Gary Colclough

Gary Colclough creates small scale drawings that depict scenes of nature in meticulous detail. Working from a personal archive of found photographs the artist experiments with the image. He crops, removes, reconstructs so that the final image, devoid of people or action, is the site or potential and unknowable narratives. The constructed and often digitally manipulated original is then interpreted once more by the traditional process of drawing. Through these transformations information is lost and created leaving the images somewhere between the uncanny and familiar. Presenting his drawings on minimalistic wooden structures, creating a tension between the sculptural form and the two dimensionality of the drawing which itself is an interpretation of a (constructed) perception. 

Hannah Barry Exhibition

I decided to make a new piece of work for the Hannah Barry exhibition which was testing an idea i had been contemplating for quite some time. Framing. 

The print is a cropped version of an accumulation of chairs i had photographed when in Cornwall. I have become much more compelled to using images of places i have been and then presenting them in spaces which allow the viewer to encounter them from all angles, merely as objects. Choosing this specific section of the image to impose a sense of ambiguity and uncertainty of place. Using the foam as a support to mix the familiarity of photography with the unfamiliarity of this medium. I have framed just the edges in an attempt to portray this idea of encapsulating a moment or experience. Allowing the back to be exposed so that when the viewer first approaches the work it is almost like a trick. From a distance, looking at the front they may question whether or not is it just a framed elongated photograph placed on the floor. Once looking closer, discovering its distinct texture and quite 'dated' appearance, they are then encouraged to question the origin of this material. Stepping round the work to see the back, and there it is, the material quite literally uncovered. The visual of the chairs alongside the dirt which permeates the foam, gives the work a visual history. A sense of wonder. 

 I was unsure whether or not to go ahead with framing this piece as there was always the possibility once this was done, then the work would no longer exist as an object, which was always my intention for the work. Would it now be considered merely as a 'piece of art' just because it had been framed. Through the act of making this piece for the show, it has now pushed me to think about framing but unconventionally. What it does to the work and whether its actually necessary.  

CSM Interim Show - Bermondsey

Tutorial with Matt

Today, I had an extremely helpful tutorial with the head of BA Fine Art Sculpture. Before even explaining much about my work to Matt, it was interesting to see his initial response to the works I had laid around in my studio space. He felt as though they resembled stylish represenations on 'trash', intimate moments made public. I was intrigued by this reaction as this idea of the foam I use being seen predominantly as 'trash' hadnt actually come into my mind when making work. I had been using it merely as a vehicle for display and the qualities it gives once printed onto. However, these comments had made me think a lot more in depth about the material itself and what it was saying to the viewer.

I explained to Matt that I had been contemplating disguising the foam, taking away its 3 dimensional quality and just cutting a thin layer then mounting it onto the wall so that you would not be able to tell the medium and perhaps there would then be more of a central focus on the actual image rather than this distraction of the material. However, Matt recommended not to disguise it, as this he felt was very intriguing about the work. He discussed different ways of presenting the work such as stacking and then letting the audience physically engage and interact by moving them around to look at each image. This would then be sort of a degraded advertising of ordinary life. These 'moments' that we often forget about or disregard, presented on a conventionally disgarded material - foam is something we know is there, it is under chairs, beds, all different kinds of furniture; however, it is something that we dont really notice or care about, even though it has an important function. Which is where this relationship of the image and material could really be explored further.

During my talk with Matt, I came to the realisation that making these set ups using the material aswell as objects wasnt perhaps the right path to go down. I think it was much more of a 'comfort' thing, although I hate to admit it. Incorporating the objects to function as props were initially to attempt to draw out the physical properties of the image and act almost as a support for each installation, referencing the imagery literally. Matt said he felt as though they were just there, not really functioning or provoking much thought about the overall work. He also said that I didnt need to locate everything because this then adds to the element of ambiguity and questioning which I think he is very much spot on with.

After this very thought provoking discussion with Matt, I am going to begin using my space to put up work I have already made, as well as making new pieces. Focusing more so on the imagery and what happens when different visuals are put together. Concentrating heavily on this aspect of place, and personal moments. Mixing up the imagery so that there is not neccessarily an obvious narrative.

Untitled (Orange Wall)