Month: November 2018

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Studio – Politicise

Today we had to ‘’politicise’’ our work. Yay.

To politicise something means to give a political meaning or tone. In the context of university, ti would require us to add a political aspect to the work we do, and, obviously, to give opinion about issues or subjects.

For this session we had to experiment protest ourself. We wrote our inspiring words on a big paper, and we went outside to a place where our words could become a political statement.

I chose a sentence from Princess Mononoke, about finding balance in the world. I don’t see it in a political sense, it is more of a way of life or way to see the world to me, like a personal philosophy. I placed the text next to a tree with me in the background, as if I was hidden behind the idea. Though, it is impossible to read the text, due to a bad choice of colour. For me the idea was more important then the person who’s idea it is. This also why I decided to wear a mask. Not only because I’m extremely shy, but also because of the idea that doesn’t reflect who you are. Some might say that’s because you don’t assume your ideas. But hey ! Karl Marx wrote a whole book about ideas he didn’t act upon in his life.

Another of my classmate choose a quote about artist, and the UAL was the perfect place to show her protest. It’s about the new generation of artist, and a university of art are the perfect place for new generation to see her protest and reflect on it.

I don’t know how I feel about this. On one side there are tons of good things to fight for. But on the other hand, it feels useless. No protest are heard or talked about. It’s like barking at the clouds, it’s not going to affect them. Our teacher gave a few example of protest that were to reported in the newspaper, as if the event didn’t happened. When we look back in the past on what happened, there will be no trace. There are other ways to make a statement and to protest against injustice. Though trying to be constantly too political might steer you away from what you art is about, except if art is only political.

Though, I just want to write a few words about an event that happened in France last Saturday. The event was about protesting against the rising price of fuel: people blocked the roads and were asked not to spend money at all. I was very excited about the second part of this protest, but it is only scratching the surface of the real problem. Our society built on consummation is failing and it’s not by not consuming one day that it will change, but with reducing our consummation on the long term (buying more durable things, or product without packaging) that we can change things.

I have a strong feeling that if I want to change the world, I have to change myself first.

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Induction to Screenprinting – Textile

This post is about the induction in screenprinting on textile.

At first, I wanted to learn how to print on textile, but to do so, I needed to do the induction for screenprinting. Once, this induction was completed I was able to sign up for the induction to screenprinting on textile through the orb sytem.

Screenprinting on textile uses the same techniques as screenprinting, though the mesh on the screen is different than the one used for paper.

The picture below show examples of different way to create a screen from a photography.

The instructor showed us how to stretch and hold in place the textile.

Then we learned how to mix the ink for the print.

And we were shown how to hold the screen in place to realise the print using marking and sandbags.

The printing process is then the same as screenprinting on paper.

We could them heat up the textile to fix the pigment.

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Studio – Un-Boxed !

Everybody brought their experimentation box to class.

Here is a selection of some of the boxes that I found cool. But this is far from being exhaustive, because everybody’s work was interesting and inspiring.

 

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Studio – Through a Filter

Using the list of words we came up with, we were given the task to find 5 objects in the Victoria and Albert Museum that would represent 5 of the words we had written.

FIGHT

This bracelet represent a fighting fish, and with the lighting used in the museum, the shadow looked like two fish fighting.

GHOST

During the 19th century, this was used to keep the dresse’s shape. But when I saw the red little shoes they put under, it really looked like a ghost could be standing there.

SOLITUDE

This poor mural ornament was mounted all the way up in an alley of the museum where no one noticed him !

MERCIFUL

For some reason, I always associate sword or blade with the notion of mercy. If you have a blade, you can attack or protect, kill or spare.

DEMISE

This is part of a painting on the wall. This kind of boat reminds me of Charon, the Greek deity who was carrying the soul of the departed to the world of the dead. Somehow, an empty boat with white textile like a shroud could be a metaphor for demise.

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Exhibition – ‘No Ordinary Protest’ at Whitechapel Gallery

You enter a dark blue room with dimmed black light and an ambient sound you’ve never heard, like a wailing drone. It feels like entering a cave to another world.


