I returned to the photography studio with coloured gel sheets that affect the light. I used different mixes of colour to experiment with the effects and think about the energy of the object. Light is a form of energy and changes what we see from different directions. This is inspired by the work of Olafur Eliasson – each person can be have a very different experience yet be sharing them in the same place.
The gels did not provide enough light to allow me to bend the shadows and reflections around the object.
Using the flash and manipulating the light gave endless images of interest.
The space filled without the object and water added to explore the space where the object had been and the abstract images created by the void.
Using water with the objects and without (a void or vacuum) to explore the space and movement of light. This is very dependent on objects around in the studio which I tried to black out with fabric but did not have much control over. It is a metaphor for entropy lack of order or predictability; gradual decline into disorder.
Using the reflected light and shadow as the object but keeping the pedestals is creating new work and images that raise the question for me what is the work, the object or the light. This brings me back to the research on Eliason who supports the theory that the viewer completes the work. It is as if the camera is the viewer Understanding our relationship to the work and the space in a physical way.
The text
has deteriorated into what could be seen as chaos.
Using light in this way and seeing the work in different ways is evolving as a norm in my investigations. I would like to investigate this potential further and work on a project where the light forms a larger part of the final work.
My work considers the significance of scientific imagery as metaphors for human existence. I draw from both the microscopic and scientific images in a micro to macro process of making. I believe this brings a subconscious connection through which we can communicate.
Scientists agree that everything is energy, and everything is connected. I feel this passionately in my work and indeed my life. In my work I am exploring the crystallisation of tears as a process that occurs beyond our sight but once demonstrated it forms a portal to communicate with the viewer on a subconscious level.
Ideas come from momentary human interactions such as the response to Voyagers iconic blue dot image which began my journey into the study of the human visceral response of crying and the crystallisation of tears. I have developed the memory of a rock climb into a sculpture and a tear into a tactile object that sits in the hand.
As a multidisciplinary artist my choice of medium is key to resolving the work. I develop subjects often through print processes to ultimately create sculpture. I use many different materials such as paper, metal, Perspex and resin, often pushing them to breaking point as I explore their connection with narrative further. The process becomes the art, it is not always aesthetically pleasing but it is a direct result of my practice. The end result morphing into a piece of work that I could not have envisaged at the start of the process.
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Babs Smith Multidisciplinary Artist 