art project questioning reoccurrence and ritual as a distraction to the uncertainties of tomorrow
Reflection “in” and “on” action
I have just overprinted these images with yellow and than, partially, with orange. Subsequently, all ink-work was blasted off with a jet wash.
The cold (in blue) underpainting has started to bleed through the covering layers bringing hope to of warm light. The continuing layers indicate the experience of waiting.
Everything is wet, smudged and dribbling with diluted ink.
The idea for this type of experimentation came through attempting to portray and question the cost of a bottle of milk in Haiti.
4-pint bottle of milk = $16
Average daily family income = $1
I have substantially enlarged images of a milk bottle from a supermarket in Petion Ville (expensive district just outside Port-au-Prince). These enlargements were later manipulated and collaged to create an A1 size silk screen.
When photographing images on the surface of the screen, I was trying to capture their ghostly and ephemeral feel. I experimented with back lighting in order to make them look very airy, distant and cloud like. My creative intention was to use these effects as a metaphor for the affordability of this basic product, which is totally out of reach for the typical family.
The dragging of the ink across the surface of the screen implies the brutality and harshness of existence. The colours are distant and have non-physical properties. They appear to be out there, far beyond being touchable and obtainable.
Furthermore, the process of screen printing is alternated with pressure hosing of newly developed images. They are simply washed and blasted away, just before they are given a chance to dry, become permanent and materialise.
My intention was to replicate the process of repetition of slave- like labour – despite all efforts – there is no outcome, no change and no improvement. Purely, a visual and non-descriptive example of Sisyphus works. The work is abstract and the only recognisable element is the partially remaining milk label.
The white ink resembles the milk itself. The blue creates a sense of distance. The creases and textures visualise the hardship. There is also a bizarre similarity to water marks on bank notes. Finally, the use of bar-codes indicates accountability and commercialisation of our contemporary existence.
I would like to continue with this process of experimentation and sandwiching further layers of print and colour. I will also repeatedly wash them off the surface. I am curious about the extent and stretching of this process.
The show looks very diverse and exciting. It is such a shame that I was not able to be there for the opening. I also wanted to help with the setting up of the display. However, I was able to see some work by other students. I really like the opportunity to understand the creative practice of others. There was a good channel of communication via Instagram with regular updates on progress and development. This gave me a general idea of what type of art is being produced by my peers on the course.
My submission was an animation; an integration of paintings and screen shots from What’s App messages with background sound.
I am really looking forward to the low residency course in February!
Four images of my work on display are below:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jonathankearney/46742521641/in/album-72157675578486497/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jonathankearney/31800929357/in/album-72157675578486497/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jonathankearney/31800928497/in/album-72157675578486497/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jonathankearney/45826920125/in/album-72157675578486497/
I have just submitted the following video for a pop up exhibition.
This experimental video is of a series of recently created paintings. The inspiration comes from my experiences in Haiti. I gathered a wide range of primary sources and photographs evidencing my observations and responses to them. The essence of this work is to contradict the rhythm of the painterly process and disturb it with emotional drama inflicted by a long string of messages begging for help and financial assistance. The background narrative – a sexy female voice of a Haitian woman – totally contradicts the drama of the entire situation. She appears to be oblivious to poverty and human struggling. She makes references to her country and the pride of private people. Her vagueness is overwhelming. The juxtapositioning of the image, the colour of WhatsApp messages and the commentary evokes a totally unreal opposition and clash. It simply etches the intrinsic drama, which is related to the experience of being there and seeing ‘things’. This is so strange and surreal.
Subsequently, I have booked another trip to go back there at Christmas to revisit the places and refresh my contacts again.
Courful visuals, painterly landscapes, intriguing female voice contrasted with the seriousness of dramatic messages asking for help. I will continue to reflect on this video composition throughout both, the festive season and the forthcoming trip. I am so full of anxiety and fear.
I have also started to feel the impact of ‘reisefieber’ on my well being and my performance at work.
What does the future hold?
Nothing is certain and no one knows.