On one side you have the portraits of monsters masks under a strong black light and in the other room, is projected a documentary, followed by a short film. The documentary presents 7-year-old children discussing about environmental issues in class. Then, in the short film, we see the same children wearing monster masks made of recycled material running in slow motion toward us, edited with images of mountains dissolving. But there is a constant disturbing sound, made out of the voice of all the children, like a creature howling in deep pain.

This project was commission by the Whitechapel Gallery, Film and Video Umbrella and Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art to the British and Greek artist Mikhail Karikis. His performances and short films are focused on the sound and the human voice. He explores the emotional and physical impact sound can have on us, and he explores new way to create sound. But his work is deeply anchored with social and human reality. He exposed his films in multiple biennales and exhibition around Europe.

For this particular project, he worked with a class of 7-years-old children through workshop about sound. The children were reading the book ‘’The Iron Man’’ from Ted Hugues, which gave Karikis the idea of studying with them the sequel of this fiction: ‘’The Iron Woman’’.

This book tells the story of an iron woman appearing on earth to destroy the humans because of the way they are treating earth. She gives a ‘’disease’’ spreading by touch to a little girl that allows the little girl hear the sound of the earth, of the animals and of the plants. But they are all suffering from the pollution, and the sound is a perpetual cry from all the livings. The little girl decide to warns the adults about the suffering of the earth by spreading the disease. Fortunately the book has an happy ending.

The artist had the children debate about the book and their concerns about the future. The he asked them to create the sound from this book, using whatever they wanted (their voice, objects, etc), to finally mix the sound they created together. It wasn’t the first time Karikis was working with children (see his previous work ‘Ain’t Got No Fear’ and ‘Children of the Unquiet’).
In an interview, Mikhail explains the process he went through with the children and why he chose certain imagery in the short film. There are close-up of sand (to form the ‘’mountains’’) vibrating and changing aspect with the sound, as if they were disappearing and reforming. The artist wanted to show that the action of the children could move mountains with their voice. He has the feeling that new generation are stronger and capable of more than they think they do.

The name of the installation is important: ‘No Ordinary Protest’. It is a protest you’ve never seen before, that is out of what is commonly done. You walk into a dark room were you are greeted by real size pictures of the children wearing creatures mask in the darkness. They seem to be standing in front of you, looking right at you, as if they were directly confronting you. You’re facing an army of children wearing creatures mask.

The mask hides the faces of the children and therefore their individuality. It also hides their humanity and they seems to belong to another kind of being/creature. They are one force together that pushed aside their human nature to show their animal/creature side. With this, they show they sided with Earth, with the environment and all the being that are suffering.

There is also that sound played during the short things. Something again that we’ve never heard before. A mix of cries, drone sound, and other instrument played by the children. It gives an unsettling feeling. It makes you feel uneasy. I saw a lot of people leaving the room when the sound started to play as if this sound was unbearable to listen to for them. It is somehow, in context, shows that the humans don’t want to be confronted to the pain we cause to the Earth. They escaped from their responsibility, they could not confront the problem. But this is what this exhibition is about: to make us want to act about the environment problems we are all facing now. The artist exposed children to this issue and have them debating about it, but some ‘adults in the room’ just leave the screening? It feels like the next generation is more concern than older are to this problem. Are we waiting for the next generation to fix this?

The children are an anonymous force surrounding us and, like in the book, they are trying to touch us so we could also hear the cries of the Earth, so we could all fix this.

Reference:

http://www.mikhailkarikis.com/about-mikhail-karikis/http://www.whitechapelgallery.org/about/history/

http://www.whitechapelgallery.org/exhibitions/mikhail-karikis-no-ordinary-protest/

http://www.mikhailkarikis.com/2018/08/30/no-ordinary-protest/http://www.mikhailkarikis.com/2018/08/18/text-by-prof-cathy-lane-no-ordinary-protest/

http://www.mikhailkarikis.com/2018/08/30/mikhail-karikis-interview-on-no-ordinary-protest-2018/