'Play Well' @ Welcome Collective

This exhibition documented the history of play, toys and the transformative dynamic of play upon children. It also observed the relationship of the child and adult during play, moreover, how play is used as a tool for recreational and learning purposes both in a school and home environment. The exhibition ranged from the display of toys/learning games from different generations, interviews with children and interactive work for children to play. I went to this exhibition twice as there was so much information to take in, due to the fact it wasn't a typical exhibition and focused heavily on research. I was really inspired by some of the work in this exhibition and how I can document and explore play further in my practice.

'Boys and Sculpture' by Eva Rothchild was on display in the exhibition on a large monitor, the screen was so big that it almost felt, as a viewer, that I was watching through a window of the interactions taking place at that moment. The work "investigates the particularly physical interaction boys have with their surroundings and with making things". The video consisted of a room filled with several elaborate and abstract sculptures. One by the one, the boys would enter into the exhibition space, walk around and were given permission to interact in whatever way they chose. It was really interesting to observe how at the beginning when there were few boys, who treated the sculptures with respect by walking around and just looking at the work. As more boys entered the space, it was clear to see that there were conversations taking place about the sculptures, some began to prod or stroke the sculptures almost in an act of defiance. Eventually, towards the end of the piece, the boys had completely 'destroyed' the sculptures - pulling them apart, kicking and throwing sections of the sculptures until the space dramatically altered into chaos. The boys we not told how to interact with the work and so it became a realistic documentation of how they would disrupt the work through play and intrigue. The sculptures became secondary elements to the social experience and participation of the children. It really highlighted to me the importance of interaction, perhaps I need to think more of the relational aesthetics of the work rather than the outwards aesthetical properties of the sculpture. I think it would be interesting to get people to interact with my work and to observe how it alters/ brings new meaning to what could be described as dead objects in the exhibition space - activation of the work through play.

The exhibition featured a few documentary-style videos which I thought brought insight into how and why children play. 'Interviews with children from Argyle Primary School in Camden' - groups of children were asked the same set of questions around the idea of play, such as "what would you do without play?" which some replied "I would be sad|" or "I would be very bored". The children were also asked to consider why they thought play was important and the response was often about having fun and one girl mentioned how play plays a role in learning. The most interesting question for me was "Do adults need to play?" where one responded "I think they need play, they need time to play and relax from working" - which got me thinking about what age we stop 'playing' as such. The contrast in play of adults and children (perhaps with the same toys or sculptures) would create an interesting piece. Another video that was interesting was the commissioned short film as it drew upon the relationship of the student and the teacher in early year education. It documented the processes of learning in conjunction with play that put children at the focus of the creation of the work. At one point (see picture) the class were using a large lightbox where they could place everyday objects. The image from this lightbox were then projected and the children were able to create their own constructed world and their creation displayed - presenting the design of their imagination. I really liked this idea of the children making a visual landscape and this is something I could explore using soft sculptures or other objects.