THE SPACE BETWEEN YOUR MOUTH AND EAR
The Project Space 1 exhibition was another great opportunity to experiment within a space, a more minimal approach to installation, as discussed in the Nunns Yard show. The installation process at first was almost to overwhelming and became hard for the viewer to make sense of the space. A more, minimal approach within a larger space, but less objects gives the audience room to breath, enabling them to understand the visual information they are trying to decipher. The lack of sound made interpreting the visuals pure, stopping and preventing the sound from capturing the entire attention of the viewer, enabling the visuals to take precedence. The use of lights that where considered and placed in a order to add to the visuals sense of mood and atmosphere, changing constantly how the visuals come across. The quick changes in colour, meant that each and every frame was different, its not just the moving images that change in speed and transition, but also the lighting, creating for The Artist, The Viewer and Me the ability to see something new form the installation every time the video is repeated. The speed changes are subtle, at an attempt to enable the viewer to visualise the content, but also to enable the reflective distortions of objects often placed in front of the projections to be seen. These distortions change the way the moving images are seen and break up the imagery, disrupting the visuals as they move in and out of there fast moving form.
The idea for the show focused on the break down of language between space and object. The video piece in which I installed oddly named “Eye Bare Witness to Nothing” aims to explore the boundaries and the complexity of Language through the senses, sight and hearing to communicate between objects generating a visual experience. The Piece was created for a joint exhibition with fellow student and collaborator Louise Webb. It aims to be a visual interpretation of Language and how sound and sight travels through space. The eye is constantly moving, searching for understanding, where as the static aims to be a literal, physical interpretation of the speed of light and sound. This aims to be a bridge between the senses. Often staring at Nothing but colour can be the greatest experience and the nature of static Pushes and forces the viewer to look beyond the mere extremities of visual language, but to focus on the scientific principles of sound and sight as the key two senses in contemporary visual language. It almost becomes psychedelic, Unnatural in its representation, bordering on surrealist principles.
A Conversation
Me and Fellow collaborator Louise Webbs projections and visual imagery are often projected away from each other, whereas during the experimental show in Project space 1, the two projections had a conversation, they connected through colour, scale and angle, creating you could argue one piece of work. The eye was frantic, searching looking to be observed and Louise’s piece was much more calm and relaxing, content in its place. The oddly, and unintentional balance of colours meant that the work had great contrast between each other, creating work that was balanced, which reflected the shows themes and ideas. The show was considered and the work displayed was set on a theme focusing on the ideas centred around visual language and communication. The senses play a major part within my practice and if it was intentional or not for an eye and hand, which both represent two senses to deliberately placed into the show I don’t know. it was an intentional, unintentional success. But it worked and the title “The Space between your mouth and ear” filled in the missing gaps, becoming not literal, but nodding to the other senses ( Taste and Hearing.) which we did not tackle in the show.
We decided because of the restrictions of the space to tackle less senses than what we achieved in the Nunns Yard Show, the main Senses used where:
- Sight- Tackling less senses meant that the visuals could take centre stage enabling the strength of the lights and the projections to capture the eyes attention. Colour alone has many psychological connotations that can create specific moods and environments. Through the use of colour we have left the rest of the senses down to the viewers imagination, for them to consider how and what the visuals mean to them leading to there own interpretation of the spaces smell, hearing and Touch.
Drew Burrett Art 