Signs of Life

Work in Progress……..

Above is a collage of a piece of the smashed floor containing concrete,pebbles and bent iron. This was then expanded backwards with transparent paint and forward with solid sections to describe the hold time has on the object and the energy from the wrecking ball breaking it up violently and maintaining its effect kinetically.

As I search for signs of life in the pile of a demolished house, I find delight in random objects and the opportunity to look at them further with a view to feeling their presence and connection with the past and present. I am interested in the decaying of the objects and their temporality within an entropic system and the now chaotic state it lies in. This coupled with the history of the object the relationship to the people and activities lived around them creates a furtive ground for discovery and imagination.

The photos I use are from a local friend and so don’t have the direct connection but it is not relevant as to consider the facets of the human element and my own memories of my childhood here. These introduce possible new narratives. Can the object be representative but stand alone? Are they are noticeable because I have chosen them.

I used Photoshop to work on the objects and combine them in unusual ways with layers of colour that pushed the images backwards and forwards.

I explored the smashed concrete with images, clay and painting. Using these mediums to think about the objects and how I might proceed.

The forcing down into the clay (as it is quite old) is recording a movement because the there is no flat edge. This movement might be something to continue with – the violence of demolition as these pieces would have flown out and landed once as the house was hit with the wrecking ball and later as it was piled up. If I can seal the clay once it is dry I might be able to pour into it or print from it. It is not 3d as it is only recording the top and the sides as it is forced down.