Third Year Fine Art Assessment Set-up

Went in to college today to finalise my space for semester two assessment. I'm quite looking forward to, but equally am quite anxious, about this semesters feedback! I think I've learnt and changed a lot over the past year, and seem to be getting a lot of positive feedback about my light boxes, so I am hoping the tutors agree!

Quite sad that third year is now coming to an end - it's definitely been the hardest year so far, I've learnt a lot, and as cheesy as it sounds, things are finally starting to look up. I'm hoping this continues into fourth year! I've been thinking about possible degree show topics over the Easter holidays, and once I've had my feed back for this semester I'll be diving straight back into work!

...And here is the text that I'm submitting along side my work;

I started this year photographing those who surrounded my Grandmother in times running up to her death in her house as a way of looking at the idea of immortality. All the subjects of the photographs knew her, remembered her, and were related to her, and so she lived on in them. As the house was gradually cleared, this hinted to the viewer that these were not just straight forward family photographs – there were gaps in book shelves and no coats in the cloak room. All photographs were taken on my 5x4 large format camera, to capture lots of detail, for example, the texture of the carpet and wall paper. All these smaller details are what made my Grans house unique, so to capture them was important.

After a trip to the Venice Biennale, I became aware of the potential for light as a medium, and how this could be used to communicate ideas about life and death. Some say that light is a way of communicating with the afterlife. Based on this idea, the use of light in my work was centred around hinting towards a presence that the viewer is aware of, but cant quite 'put their finger on'. One cannot describe light, but is always aware of it, it fills the room, and so in turn, the presence of my Gran also fills the room. This is better understood when the viewer is aware that the light has traveled through the images I took in first semester (in the form of transparencies) that lie on top of the light boxes.

The light boxes contain LED light panels, which took a while to design. The boxes I originally started with contained a light bulb, and were almost 20cm in height, but the finalised design is only 5cm in height. The light panels create an all over surface illumination, rather than 'hot spots'. The use of a framed box suggests that one is looking into another world when viewing the light boxes, and so enhancing the idea that light connects the living with the afterlife. They are hung using picture frame hangers, in the same way one might hang family photographs in their home; this references the family photograph which is central to the work, and allows viewers to relate to the work.

As another way of exploring familial practices in relation to photography, I used slide projections. In this work I have very much played with the aesthetics of the projector, ensuring that the projector, and its stand, are as much a part of the work as the slide show is. The carousel projector contains an 80 slot carousel, and only photographs of my Father and two Uncles. All images of my grandparents have been removed, and spaces left in the carousel respectively. There is nothing held in the empty slots in the carousel, and so a very large beam of light is projected onto the photograph. This enhances the idea of light connecting with the afterlife, whilst also hinting that people are missing from the family.

By projecting images onto a printed photograph, the viewer is challenged to think of the reasoning behind the work. The dried flowers in this image hint that something isn't quite right, and it is not until the viewer comes across an empty slot in the carousel that they understand this work is about familial loss. By placing the large photograph that is hung at the same eye level as the [photographs] subject and the viewer, the viewer is challenged to look at the work, emphasising how hard mourning and loss is to escape from. Hanging the work lower than eye level makes the work too easy to look away from and disengage with.

Hypothetically, both works would be presented in a room with dimmed lighting, to allow as much focus as possible on the light, and for the projections to be as vibrant as possible. The light would fill the room, hinting towards a presence (the dead/ my Grandmother) that viewers can experience. Viewers would not be presented with the above information, I have presented it purely for marking purposes. The viewer should realise in their own time that the works are about loss with in the family.