This is going to be the last post about things that have already happened. From now onwards all future posts will be dealing with things of the present and those to come.
But before this drastic forward propulsion takes place I just want to finish up what I started and give some insight into the culmination of my undergraduate studies. Hints have been dropped as to what my final piece of work was and how it was shown but as to now these have allusions have been more discreet than they would be in an ideal world.
One that was not so subtle was the fact that I made a book for my final project. Unfortunately we have no images of this as it was stolen. This is a shame as it was the final thing that I submitted and was in essence the focus of my final project notes on blankness. However the kind people at the University of Westminster have allowed me to make another one so it will live again. Once completed it will be subject to a more in depth post.
I was keen that the project not be confined to the book alone. Rather i wanted to expand into other areas and see how the images would function under different circumstances. In this regard i was particularly keen that there be some sort of web presence for the work. So I made a website and this can be viewed here: notesonblankness.com
My web design skills are pretty basic but making the website was an extremely satisfying experience. This is not to say it was not tinged with frustration. In fact tinged would be an understatement. If you had seen my mental state after a weekend in front of the laptop, with no human contact, trying to work out the javascript to make the line drawings disappear you would have agreed. But nevertheless web design offers a fantastically accessible platform upon which to be creative. With a very small amount of money, and a little time spent learning some code, anyone can make their own bespoke website. Not only that the creative possibilities are broad and easily accessible to many people.
As well as being functional I also felt that the website was in keeping with the conceptual aims of the project. In each image we are shown a place where information would appear but this is left blank. This caused to me to think about how we gain information and the processes by which it comes to us. The internet is probably the biggest source of information ever produced and one used by millions. So to put these images amoungst that chaotic situation seemed entirely appropriate. I hope they act as quiet reflective space within the turbulent world of cyber space.
This interest in expanding the core investigation of my work was continued in my degree show. I wanted to display the work in a way that emphasised the presence of the photograph and also the fact that it was a physical construction in a gallery. To achieve the first aim the three images that I showed were on placed on lightboxes. In a purely visual way the lightboxes work well as they illuminate the white space at the centre of the frame and act as even more of a focal point. But also they suggest that something is behind the photograph. They help emphasise the surface of the image and as such the presence of the photograph.
The physical presence of the photograph, and the idea of a space existing beyond or around the image, is further articulated by placing the lightboxes on the stands. I wanted the viewer to move around the work, look at it from various angles and generally not assume a static position in front of each lightbox. This may sound a little trivial but I really wanted to display my work in a way that was slightly more invigorating than the way photography is often displayed at such shows.
Typically the images will be wall mounted and the viewer will move from one to the next almost as if they were on a conveyor belt. Now there is nothing wrong with this and in many cases this is a perfectly suitable way to show. But I felt this would not be best suited to the inquisitive nature of my project. So hopefully by encouraging the viewer to move around the images we have a physical manifestation of the exploratory tone contained in the work.
The last point to mention is that the colour scheme (grey stands with white boxes) was an intentional attempt to encourage greater dialogue with the surrounding space. It was intended to be a sort of reduction of the gallery into a single work. So we have grey floor and white walls represented in the work. It is a bit literal possibly and maybe most people will not pick up on it but hopefully it will extend the work and make it feel incorporated into the space.
Finally much love and respect to everyone who has helped me over the last 4 years. All those who were involved in projects, came to shows or just showed love at any time. Thank you all and hopefully bigger and better things will going on soon xx
