Series.

My work has carried on from the second year, focusing on Anxiety and Panic disorders from my own experiences.

I have been using my images from last year to help me create new art and have been experimenting alot with photography and sculpture.

The main aspect of the images I am adding to here is anxiousness in public spaces and whilst travelling. I used typical symbols and imagery that everyone knows, such as exit signs and open buttons on public transport overlaid ontop of my anxiety paintings to show the want of freedom and escape from situations that make me anxious.

I am about to work on some more photography using these images so will add them as they are completed. xxx

Mark - Light Project Update

Hi everyone.

Over the last few weeks I have had various encounters with different tutors, people, students and friends. To which I have spoken about my work to them and there has definetly been a concensus throughout the talk. Basically my idea of recreating those incidental light anomalies in a studio space wasn't going down very well. The concern was the incidental light lost its "magic" the didn't have that special quality that the originals. The artificial ones seemed forced and lacked that fragile natural feel.

More discussion lead to me moving back a step and actually using my photographs as the main material. However I needed something that could be construded as an artwork, as the photos are just of light. They needed something more to justify themselves. Recently my parents took my little sister on the go penguins trail and it dawned upon me that I was indeed trekking around town finding these light anomalies almost like the go penguins trail. Quickly I have began to produce the idea of having a guide/leaflet for these Light anomalies much like the go penguins. I have now began to forward this Idea, at the moments the leaflet is in its early stages but I feel this definetly has something within it. More so than my past work on this project.

Soa Summary of my progress:


1) Designing the Leaflet (First very rough mock nearly finished)


2) Taking the Photographs of the Light Anomalies and taking down their locations.


3) Thinking about how to distribute and present at assessment

The Gifts; Experiment G.1. – Part One

So I’ll be building me a boat…

For Exp G1 I intend to construct a 16ft Ranger canoe for my chosen recipient.
I began the process by researching the background of the canoe, its historical relevance and construction methods used today.
Once I had chosen my method of construction which is the ‘stitch and tape’ method I then went about sourcing suppliers for the materials I would need.
I also approached an American firm of boat designers in order to acquire the appropriate plans for the type of canoe I hope to build.

Once all plans and materials etc were in place construction began….

Stage 1 – In order to get the basic shape of the sections I needed to take the plans I had ordered and scale them up. For this I used pattern paper generally used in fashion.

Stage 2 – Using the plans I could then cut out the shapes on the marine ply boards, for this I used a jigsaw as a skill-saw was not available and then went through various stages of cutting and sanding in order to make sure the parts were sized perfectly and ready for the next stage of construction which will be the stitching.

The Gifts; Experiment G.3. – Part One

For Exp G3 I have decided to alter one of the variables of the project in order to document the differences in process and outcome. The variable I have chosen to change is the element of choice for the recipient.
This means in order to create this gift I started by discussing with the person the aims of the project as a whole and then explaining specifics regarding what the gift could be. For example an object, painting or sculpture (as with a traditional commission) or it could be an event, experience (or other). I asked the recipient to think this through and to then get back to me so we could discuss their ideas.
As it happened the recipient actually had quite a specific and unusual idea of what they wanted – they have requested that I attempt to find out as much about a deceased relatives medical history as I can.

Again, as with my other ‘experiments’, beginning the search involves a lot of background research and gaining as much information and relevant documentation from the recipient as possible.
I am currently in the process of speaking with the local health authorities on the process by which I will be able to gain access to this type of information, researching all the legalities involved and tracing addresses, doctors surgeries, GP’s, and so forth.
I am also looking into the possibility of acquiring professional legal help in order to; hopefully, speed up the process although this may actually have the opposite affect, due to delayed correspondence etc.

My concerns at this point are that this is a difficult and lengthy process and it is very possible at any point access may be denied due to various legal technicalities.
I am unsure as how to proceed if this happens and how that may affect the project.
Also as this is quite a delicate subject and the information I attain is highly personal/private how this works in terms of traditional Artistic validity. How can it be shown? If at all... What makes this artistic rather than just a research project or personal mission?

Quick update 2-1-2010 - Mark

Hey all, just a quick update. Here is a few pics and vids to show what I've been up to recently.