Our first concept of year 2, 'Material Matters', looked at the two main areas - content and form... the materials used within our practice along with the processes we put upon such materials with research, theories and ideas. With these concepts in mind, I wanted to observe and play around with the effects that material has upon a sculpture. In 'Playing with the Reef' (Year 1 exhibition piece at the V23 Biscuit Factory, Bermondsey) I first began to explore soft sculptures and this was an area I wanted to explore further. This piece was intended to emulate a soft play area, the audience would be able to rearrange the work, throw pieces or lie/sit, however, not much interactivity took place. With the work in Material Matters, I wanted to investigate the use of the material and how it would be touched, thrown, stroked, handled... I didn't want to make a sculpture/series of sculptures for aesthetical reasons (although this does play a part in drawing the viewer in) and in a sense, this is where I realised I need to rely on the context behind the work.
I have been recently researching in the context of play and the ideas of the transitional object as observed by Donald Winnicott. Often this object can take the form of a blanket, teddy, doll, etc where there is an external object relationship and places specific emphasis on the possession in times of play or comfort. It will seem to the "infant to give warmth, or to move, or to have texture, or to do something that seems to show it has vitality or reality of its own" (Winnicott, 1953). I was particularly interested in the ideas of an object being used to play but also have a comforting quality. I began researching popular infants toys and how a child would engage with them. One toy I was drawn to was wooden building blocks, I liked the geometric shapes, stackable dynamic as well as the fact they could be built into endless three-dimensional structures. Such elements also play a role in the ideas of learning motor skills through repetition and play.
I started to design my own version of children's building blocks, thinking about the individual components and how they could build together. I wanted to make these forms from material and stuffing - this would mean they had the physical structure of building blocks (edges and angles) yet be made from a more malleable material that could be squished and manipulated, a more comforting quality. I sourced two materials: A rough, muted-pink old fashioned blanket and a soft multicoloured fleece. I picked these materials with the idea of the home comforts and their childlike soft colours. I wanted the sculptures to be oversized to appeal to both adults and children, also the exhibition was taking place in the Linear Gallery of the University so the main viewers of the work will be adults. The larger sculpture I hoped would create a comical effect, perhaps there could be a struggle to assembling the blocks together. I constructed the sculptures by cutting each section of the shape out, sewing all the pieces together, stuffing and stitching together. Due to timing and the complexities of the shapes I was only able to make 3 oversized soft sculptures which I was disappointed by as I wanted it to be immersive. This being said, there was a restriction on the size the sculptures would be due to health and safety in the corridor so it was unlikely I would have been able to display many more.
During the installation process, I played around with the positioning of the sculptures - I did initially have an idea of somehow attaching them to the wall, however, they were too heavy and it wouldn't be safe for people walking past. I decided to display the sculptures in a random stack which I hope to each day change the order to create new structures as well as the work constantly evolving through the course of the exhibition.
Overall, although on a smaller scale than I had hoped I am quite please with the sculptures and their tactility and stackable dynamic also the use of the blanket materials which connoted ideas of comfort. The initial reactions from the crit were that my work took on the form of interactable sculptures which draw you in through wanting to touch it. They expressed that the material choice for this worked well in creating a welcoming comfort and suggested to research into different tangible materials and their effect. Some of my crit group expressed that the colours and forms had a nostalgic feel to it and reminded them of toys from their childhood which I thought was a really interesting point. However, the main emphasis from the crit was that the installation would have been stronger if I were to have made more sculptures as they could look lost in the space and there aren't many to actually interact with. This is something to think about in future crits and exhibitions to make a wider variety of sculptures and for it to be more immersive which in turn could promote interactivity with the work - which even though I tried to explore participation and play in this piece, is still not present.
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