interim private view 10.03.10

First of, I was very impressed by the quality of the show catalog. A simple, clear, sophisticated design with all the information needed. Before going to an opening it is extremely useful to have background information on the artists and their work. I can definately say that the show catalog was enticing and drew me into the exhibition.

On arrival I was immediately made aware of the potential difficultly arisen by the buildings layout. Planning an exhibition over 3 floors, with a dominating staircase, could easily bring about lots of problems. However, I feel that the stair case problem was not only successfully overcome, but made to inhance the exhibition as a whole. The conscious decision of having video pieces on the darker bottom floor worked well in the exhibition.

Tears - a state of intense frustration

Tears are a liquid material produced by humans and animals at times of distress, emotional crisis and extreme pain. They are the embodiment of a broken-down mental state. In my work they feature as a representative of "mental regression", the crushed state of a human mind after experiencing a great catastrophe such as a war, a military coup, natural disasters and terrorist attacks. The tear mixture shows human lose, broken families, lost friends, hunger, pain and exploitation. Whereas the charcoal dust shows the environmental lose, ruined homes, destroyed schools and hospitals.

Using water, salt and oil I have created a thick, silky substance which closely looks and feels like real tears. Water, salt and oil are the three main substances found in tears. Although my mixture is not truly accurate it manages to successfully depict real tears.

Interesting place to exhibit

After walking into the Merrion market and being inspired by its other-worldly atmosphere and its ghostly feel I thought that it could be an extremely interesting place to hold an exhibition. When entering you feel as though you have been transported back in time, to a different culture or even to a secret undergone "black market". There are many empty stalls, in all sorts of bright exterior colours, which I believe could be fairly easy to rent and hopefully at a cheap price. I like the idea that holding an exhibition here would force the normal gallery goers out of their comfort zone of the "white cube" and bring them into the everyday life of the outside world. Also it could attract the public simply by catching peoples eyes as they walk past. We could be responsible for making some ones day a lot more interesting through them accidentally coming across some interesting artwork. I really encourage you to go and have a look if you haven't already been! Go to the Merrion market, imagine its the day of an exhibition opening, with lots of people there from different walks of life, some have stumbled upon it and some are invited. I imagine it to be very interesting. I might go and get some pictures to post up on here.

Charcoal dust and "Regression"

For me this black powdery substance holds the meaning of "regression" or "mental reversion". Its broken down, crushed characteristics symbolizes ruin, destruction and disaster. I am comparing the ground state of the charcoal dust to the state of human minds after experiencing a great catastrophy such as a natural disaster. Both the charcoal and the collective individuals have been forced into a messy, hard to reform state. In both cases the basic make-up which makes charcoal and humans truely that has been destroyed, they are no longer like they where before. In this vunerable state they are both highly open to exploitation. Both charcoal and human minds can be crushed and ground.

Encirclement

A documentary exposing the characteristics of Neo-liberal ideology with the help of many renowned intellectuals. It shows the mechanisms used to enforce Neo-liberal polices throughout the world. Picking up on topics such as deregulation, reducing state control over the market place and privatization. An extremely insightful analysis and a stern look at one of todays biggest problems.

"The Shock Doctrine" - short film by Naomin Klein and Alfonso Cuaron