Sensory/Play Mat, Final piece planning and making

PROJECT PROPOSAL

To explore the ideas of sensory play in conjunction with forms and materiality, for my end of year piece I propose to create a sensory mat inspired by those found in soft play areas or sensory rooms as well as a short animation on a loop. I have been inspired by the animation work of Katy Dove, in particular, 'Luna' (2004) and 'Motorhead' (2002) which played around with the relationship between the movement of non-directed painting forms and sound to create an activate abstraction through the immateriality of the screen. The music played a vital role in the reception of the work - 'Luna' presented a therapeutic tranquillity, whereas, in 'Motorhead' the forms reflected the pulses of sound. It was the use of visual and sound techniques, to establish an emotional response that is an area of focus in the development of my work. I have researched the interactive installations of Ernesto Neto who often creates an environment that invites the audience to participate through lying down on the large soft sculptures, immersing the viewer in the space. Moreover, I have researched ideas of ‘Relational Aesthetics’ by Nicolas Bourriaud. The aim is for my work is for it to be experienced and to create "a momentary grouping of participatory viewers" (Bourriaud, 2002).

For this piece, I will make a sensory/play mat made from various materials and stuffing. It will have detachable soft sculptures that can be placed together to create a large enough space for viewers to lie or sit. I will create two-part sculptures by cutting the shapes, machine sewing, reversing the material, stuffing before stitching the material up. I have picked toy stuffing as it will be comfortable for the viewer. On top of the sculptures, I will attach pieces such as mirrors, crackly material and other sensory-based materials in order to reflect a child-like play mat that also encourages interactive play. My animation will depict moving paper and embroidery collages that flow through the screen in differing rhythms and paths. Although this part of the work is not tangible, the shapes are from photographs of physical work and so this will present materiality on an immaterial surface. It will feature chime sounds which I hope will provoke a therapeutic response. The installation will engage with touch, sound and the visual to produce an engaging sensory experience. I will project my animation onto the ceiling using a projector which will create a visual landscape of moving colours and forms into the room and it will be watched from the mat, forming an immersive environment.

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THINKING AND MAKING

I wanted to create a sensory/playmat to go along with my short animation as part of my final end of year show to establish a social experience as well as a viewing 'platform' to watch the animation on the ceiling of the space. Ernesto Neto often uses soft sculptures to create a soft surface in which viewers can lie and be immersed in the installation, using sketchy fabrics and wadding/foam. The audience almost become extensions of his work, physically engaging with their bodies. Several elements are used to form Neto's installations to build an environment and drawing on themes of sensory dialogue. The idea of several pieces is also seen in the fibre art of Sheila Hicks, who makes abstract sculptures - almost like blobs which are constructed into much larger installations which have a stackable quality. In her Venice Biennial piece 'Escalade Beyond Chromatic Lands', Hicks stacked the sculptures up the walk to create a cascade of colour that could be broken apart and moved around - could be a totally different piece with how the sculptures are positioned in the space. I decided to make the mat out of several pieces, breaking down the ideas I had of the sensory mat into more manageable chunks. Each of the sections will be unique and fit into each other to create one large piece.

I picked six different fabrics from the fabric shops - a variety of colours and textures to define different sensory responses also creating a colour palette for the mat. I planned out a rough design of the shapes and began cutting them out, using the previous shape each time so that they assemble together once made. Once all the pieces were cut out, I machine sewed them and stuffed with toy stuffing - I chose this material as I am familiar with it also it would create a soft surface for people to lie on. Ideally, I would have used foam cut to measure but this would have been expensive and perhaps not necessarily needed. Unlike previous sculptures, however, I only filled them up halfway to so that the surface of the forms would be flat so people would be able to walk on it. I made the basis of the mat but, apart from the stacked section, it was a little boring and didn't have sensory appeal.

I wanted to emulate the functionality and play of an infants mat... the sounds, touchy-feely bits, colours. This is where this work was lacking. I started to experiment with leftover material from the mat and household items to create sensory reliefs on the mat that whilst the viewer is watching there is added interest through touch and sounds:

• Foil and cardboard mirrors with wool

• Pom-poms

• Bumpy 'ladder' (rectangle soft sculptures lined up)

• Squishy Spikes (small pyramid-shaped stitched soft sculptures)

• Iridescent crackly bobbles (cellophane and thin fabric)

• Zigzag (filled with bean bag beads)

I liked how these pieces looked handmade, you could see the making process and this brought the piece back to reflections of materiality within play. I attached the pieces to the mat, breaking up the elements into sections that have varying forms of sensory activity. The audience will be able to lie, sit, walk across and engage with the sensory details.

(Above) I have created a digital mock-up of my final piece for the end of year show and the completion of the context 'Endgame'. Using photoshop, I cut out the image of the sensory mat and a screenshot of the animation to make a visualisation of what the installation would have looked like if I put it together in the exhibition.

As my final reflection on my installation, I am pleased with the overall outcome as I believe both the tactility of the mat in conjunction with the therapeutic, abstract animation will be able to form an immersive sensory experience. Moreover, it establishes the viewer as the central part of the work and a focus on their experience - through touch, visuals, sounds and internalisation of experience in a space which I hope would have a therapeutic, calming atmosphere. I have combined material and immaterial properties together to create an environment focused on producing sensory as well as playful responses. However, during the making process, I struggled with who would be experiencing the work, who is the target audience? Children or adults? I had a few discussions about this during tutorials and group conversation and came to the conclusion that it is for both. The work will likely be in a gallery setting, so both adults and children would be present. I have taken inspiration from children's sensory mats and scaled it up so it would be inclusive to everyone, moreover, have exaggerated features. It is a shame my work will not be experienced as I would have liked to continue the work by documenting the interactions that take, but this is something I can try once I bring my work back to the studio in year 3. I think this work has scope to be explored further and I would possibly like to expand on the mat to create an entire floor covered in soft sculptures.