Category: Contextual Research and Art History

Olafur Eliasson is an artist with a wide range of interests like vision, colour, light, but mainly reality and how it is formed. He works with many complex materials and designs experiences that are intended to challenge the audience to make their own deductions and craft their own reality.

Your Blind Passenger is a tunnel filled with fog and light designed to disorient the viewer from normal ways of perceiving reality. In this way the audience is invited to alter their perception, using sound and other senses to navigate independently. Some areas are dark or light, some warm or cool; this is to further the disconnection from constructed reality as we normally perceive it.

His other works are varied but most focus on audience experience within the work not only visual aesthetic or beauty, even though this is a clear consideration. Works like Riverbed in particular play with the notion of the individual’s place on the planet and in the universe. These are very complex topics that are tackled using universal materials, bringing a riverbed into a gallery again subverts the norm and blurs the boundaries between things.

In this way we are called to reassess how we think about nature, galleries, ourselves and the environment; all by navigating the indoor space filled with outdoor materials and themes. The juxtaposition can be understood across languages and is accessible to all (wheelchair access does not look possible however) since the experience is communicated through the body and through movement not through a prior knowledge of contemporary art or scientific theory.

There have been some critiques of his work, namely the Ice Watch piece, in the sense that raising awareness often doesn’t lead to lasting change. The argument is that the energy and fuel wasted transporting the ice from Greenland, the counter argument is that Greenland loses 10,000 of these every second so taking 30 is relatively benign.

Honestly I am not sure how I feel about this piece specifically, but in terms of his wider work I feel Eliasson has good intentions and brings a lot of interesting questions and insights to the fore. His understanding of space colour light and how this relates to the human experience is astounding, he like many others seems to be able to speak to a universality inside each of us.

Some Quotes from his interviews that stuck with me were:
‘combine singularity and collectivity’
‘an artwork hosts whatever subjective material you bring to it’
‘you don’t have to be a professional to have an opinion about a rainbow’

Was Olafur Eliasson Bringing 30 Icebergs to London a Sustainability Own Goal? | Frieze

Olafur Eliasson – ‘Collective Experience’ | TateShots

Olafur Eliasson: Become Your Own Navigator | Art21 “Extended Play”

3 Writers on a Riverbed by Olafur Eliasson

James Turrell was suggested to me as a reference by a friend because of his scale as well as use of colour and space, which are interests of mine and feature heavily in my work. The use of elemental materials (light, space, water, land) as art materials in intriguing and impressive, particularly the seamlessness of each creation. There are no exposed plates wires bars or screws, everything has that

Turrell is similar to artists like Alice Aycock, Paul Klee and many others who bring element of design, symmetry and balance. There is also an uncanny sense of wonder or awe that comes from his use of precision to highlight celestial alignments and events (in Roden Crater). This experience is otherworldly and familiar, similar to Rothko’s colour field paintings in that it connects you to something.
In my case when having certain sensory experiences (light, sound, colour, immense scale) I become very aware of my body and my significance in the universe. This feeling makes me contemplate the immense world beyond our planet, and creates perspective by highlighting our temporal nature while finding beauty in our finality. Though admittedly this kind of experience may just be a personal one and is probably irrelevant to the work.

Turrell uses light as a way to manipulate our perception of the space, we see walls and barriers where there are none, turning flat walls into deep corridors, making holes in the wall seem flat. I still find it difficult to figure out how he has done any of this in terms of construction, I am still not sure if this is a corridor or a series of projections, either way there is a very primal connection with the use of primal elements like light colour and space.

The sense of connection is present irrespective of personal interpretations, and is achieved through the use of light and space as materials; these are primal elements of human experience as opposed to technologies like painting or photo/video. Most animals are influenced by light and space, as well as colour Turrell’s other core material, so it is safe to assume humans are the same and there is evidence to support this.

‘I am using light as a medium to affect perception’ – James Turrell

In this video he talks about how his work has no image, object or real focus, which begs the question what is there left? For Turrell it is about understanding how we perceive rather than a specific form of that action his work is about the action itself, the constant rendering of reality we do. In this way he is similar to Olafur Eliasson and other artists exploring light space and perception.

He also discusses how the spaces are intended to be meditative and contemplative, which links to my experience of the work mentioned earlier. This links to his upbringing as a Quaker, where collective contemplation and prayer in silence is a common practice, in this space no one speaks until they feel moved to. This is a really interesting idea and connects with my desire to provoke thought and contemplation within my own work.

I will meditate on Turrell’s spatial and colour filled experiences and try to see how I could respond or build on the ideas he has sparked in me. I look forward to making more work with light in the future and beyond my degree perhaps developing a series that involves light, space and maybe even celestial events.

