This brief was one of our own choosing after Habitat last year I wanted to explore a similar vein of thinking as it was a project I really enjoyed.
After my interest in fungi during that year, I decided to just focus on that, with a key word of undergrowth in mind. I wanted to focus and draw attention to the unseen, the life form that supports all life on earth and is so often overlooked. I followed a lot of different steps and routes to allow me to create my final piece, which is a trio of sculptures. The work of various artists alongside my own mind inspired me to do this piece. AMong many artists, I found Sonja Baumel and Edgar Lissel very inspiring as they are the forefront of sci-art. These are two artists who’s subjects are similar but who visually are so removed from each other. Both focus on the line between science and art, they even use the same medium in some pieces but have very different outcomes. Sonja Baumel’s work is so varied in medium, from sculpture to textural to wearable. In this regard I relate to her strongly, as I have produced work in many kinds of art. As I have a fascination in plant life and symbiosis, she is driven by a curiosity about the delicate ecosystem of the human skin, microorganisms and bacteria that have been around for a lot longer than their hosts. I think there is something beautiful in appreciating the simplicity of these tiny organisms so resilient and unseen. Lissel’s work on the other hand is very complex, and very scientific in its nature. He takes bacteria samples and works with biologists to create his work, he works in photography I suppose but it’s a keener focus on the photographed above all else. He cultures petri dishes and guides bacteria into shapes and configurations that end up being beautiful. Unlike Baumel who has a subject with the notion of being unsightly (bacteria) he actually uses gross objects like rotting meat and fruit and makes them look beautiful. I feel like my work is influenced by both artists, but not so much in terms of look, as you can see from the very clear aesthetic difference, but emotion. Just like they are driven by a curiosity for bacteria and microorganisms, I am driven by my love of mycology and the complex relationships that nature showcases. My final pieces are 3 sculptures depicting a human/fungi hybrid and one inspired my folklore around forest nymphs (protectors of the woodlands). I went for a more sentimental/kitsch style, in my experiments for this sometimes the fungi wouldn’t look as beautiful as I had hoped, or the surrounding elements would bring back negative associations. It could look too literal or too removed. I wanted to find a balance that still stayed true to my style as an artist. I chose to mount these on found slate slabs (found on the roadside on a walk, i presume from roofing or something) as a nod to my own passion for sustainable practice, and as I looked into symbolism in my work, I discovered that slate symbolises passage from one world to another via death, like a slate headstone. Spiritually "Slate has meaning and properties of vitalizing inner body energy. This gemstone can revive vitality or passion that you lost. It would also give you power to prevent negative energy to come around you." (https://www.gemstone7.com/572slate.html#:~:text=Slate,energy%20to%20come%20around%20you.) This project for me differentiated fundamentally in my sketchbook, as I was experimenting pre-covid and getting on with my work for Liz, then after lock-down happened I had so many personal hurdles to face at home which made doing work in my home space unsafe and difficult at the best of times. For this reason I felt like I have not done as much experimental work as I usually would, as I have no space or resources at home, and I am suffering greatly mentally. I find my pieces visually stimulating, and I do honesty like these pieces. I wish I had left myself more time to work on my sketchbook, or to present and set up my works. In truth, I know if the current pandemic didn't happen I would have made better work and I have no doubts about that, but I know that I did what I could with what I have access to and my mental resources right now.
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Author24 year old student from Nottingham, United Kingdom. Archives
June 2020
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