Interim Show Crits

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CRIT W/ ROSIE GIBBENS AND SMALL GROUP

I really liked the style of this crit as I got to see others immediate reaction to my latest film work 'Delve' through a two questions - "What does it look like?" and "What does it make you think of?". The crit was conducted through the text box on Zoom so instead of it being a chatty crit like most, people as soon they thought something about the work would write it down.

It was interesting to see peoples take on the work, things I wouldn't of associated with my practice as well as repetitions in the responses - perhaps the ones repeated were more important/distinguishable when watching. Themes of comfort and connection to the body were key areas of the feedback. I feel as though my practice often tries to emulate feelings of comfort or a therapeutic nature alongside playfulness through soft sculpture and it was relieving to know that people viewed this in my work without being prompted to feel a certain way. The connection to the body, however, I think translated differently to other people than I had originally intended as recently my work has been exploring the sculptures that create attachments to the body - the pyramid sculpture provides a space to be incapsulated in a den-like space but also to be worn like a costume. What I think this work ended up was a feeling of being inside the womb - due to the claustrophobic space and having warm pink and orange hues created from the lights. Although this is not necessarily a negative take on my work, this isn't what I want. Now that i have the pyramid made I want to explore it further - getting others to interact and also document myself wearing the sculpture: How would I wear it? How would it affect movement?

Here are the responses from my work:

Ideas of comfort

Ideas of the connection to the body

What does is look like? Medium, materials, colours, form

· Fabric, Stitching, Craft

· Pastels

· Soft, squishy, comfortable, comforting, candy colours, atmospheric

· otherworldly

· glowing light

· body, sweets, soft, squishy, opening

· Craft, toys, play

· Bodily

· Motherly , Womb

· Cotton

· an opening

· meditating

· Light, sound, slow movement

· Caves

· soft

· crevice

· Therapeutic

· portal

· Intestines

· Saturated red tones

· Opening

· dreamy

· Circular rings, built up, cone, pyramid

· Soft Fleshy Tones

· sewn

· Illusion

· dreamy sound

· balanced

· Stacked

· Like meditation

· Therapeutic

· glimpses of sky

· waiting

· looking

· Playful

What does it make you think of? Emotions, concepts, issues, images, memories

· Relaxing effect from background sound

· pink and warm

· Soft and warm

· Yoga/spa studio

· Womblike

· Whale relaxing sea music

· Invasion, immersive,

· safe

· Protective yet enclosed space

· Calming and tranquil

· New experience

· bunker, protected, loud

· Subtle feelings of entrapment

· Relaxing space to play

· consuming, esophagus

· Gazing into an unfamiliar space

· Never being shown the whole sculpture. Experiencing it in fragments

· Childhood memories

· Sensory room for children with disabilities

· home, dwelling, nest

· Childhood soft play

· Sound is comforting

· I feel like a little person or animal exploring a world way bigger than me

· meditative

· in the night garden

· A game almost like hide and seek

· Feels like I’m on a journey in the set

· curiosity

· Like a man made space similar to natural mountain sky light

· like being born?

· searching for something, something missing/lost?

· Interaction, hand

· Safe space

· Or like being transformed in some kind of way

· hopeful

· glimpse of sky feels hopeful

· Rings, natural forms

· Comforting

· Layers

· Makes me feel confined in a way

· fluctuating, allowed in/out

· When enclosed

· regulated, buzzing

· I want to also be in sculpture

· Contrast between confined and free

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CRIT W/ ANDREA AND SMALL GROUP

In my third and final crit, similar themes of the idea of the womb and the body were apparent as well as the idea of an immersive space that some found comforting but others found claustrophobic/ trapping. I really like Abi's comment about dismantling the pyramid sculpture as perhaps the work shouldn't be physically pre-determined - allowing the viewer control of the structure of the form and subsequently how play takes place.

· It makes me think about being born.

· Something kind of spiritual/sexual about it

· I really like how you've placed the sculpture in the physical, geometric studio space.

· I love how immersive it is, it really gives you this overwhelming feeling of being inside.

· I think the sound works really well.

· I’d like to see the sculpture un-structured as play isn't always that formulated, in my mum's preschool they aren't supposed to tell the children what to play with they let them decide and can end up chaotic but fun and whimsical.

· Could you get inside and try and move it, see how it would struggle and be pushed?

· The video mad e me feel a bit panicky about being trapped inside, especially with the music selected.