Footnotes
1- Deviation At the start of Digital Practices 2 in September, we chose a subject starting point. I chose ‘Temporary Architecture’ for various reasons, but the main reason was to explore the idea of dystopia's through architecture. This quickly changed when I began writing texts based around the tin-can structure I was creating. I found myself very drawn in to the creative writing and writing in response. So when we decided to curate a Digital Practice exhibition, I chose to write texts in response to my class-mates work and to use these as a guide. I think the end result of this years practice fitted in to the ‘design and make a mini-exhibition that can be downloaded anywhere’ as the file that the cards were created on can be sent all over the world and printed and cut out. However, I think they also do still fit in to the ‘temporary architecture that can be packed up and reassembled’ for the same reason. You can get a sense of the exhibit without actually being there as long as you have a pack of the cards.
2- Image and Text Image and text has been a paramount part of my work, especially throughout the second semester. I found writing in response to my own work or in response to dystopian ideas fairly enjoyable but I realised that I did not feel very inspired by this process. Whereas writing in response to my peers work was inspiration enough, I felt fully involved with their work as we often discussed their progress and ideas in group crits which gave me a deep enough understanding to explore their chosen concepts fully. The chosen image, I feel was important because it had to encompass the themes they had been exploring and the themes I was discussing and vice versa – the text I wrote had to encompass everything they had been focussing on and compliment the image.
3- Synonymy When writing my texts-in-response I began to notice a synonymy throughout. There were ideas and concepts that I had chosen to write about and highlight more than others and there were themes that I was clearly drawn to. Looking back at these texts, I have noticed that the themes of: memory, inquiry, temptation, time and distortion run strongly throughout most, if not all of the texts in some shape or form. It is these connections and tangents that I think made the texts successful because they demonstrated the intangible yet clear tethers between each student’s work, in a written form that framed these connections and celebrated them.
4- Collection The choice to create cards was based on the synonymous theme of the exhibition. I wanted to create something that was a collection, a collective that resembled us as a group of artists and the way we had worked together throughout the semester. Cards are often created as part of a collection and collected by people in the same way whether they are playing cards, duelling cards or post cards. It’s this ‘collective’ theme that drove me to create a pack of cards that the visitors to the exhibit would want to take away, to keep and to ‘collect’. As well as the collection idea, I found that these cards allowed each piece of work to be celebrated and contemplated about individually. They allowed for the viewer to inquire and explore each individuals work whilst also (hopefully) highlighting the collaborations and the connections throughout the groups work.
5- Exactitude When creating and making my cards, exactitude became a huge part of the process. Each card had to be cut precisely on the line and have no remnants of white card around the edges. It was as if all of the hard work I had been putting in to the module throughout the year was coming to a head in the form of these decks of cards. Because of this, I found myself being very specific about each and every detail, wanting to make sure that this piece of work I was producing was as meticulous and as well thought about as each piece of writing.
6- Working Collectively As a collective, we had all put a lot of effort and time in to curating the exhibit in a way that would celebrate each and every single piece of work and compliment them equally. This was a huge learning curve for us as it allowed to us to experience what curation really entails and what it that we may have to numerous times in the future. When discussing the curation, we decided that the cards will be placed at the very ‘beginning’ of the exhibit to encourage viewers to pick them up and to use them as they chose fit. The cards seemed to work well at tying the pieces together and bringing them to a central and common place where all of the artworks were simultaneously.
7- Links and Labelling The labelling of each card and each piece of work in this exhibit, for me was crucial. Each card related to the work which shared its number and this helped to underline the links that we were exploring throughout the year and in the run up to the show. The labels and the numbers helped the exhibit to flow and expressed the correlations through a chronological process. Selecting different pictures to be located at the front of each pack picked up on this labelling more so, as the viewers are likely to pick up a card that appealed to them and the numerical label allows the viewer to locate this piece of work quickly and easily without forcing them to go straight to it if they choose not to.
8- Inquiry and Interest Though it took a while for the visitors to gain enough confidence to take a pack of cards that they had not been instructed to take, they eventually did disappear from the shelves. The cautious behaviour of the visitors, who were wary of taking something when they had not been instructed to interested me. At this point I think we had left out the right amount of detail in the exhibit. It is when these details, intentions and expectations are not spelt out to the viewers that true inquiry can happen. The pre-planned gaps between the meticulously thought-out links and connections gave room for the viewer to be inquisitive and to get more involved with the exhibition, to become part of the exhibition.
9- Choice and Deviation I think the most successful aspect of the cards was the choices that people made in response to them. We had put the option before them to follow the numerical, chronological order of the cards and to flow around the exhibit in a successive fashion. Yet, because the images and accompaniments were not set in a specific order and could be shifted and moved around, this also gave the option for the viewer to create their own route, their own path around the exhibit. I found people’s reactions to the cards the most interesting of all and found their submissive or rebellious personalities encompassed some of the themes of the cards and the show – inquiry and temptation. They were intrigued by the guides and were also tempted to rebel against the cards chronological nature and forge their own route due to the ease of the cards numerical disruption.
10- My Practice Throughout this module and throughout this process, my work has evolved and my interests have become more defined. My work has gone from upcycling - writing in response to my own work (with a theme of dystopia) - writing in response to my peers work and finally to becoming a key part of an exhibition. Writing in response to the other work featured in the exhibition has given me a new perspective on my practice and has helped me to understand and realise my interest in image and text or work and text. It is a now a huge part of my practice as one of the process’ that have begun to define me as an artist and one that will hopefully help guide and inform me in the future.
