarding and interesting workshop. It was fascinating to observe how the children played, the shifts in the dynamics of games and the joy that repetition brought them. I think that the sculptures were well received by both the children and their parents. One comment I had when chatting with the parents was that they felt the sculptures were much more playful and pleasant than plastic ones found in pay centres. I did initially think about making sculptures with a plastic surface so they could be wiped but after hearing this feedback I think the soft sculptures I have made are enough - but could explore different materials. In hindsight, I think the space would have worked better if I had of made/brought more sculptures but I don't think this would have been physically possible. I need to think of other ways to make the space feel more perhaps immersive, perhaps coloured lights that unify the room and the sculptures together - how would different colours affect the space?... Another problem that occurred during the workshop was the hard flooring - this is something to think about if I were to do it again. It would be interesting to create my own playmat (like a crash mat) which could lay underwear the soft sculptures an add another layer of sensory as well as decrease the risks of accidents.

The full video can be viewed here: https://lucywinnicott.wixsite.com/artwork/soft-sculpture-interaction-children