failure states:
after analysing our failure in modern society to communicate for assessment 2, i began thinking about how it’s not a failure on technology’s part that contributes to members of modern society struggling to effectively communicate, but more the saturation of amazing technologies that allow us infinite different ways to communicate. i’ve always had a lot of trouble finding the right words to express myself, even though i love to write and i love to think about how to say things, i always find that there is a gap between what i want to create and the final product. In this assessment i wanted to focus on the space inside that gap which is the part where i most often lose myself. In a time where almost every idea you’ve ever had pops up as the second suggestion on google search, it seems overwhelming that there are so many ways to communicate your ideas, yet no way that hasn’t already been done in some form.
My experiments were based around an oversaturated age of communication.
First I wanted to write an essay after taking notes out of essays/articles/quotes on failure, and I wanted a way to present it visually so I printed each page of notes on top of the other, every time I made a new note, i would send the sheet of paper back through the printer, to the point where none of my notes/paragraphs are legible at all.
My second experiment was a recording of my phone screen as I look at all the ways to communicate or reach out to someone. I find that sometimes there are so many different options and they are all lined with such subtle differences that a facebook message can be hugely different to a snapchat and then again to a text and then I end up saying nothing to someone I want to talk to, because it’s too much and too hard.
The third experiment was originally a video of me which I intended to layer with other videos, but i ended up converting into frames, resulting in about an extra 3000 .jpg files on my computer, and around 1000 in the final image. The sheer amount of images that make up the final image result in a plain grid that doesnt really show much of anything at all. In the volume of images trying to communicate alone, they have all lost their meaning.
Failure or Success?
Bas Jan Ader’s ‘In Search of the Miraculous’
the title suggests that Ader is sailing with the hopes of finding a miracle along the way that will take him to his final destination
did he go on this voyage knowing that there was basically only a 1% chance of making it across?
if yes, then did he really fail, or did he just meet his “worst-case scenario” fate?
oh bas jan, you mystery, you
Part 2: Finalizing and Documenting
After letting the glue set over night I cleaned the mirror pieces and then set to giving the box some street appeal.
On the outside of the box I added two symbols, one to indicate ‘Fragile’ and the other ‘This way Up’ and also some writing in the sender/send to box.
The title of the piece is 'This Box Holds The Only Thing That Matters’. I was originally going to title it 'This Box Holds the World’ but I like that this title and inscription on the box allows the audience to reflect upon what the only thing that matters may be.
For me the box is the earth/environment being placed in human hands and damaged irreparably despite the warning symbols but I decided to change the inscription and title so that it is open to interpretation - a viewer may open the box and just see themselves as the only thing that matters, which is fine too.
The box is a representation of the earth and the fragility of the environment which we inhabit. The box stands as a metaphor for the care of the earth being placed in the hands of humans. Once the viewer opens up the top of the box and discovers the fragmented mirrored surface reflecting their image, there is a sense of responsibility and implicit guilt expressed through the use of the warning symbols on the outside and the title/statement written in the 'Send To:’ section stating “This Box Holds The Only Thing That Matters’.
The title allows the viewer to reflect upon what the only thing that matters to them is, but in a more complete sense our existence isnt possible without a harmony between the earth sustaining us and us preserving the earth.
Part 1: Ideas, Experimentation + Creating
I wanted to continue along the same line of thought as my first experiment with my final project so instead of the box holding nothing (but containing the universe), I wanted the box to hold something and everything.
Except I had no ideas on how to actually represent this.
The Greek root for Plato’s word idea (‘eidos’) when translated literally, means 'image reflected in water or mirror’.
I used this idea very literally and found an old mirror in Dad’s shed. At first I thought I would cut the mirror into clean squares to cover the inside of the box but after realizing that that’s difficult to do and wouldnt create as strong an effect, I grabbed my goggles (OHS always comes first) and started smashing. I think there’s a solid 50+ years of bad luck in this box now…
I then unfolded my box so that I had a net and glued the pieces of mirror in a random mosaic on the inside and then let it dry.
This Box Holds the Universe
This week i was feeling inspired by the fact that you can now buy bags of air from Kanye West’s NYFW show. (Will only set u back $75000 AUD !!!)
I like the concept of a transparent plastic bag holding such immense value just because of the name it’s been given/the way it has been presented to a consumer.
I wanted to capture the real stars/moon/sun in my transparent box but this weeks stormy and cloudy weather wasn’t on board with that so I resorted to one of my favourite possessions - the StarMaster.
I placed the starmaster in a perspex box and then placed that box in a white box that once housed our printer, then i used a Canon EOS 500D with an extended exposure time to capture the luminescence of the projected stars.
Still not really sure where I want to go with this box project but at least it’s something anyway
Hopefully next week I’ll have more luck with catching the real stars ✨
#speeddating
Table for Two
The table is a fundamental piece of our culture with most important gatherings placed around a table; knights at round tables, world leader gatherings, family dinners, first dates, business board meetings and so many more, so it was cool to try and make our own ‘table for two’ and to think about who may be eating there - for me at first it looked like a homeless couple on date night (like Lady and the Tramp style) and then i started thinking about how even with reimagining the crisp white linen table cloth and 8 course degustation menu, human interaction and intimacy is the most important part of living, and sometimes to take away the expected or the pretentious and add in a weird patchwork/sticky-tape table cloth and paperclip candle is needed to create a better experience I also liked that by switching the role of the tables and chairs we were able to explore the way in which traditional and non-traditional relationships are portrayed
So fun to make as well, kind of reminded me of making tea parties at pre school 👶👶