| Project title: | Making contact with Earth |
| Location: | East Midlands, UK |
| Date(s): | 27 & 28 July 2024 |
Artist Statement
I am an artist that works with sculptural installations which can be interacted with by the viewer. I am interested in the sustainability of the planetary system and space, through exploring the world without damaging it. Major themes in my work include space and tactility. Previously I have worked with tactility of materials asking the viewer to touch the work to become immersed in it. Location is key to my work and is always thoroughly considered, with my preference always to display it in the natural world, not in a white walled gallery, meaning it may sometimes be a temporary work. The sustainability of the materials and processes I use is as important as the final piece I create, so I use natural or found resources as materials first, then look at recycled ‘new’ materials if required. I want my work to bring people together to provoke thought about what our impact is on the world and educate and inspire the viewer to have less of an environmental impact through their daily actions.
Contextual Statement
How can a site specific, mixed media, interactive sculpture provoke conversations and reflections around sustainable practices in everyday life?
‘Making contact with Earth’ is a mixed media sculpture consisting of three rugs made by rug tufting, crochet, and sculptural extras, to emphasise the use of sensitivity to materials to provoke thoughts on climate change. The installation was displayed in two site specific locations which both reflected the subject matter, giving the viewer the opportunity to understand how they treat a piece of art, and the Earth. With the chance to touch the artwork, sit on it, talk about it with others, and contemplate what it means, it allowed the viewer to think about one action to live more sustainably.
Rather than painting a representation of the Earth that is displayed in a white-walled gallery behind glass, I stepped out of my comfort zone, and transformed my art to be interactive, thought provoking, and in a site-specific location. Re-using materials gave me the chance to provoke thoughts on how the viewer could do the same to be more sustainable in the short talk I held. Choosing softer materials allowed me to emphasise that if the Earth were soft, would we act differently like the viewer does when they touch the artwork?
Arte Povera encouraged exploring materials beyond the traditional ones and used throwaway materials. It aimed to challenge and disrupt the values of the commercialised contemporary gallery system (Tate, n.d., Online). This talks to my practice as I challenged the norms and placed art in site-specific locations, but also used materials/techniques that are less known or environmentally friendly to sustain Earth. Mario Merz’ work such as, ‘Igloo, Do We Go Around Houses, or Do Houses Go Around Us?’, relates to my practice through the interest of getting humans to be at one with the environment and community that they live in, rather than fight against it.
Timothy Morton’s ‘Being Ecological’ book talks about living in an age of mass extinction caused by global warming. He considers ecological awareness and thinking. He discusses what actions count as ecological. Morton does not preach to the choir, and this is an approach I took with my work when holding my short talk.
Olafur Eliasson brought the melting ice caps to London, ‘Ice Watch, 2014’ to show people what is happening to our planet, and the temporary nature of his work always intrigued me. He invited the viewer to touch, listen, smell, and look at the installation and see what impact that had. Eliasson inspired me to take my art outside to the people, and not hide it away for just those who visit galleries.
Alexandra Kehayoglou and Vanessa Barragao create large scale rugs that reflect natural landscapes to address climate change issues. Barragao says that ‘Art is a very important vehicle to convey a message of not only raising awareness of climate change issues but also to bring a sign of hope’ (Vanessa Barragao, n.d., Online). This quote, along with the idea of making bigger scale works is what made me create larger works that people could interact with.
Influencing individuals and their behaviours within society is difficult, but with this approach into thinking about sustainability, socio-cultural factors such as values, beliefs, traditions, and interactions with others can slowly change for the better to become the norm. The largest geo-political factor of my project is highlighting the climate and use of natural resources. Some countries are unable to deal with the rapid transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy (JBIC, 2023, Online), but climate change issues are inseparable from energy issues, and everyone must act now.
Whilst there were not any collaborators in the making of the artworks, collaboration came when creating the realisation of the public facing outcome. Two local villages gave me access to venues and spaces to display my work. The viewers became participants when they entered the installation space to interact with the pieces.
