BRIEF:
Having formed strong bonds through two years of collaborative learning and making at City Lit the members of TRAC held their inaugural exhibition at the Menier Gallery in Southwark, London. Nine artists took part with work spanning multiple mediums from print making and painting to sculpture and video. For more information on the artists and their work visit https://www.therookeryartists.com/
YEAR/DURATION:
2019 / One week
ROLE:
My contribution to the show:
Exhibiting artist
Group curation
Graphic design of eflyer and poster.
Printing of posters
Formatting of artist statements, labels and price list
Marketing
WORKS EXHIBITED:
My contribution to the show consisted of an audiovisual installation and digital prints. The work was themed around my interest in the construction of identity through the building up of complex ideas, and the unavoidable self-referential loop of reasoning one finds oneself in when defining the self. Douglas Hofstadter's book "I Am a Strange Loop" was very influential.
The audience was surveyed on their experience of audiovisual installation "I find myself in a strange loop" to collate and analyse their experiences.
Inside the Chaos Lurks an Eerie Type of Order
"Inside the Chaos Lurks an Eerie Type of Order" I-VIII Digital prints on acetate and Canon luster paper, 29.7 x 42 cm (Unframed), Edition of 5 + AP, 2019
I Find Myself in a Strange Loop and Who Looks Inside Awakes
“I find myself in a strange loop” video 1h13m50s, valchromat, headhphones (left), 2019
“Who looks inside, awakes” digital print on acetate, 24"x171", 2019 (right)
REFLECTIONS:
- I find myself in a strange loop was well received and from the feedback forms I was successful in emulating the desired mental state.
69% of participants found the experience relaxing. This is important as it makes people more open to transitioning into an altered state
Participants generally associated with terms relating to altered states (dreamy 59%, meditative 62%)
But there was a low association with terms which are typically attributed to altered states, such as loss of time, space, or self
Need to consider alternative survey methods to more comprehensively evaluate state of consciousness
Some interesting feedback from participants who connected their experience of the work with physical sensations in the spine and chakra points.
- Inside the chaos lurks an eerie type of order I-VIII
Interesting feedback that prints creates visual hallucinations of moving colours and forms
Photography, printing and presentation needs further development to increase scale, avoid surface reflections and give individual works space to breathe
- Who looks inside awakes
Good use of architecture in presentation
Consider alternative presentations where light can interact with the print and create shadows/reflections