I have made further progress with proposals for the last two seconds: 7 & 8.
While layering image transfers and varnishing surfaces in-between with watered down PVA glue, I have developed the idea of continuously applying 60 layers of related imagery onto the surface while thoroughly documenting each stage. Some intervals are going to be, perhaps, developed further through the use of video and blending.
I have also recently received a bizarre and laconic sound message. The idea is to use this recording as audio track to support those experimentations.
Photographing the work below was not easy. I had to experiment with several lighting techniques, while documenting the work in progress in the photographic studio.
There are some contact sheets below, which visualise the entire process.
60 seconds equals 60 layers – only 1 minute of waiting. Waiting is used as a metaphor here. The person who is waiting and trapped in the sphere of dreams and hopes is very predictable and safe. Action and response are much more dangerous. They both require bravery and facing failure and disappointment. They require ideas and energy.
Waiting is the new state of being. Waiting for something to happen and change life for better. Waiting, which is passive and effortless, withdrawn; dreaming about change.
On the other hand, waiting can be associated with emotional destress and boredom. This, in turn, can lead to a life of crime and deviation. When one waits for too long, greed becomes the only option and the ultimate desire.
I have tried to document the process of developing a set of recent painting ideas for seconds 7 and 8. I have experimented with layering and using a large number of glazes, robbings and image transfers. The main focus is on the revealing and distracting the surface in order to achieve an incredible depth to the hue of colours, which sound with harmonious melody. I will continue to update this post as new developments take place in terms of making progress with the act of painting and discussing my concepts further, using video manipulations and editing.
Total silence is perhaps the most appropriate environment for contemplation of uncertainties and a deep reflection on my research question. Waiting in silence is of significance. It has also a metaphorical meaning. The absence of sound, as a stimulus, creates a unique atmosphere, expectation and inspires imagination. I would like to reconsider my previous ideas, which incorporate spoken text with my paintings. My references come from the following thoughts regarding a silent piano concerto titled 4’33”.
John Cage’s 4’33’’, 1952,
“Originally we had in mind what you might call an imaginary beauty, a process of basic emptiness with just a few things arising in it. . . . And then when we actually set to work, a kind of avalanche came about which corresponded not at all with that beauty which had seemed to appear to us as an objective.
Where do we go then? . . . Well what we do is go straight on; that way lies, no doubt, a revelation. I had no idea this was going to happen. I did have an idea something else would happen. Ideas are one thing and what happens another.”
— John Cage, “Where are we going? And what are we doing?”
(John Cage, 1961 p. 220 – 222)
Dreaming About Light. A piece of video experimentation titled ‘Lights coming on and off’, has references to general problems with electricity supply in the provinces and constant, long term power cuts in the capital of Port au Prince. This idea has been inspired by the Turner Prize winning piece by Martin Creed “The lights going on and off 2000”.
The use of black and white in the piece echoes racial issues in Haiti and its history of slavery, colonialisation and abuse. What remains is the patchines and unpredictablity of power and light
Time has always been of essence in my investigation. Therefore, I have decided to revisit some of my previous experimentations. These contradictory statements have been inspired by the thinking of Bruce Nauman.
The narrator simultaneously reads that she has time and has no time. This has been refined in the following two videos in order to develop my creative intentions further. The avoidance of direct eye contact is also of significance. It implies that the narrator is looking up to something, searching for for help from above, perhaps from the sky. This has also references to long days, which are wasted while waiting for help; for something to happen and change in their lives.
I am constantly bombarded with messages for help. This has led me to want to embed some of those into my painterly backgrounds to create a clash between the impact of colour in response to the beauty of Haiti and desperate plea for help in broken English sent via digital media.
The time taken for the message to become apparent contradicts the immediacy of the need and how instant the process of sending a message is.
It takes a long time to sink in.
The question remains the same: how do I respond? What is the impact of the message on me and my consciousness; it is definitely unsettling, disturbing and leaves a dilemma. I am unable to help them all. How do I help and select potential recipients.