James Turrell
Roden Crater

I was put onto Anne Hardy by my supervisory lecturers, I researched her and found images as well as reading some interviews with the artist. Her FIELDworks pieces were of particular interest to me since they feature colour, light, sound and a range of discarded objects. Her aim I think was to create a space that is unfixed and changeable, with fans coming on and off, lights changing as well as sounds. All of which encourages the viewer to question and reimagine the present moment which also influences perspectives on the future.

I personally would love to be able to see this work and experience it in reality since the photos give a good sense of the experience but also it cannot be translated through a 2D image. This is similar to my developing practice, I am trying to communicate a multifaceted experience through static paintings, which I have now chosen to expand to incorporate video and sound as well.

What I love about Hardy’s work is the use of colour, light, object and sound to create atmosphere. This is done in a somewhat painterly way but expands to become a physical painting you experience and exist within, not simply gaze upon. There is a rough and ready sense to her work that makes it recognisable and otherworldly all at the same time, combining pedestrian processes and objects transforming them. This familiar but frontier reality is then experienced and interpreted first hand by the audience in a way that is suggestive but not pre-prescribed.

Hardy’s work has inspired me to pursue sound/audio elements and incorporate them into my work, she has also encouraged me to think about how to use shape, form and space to influence the viewer and their experience. I also think that her visible/understandable construction makes the work more accessible and relatable to the audience.

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https://www.studiointernational.com/index.php/anne-hardy-interview-i-am-interested-in-residues-leftovers-stranded-things-as-carriers-of-potential-rising-heat-maureen-paley-studio-m-london

A friend and I went to visit Anna Lucas’ work with other artists shown in some of the Leicester university buildings. This was a relatively small exhibition with no real installation elements, however there was a curated journey to take around the building that created an interesting experience of seeking out the works around the environment.

My initial reaction was positive as we watched the video element first, this featured a mixture of filmed environmental scenes from what looked like a community next to an industrial plant. At certain intervals children engaged in games or dancing whilst speaking in another language about various topics, including concepts of love.

As we continued around the exhibition there was a similar sense of ephemerality and this sort of subtle subversion, either through editing or composition. One of my favourite pieces was on the stairs which was a video display of sketchbooks/notes, cut together with each other, this resulted in many hands moving pages at varying intervals. The playful interaction between these images was very interesting to watch as it elevated the individual images into a collective display that was totally different and interesting.

This is a collection of photographs for the exhibition at Attenborough Arts Centre, called The World is a Work in Progress. This exhibition featured a variety of artists and their visions of the future when asked to respond to themes like ‘what might the next 100 years have in store?’

The work overall was interesting and thought provoking and contained a mixture of optimistic and more reserved perspectives, some even predicting a worsening of current events. Some of the vivid and raw expressions were welcome to see after such a suppressive two years recently, I particularly enjoyed the questions prompted by Kai Syng Tan’s work.

These were based around what a neuro-diversity led 2050 might look like? This was explored through Tan adopting a persona ‘Octopussy’ and speed dating people for their opinions, whilst also inviting online people to eavesdrop and encourage further questioning. While the full effect of this work was not shown in the gallery well I feel conceptually this kind of engaged practice is a way forward for art in the future.

Issues around mental health and suicide (both pre and during pandemic) were tackled by Vince Law who sought to highlight in particular the deaths of disabled individuals linked to the Department of Work and Pensions. Seeing their stories told through banners was powerful and although outcomes like these may not be the norm they are a clear indication that whatever systems we have need to change now.

NEW COMMISSION: Let’s Imagine A Neuro-Futuristic 2050 together at Attenborough Arts Centre – ARTFUL AGITATION (kaisyngtan.com)

The last things on our trip were some small interactive elements in one of the smaller rooms and Yambe Tam’s Cosmic Garden. The first interactive element was linked to a community project around home, what it is and what it means to us, this was explored by drawing or writing what home meant to you and leaving it in a small box. The second element invited you to make your own miniature Zen Garden (mine is pictured below), this was connected to the Cosmic Garden in the gallery below.

Completing both activates was refreshing, engaging and relaxing and I feel galleries should all have elements such as this to encourage the communities engagement with the art gallery and art itself.

Cosmic Garden was equally engaging but in a subtle and intriguing way, the low light combined with ambient ringing gave the environment a very immersive and calming feel. This was likely to reflect the themes of consciousness approached by Tam and to create a multisensory experience. It also felt very disconnected and removed from usual experience, the dark environment with floating objects coupled with the Cosmic title point to space and perhaps the immersive and expansive darkness.

The only draw back to the exhibition seems to be the size of the space, the work still worked well, I feel a larger space would have amplified the themes of infinite space and reflection. Other points I noticed were the open door in the corner and some exposed plug sockets and doors, these small details seem insignificant but they broke the immersion since they are such regular and recognisable features.

It is difficult to reach expanded and reflective thought when grounded by corridor light and plugs in a corner. This is obviously no negative reflection on Attenborough Centre or Yambe Tam, this is simply a limitation of space, and potentially health and safety.

Cosmic Garden — Studio Yambe Tam