Some thoughts
I’ve been mainly working with sand and soil, two materials that create images that seem to replicate the visual aesthetic of outer-space. There are a few things I think are significant when thinking about this certain aesthetic:
The materials not only look like space because they kind of look like stars (the sand) or supernovas/galaxies (the soil), but because of their ability to de-centralise, scatter, or totally get rid of any focus the image may contain, by marks being equally spread around the surface of the paper (see test strip 8 and 9), and often times bursting over the edges as well. It is this homogeneity that is partly what draws me to these types of images - because the audience is not being told what to look at, or for. It is this liberation that can bring the audience into the work, allowing them to create their own experience, by creating value on their own. This is an idea that is shared by the real outer-space as well. When we look upwards, the sky is not centralised nor pointing to a certain thing. It is an endless canvas of texture and light, in which its most valuable parts are decided by the viewer.
The idea of outer-space also holds certain connotations that I think should be valued as well. Ideas of wonder, calm, and mystery come to mind when imaging the experience of being immersed in endless space, or even just gazing at it. Although the viewer of space can look at whatever they want, these feelings are probably the reason why they would choose to in the first place, and the degree to which certain sections evoke them may determine their value. Then comes the question of why these connotations may arise. I suppose its to do with the physical properties of space - the silence, the size, and the complexity. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to float through complete silence, with a lovely view of the universe. Would probably make you feel rather small.
some very interesting reflection...
