This was a work-in-progress appearance for me and I was reluctant to reveal something in its early stages. In the weeks leading up to the show I’d been focussing on the environment side of my project, which was a continuation from Prelude, the cardboard silhouettes of my second year, rather than the pop-up book. There were some frustrating hiccups in the days immediately before the show. In the project proposal, there is a section about having contingency plans should something go wrong, but I’m not sure what else I could have done to prepare for such events (transport strikes excluded):
The university’s heating system broke down a few days before the show, with everyone sent home and so no prep work could be done. I couldn’t take my work home because of the size and fragility of my work.
My allocated show display area was not fully available until the day before the opening, even so, I still had to wait several hours for another student to move their considerable belongings before I could install.
Bar equipment/stock for the events team arrived and I had to supervise where they were to be stored/set up.
The ceiling plaster kept crumbling, so some of my work kept falling down.
As no other students came in that morning, I was the only one clearing the room for the show. I asked some students to help with small clearing tasks, but I was largely ignored. I was still installing work and clearing the space as people were arriving.
Despite the above, there were positive takeaways. It was an opportunity to see how the work appeared in a large room and how people reacted to it, which gave me ideas for what to do/not to do for the final show. I’m keen to continue developing the large cardboard environment. I enjoyed watching people wander through the installation, stop and then look around and above, wondering where they are and what the work is about. Such a reaction shows an active involvement with the artwork rather than just standing, looking, then moving on.
Considerations
While my initial idea was to recreate the closed den of childhood – with the idea of using the annexe’s lobby area – this was an open-ended installation, and as such, had an effect on the viewer. The entrance and pathway through the work invited the viewer in, thus making them a participant. And while my work ‘enveloped’ the participant, as they walked through it they discovered options to walk out of it at any point, provoking them into making decisions. Using the main seminar room provides the space for this. While the lobby area immediately offers the enclosed environment for a den, the tight area will likely create the closed den I thought I wanted, but may actually put off the viewer from entering. So, the lobby or the seminar room? Closed environment or open?
Sketch of a perspective that draws people in, similar to the experience one gets going through the torii gates of the Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto. It also shows the entry and exit points. Photo Shirley A
The long, winding perspective of the torii-gated pathway leading up to the Fushimi Inari shrine. Photo Shirley A
During the hang, I realised how fragile cardboard is as a material and I’m reconsidering making small interactive ‘pop-up/pop-out’ elements that would quickly become damaged if more than a few people physically handle with them. I could have things peeking out from orifices and have them positioned high up. Else, I could have any pop-up/pop-out elements contained within a garden area.
The long, winding cardboard-tree pathway leading to… Photo Shirley A
Without realising, the participant is making decisions about where to go, what to do and working out what the work is. Photo Shirley A