I was looking forwards to Tayler's interview because I'm fond of the morbid and grotesque and Tayler's work is very at home with both; what made it more fun was how enthusiastic he is for work, even spilling tea everywhere once or twice.
Have you felt much of a difference creating as a graduate opposed to creating as a student?
Iâd say no because⌠I got to third year, and especially mid way through third year, I already felt like I was kind of ready. I tried to stop thinking of myself as just a student because I think, you hold yourself back, donât you? So no, in terms of that, not a lot different. Going into uni ⌠I knew I kind of wanted to explore this area to get my work out there in this way. So yeah, itâs just carrying on. Itâs just a mental thing, [if you think] Iâm just a student, it doesnât matter. You have to own it, your work is never going to be what it should be if you donât own it.
With the group name of Pulse, how do you connect to it to your own work?
The work that Iâm creating for this is a big dying creature so, straight away, pulse, heart beat life. This work came off the back of packing up my degree show. I had to pack up some work and there was this one piece I knew I had to get rid of but I didnât want to; I was just like right, stuff this, pulled it down to the ground and itâs this huge 2 metre thing so it comes down with some force, its leg snaps and itâs kind of laying there... It was just this genius moment of âthis actually looks better than it did stood upâ and I started thinking about it more and that mixed with the end of uni and having to get out there. You think itâs the end of something and then that becomes the challenge and the reason to carry on. I realised, through showing something as dead, it almost gave it more life than it being stood up. I realised, maybe theyâre just sculptures so through killing something, Â youâve almost given it more life. So when somebody mentioned pulse i was like right yeah, that fits.
I think, Iâm, in terms of pulse, Iâm trying to confront people Itâs kind of more exposing the mortality of life, of pulse, rather than exploring it.
When did you get into sculpting?
Not until third year, Iâve always drawn and painted since primary school, I knew I was gonna do art, it was all I ever did. But when I was at uni, all my friends were sculptors. I was constantly around sculptors and a lot of their work was getting me more excited than what I was doing at the time. Everyone was saying I should make [my work] 3D and I was a bit reluctant but I was like stuff it, Iâll try it. Literally the first thing I did I was like, Iâm so happy, itâs so good and then I did a couple more and knew I had to do more. Come third year, I just started trying out more and more and before I knew it, most of the third year was devoted to owning the 3D. I always painted so I knew where I was with that; throughout uni I was always experimenting and trying to find new ways of painting and stuff like that. Thatâs why I ended up using spray paints, because itâs different from what Iâd been doing but yeah, materials has been an important thing. And doing sculptures, you have to think about materials more and then those materials tell you what to do with the shape of the work.
Weâve touched on it a little bit, but what should people expect from you on opening night? Confrontation?
Yeah, I suppose a little bit, I always try and get that across in my work to some extent, whether itâs intimidating through the size of something or the slight grotesque nature of the materials. For example, I use a lot of sheep wool and itâs completely raw, straight off the sheep. Iâve just had this new lot in and itâs really dirty, so yâknow, if youâre presented with that in a gallery space, people are gonna be kind of like put off from going into it straight away; but what iâm showing in the actual space is a really big dying creature, it should be laid down on the floor and you kind of capture itâs dying moment. It canât gather the energy to get itself back up so itâs a similar aesthetic to previous practice, a lot more fur and wool. I mean I had sound in my degree show but that was more played into the room as a soundtrack to give a landscape to the work but this time Iâm going to have to have sound coming from inside the work. A bit of howling from the head, breathing from the chest, that sort of thing. Iâm hoping to use a speaker, take all the housing from the speaker and use bass frequency to make it twitch a little bit, like itâs breathing itâs the last breath.
Have you done physical movement before?
No, I thought itâs something new Iâll try out on the residency. Iâm hoping to do two to three hour tracks so every time somebody walks in theyâre experiencing something new. I think that was an element that worked in my degree show because I had a three hour loop so literally every time somebody walked in they were having a different kind of experience with the sculptures. Yeah, (laughs) I canât even remember what the question was now.
It was a good answer though, it was what to expect from you on opening night
Right! Yeah! So big dying creature, bit of sound, hopefully a bit of movement and Iâm doing it big in the sense I want it to be confronting the space in some way if I can so yâknow, the audience has to walk around it to get though⌠Itâs to impose the space, I want people to be confronted on that level because all of my practise is about, if you can effect the audience theyâll begin to contemplate on the work and realise itâs maybe a comment on them, a comment on us. Itâs my way of effecting them.
What made you apply for the residency?
Itâs good to have an opportunity to carry on ideas straight away because I mean the degree show, for people whoâve just graduated will be, well it should be, the biggest show theyâve done so far. Itâs the biggest bit of feedback you have and as the showâs going on, youâre having more and more ideas of what you want to do so itâs good to have the opportunity to carry on those ideas. Iâve got a sketchbook I only started a few months ago and Iâve already saved up a load of ideas.
How are you finding sharing a space with 7 other people?
Itâs good sharing a space in terms of having new outlooks and people to bounce off. Itâs good to have Miriam because I didnât really know anybody who was into sound, in my degree show besides accompanying video I donât really know anybody who used sound as a work so thatâs good to bounce around and sheâs doing cool stuff.
Written by Lucinda Martin for Surface Gallery
Images by Gavin 'Urban Shutterbug' Conwill
Instagram.com/tayler__fisher