This is how a sudden message can interfere and disturb the focus on painting. The shift is noticeable and reflects the change in thinking processes.
Following the guilt and frustration with not being able to respond in a constructive way, the painting regains its importance. However, this is a cyclic process; absolutely vivid and flashing at times – therefore, overwhelming all other feelings.
I finally feel that I am “getting” somewhere. The painting, the message, the flashes, the vividness, the cyclic re: occurrence.
Ultimate refinement.
Development pieces:
I have designed the following Critical Analysis grid in order to place my investigation firmly in the broader contexts of the potential and turbulence in the 21st century.
Context:
I am questioning uncertainties of tomorrow in the context of our anxieties brought about by transience, mortality and the arrow of time. Nothing stays the same. Everything changes inside and outside. This is such a difficult concept to embrace and accept; agree with how our life is designed to be ephemeral and ever evolving; limited by the boundaries of birth and death.
I am linking my thought processes to the broader implications of cultural, religious, social, psychological, emotional and economical contexts.
Language:
My work seems to be a critique of the obvious and mandane; within our reach and predictable. I am questioning my responses to extreme levels of poverty to trigger other thoughts, going far beyond survival. I am trying to assess my ability to adapt to the unpredictable and unknowable “tomorrow”. The project, at the moment, is open-ended and contradictory; negotiating possibilities between “I am certain” and “I am uncertain”.
Visualisation:
I am currently producing a number of painterly compositions, which are superimposed with photographs and mixed media manipulations. This is supported by some video pieces, which extend my thought processes while questioning the idea of time and possessions.
Creative Intentions:
My objective is to question myself and my responses to having witnessed extreme poverty and life survival. I would also like to create a new understanding of “self” and my vulnerability. My intention is to continue to produce work, which is ambiguous and reflects my fragility with respect to the arrow of time.
Tutor: Jonathan Kearney
30th October 2018 at 4 p.m.
Issues discussed:
Initial progress and direction of project and experimentation.
Jonathan asked a lot of probing questions and used the Socratic approach to establish a good grasp of what was my line of questioning. We soon developed a good working rapport and his supportive commentary allowed me to open up and reflect on and isolate the essence of what I was trying to communicate. It soon become very apparent that my explorations were broad-ranging. I was also prepared to look for alternatives and discuss them through painting, photography and film, while taking risks and trying to develop a deeper understanding of my creative intentions. My current focus, however, remains on refining my concepts through broad-ranging contextualisation and extended critical analysis.
” Remain opened. MA should give you a chance to explore other pathways at the end of the course”
Jonathan Kearney
It had also become clear that I had no idea as to where my research journey was taking me and what were my expectations regarding the shape and form of the final visual proposal. The emphasis was solely placed on the development of ideas and alternatives through prolific production of work and supported by a dialogue of contradictory perspectives.
Jonathan’s skills in direct questioning of my thought processes had led to a deeper reflection on the essence of my work and helped to draw plans for introducing meaningful quality improvements. It was suggested that I should look at the work of Justin Mortimer, especially one of his pieces titled “Resort”,oil on canvas, 181 x 220 cm, 2012
We have discussed the juxtaposition of the contradictory subject matters. This ambiguity creates a powerful line of questioning, builds curiosity and remains opened to interpretation. Jonathan has also explained Mortimer’s multi-stage process of transformation between digital manipulations and the painterly execution.
I was very inspired by the work and decided to direct my further explorations towards looking at possibilities of visualisation in this new space for me, which is created somewhere between digital (non-physical) and the physical act of painting.
The tutorial has helped me to develop a greater understanding of my thought processes and overall research intentions. My focus remains to be on “my own response” to poverty. Its function is not documentary. It is intended to be more of a self-diagnosis and reflection on my own priorities and hierarchies of needs.
“Focus of self is legitimate”.
Jonathan Kearney
Final thoughts:
“Time” as a concept remains vitally important in my research and exploration.
What is the point of this?
What is for?
Who is it for?
What do I want?
What do I need?
What do I have?
HYPNOTIC REPETITION 