Sculpture.
When starting this project I made a list of items or objects that I felt could work well within the brief. I considered what would be recognizable and what would work best in various materials.
I considered small insects such as beetles, ladybirds and moths as I feel like they would have translated well in different materials.
I then, considered everyday objects such as utensils, light switches, food items and many others. However, I felt that many of these had been done before by artist – and on an extreme scale. This definitely made me want to do something unique.
I also considered elements of the human body- although some of the pieces may have been hard to find references for I feel like that would have all been instantly recognizable and I could have made an installation that would work with all of my sculptures in the end.
Overall, I enjoyed the idea of the human body most and one idea that stuck out to me most was the idea of creating human ears.
I found this idea appealing as ears are intricate and unique to everyone- meaning I could create the same object with slight differences to mimic the diversity of each individuals ears.
Initial studies.
Initial Studies (Graphite)
All of the studies above were taken from my peers around the studio. I felt it would be good to have some life drawing studies before I started sculpting so that each sculpture could be accurate and as true to life as each material would allow me.
Initial Studies (Acrylic paint)
I continued these studies with a looser- more abstract- version of the ear studies. For these i focused on the shapes each ear makes. I felt doing this would be useful before my making process so that I would be familiar with my object.
Materials.
I then created a list of materials that I could potentially use. This would be narrowed down as I went along due to; what materials I could find; how they would look within the final assembly and what skills/tools I would need in order to create my object from the material.
Below I have listed some of the materials I considered before starting my project.
Paper, card, cardboard, recycled plastics, used matches, rope, string, scrap fabrics, aluminum, wood, beer cans, polymer clay, air dry clay, sticks/branches, dried flowers, papier-mâché, mod rock, silicone, latex, cigarette butts and bin bags.
Listed below are also some techniques I listed that may be useful when creating each of my pieces.
Sewing, embroidery, hot gluing, tying objects together, papier-mâché, Layering, stacking, origami, paper folding, sculpting, mould making, carving, stripping back cardboard, mosaic, filing, cutting metal, riveting, welding, sanding and painting.
Sculptures.
My first sculpture was created using recycled foam. I found it extremely difficult to carve the foam at first as the blade I was using was dull. Thankfully I was able to get my hands on a scalpel so that I could add real detail to the foam.
Shown below is the final ear made out of foam. Unfortunately it was extremely difficult to photograph as the foam is porous so light doesn’t catch as easily to show the detail. (There is another image of this piece at the end which may show it in more detail).
Foam Ear.
I really liked the idea of using a soft, squishy material to convey an ear as it is a strong juxtaposition from what an ear actually is – usually quite hard and not as malleable as the foam.
I really like the outcome of this piece although if I were to try it again I would like to make it on a much larger scale as I feel it would be more impactful. I would also have liked to sew an outside on to this piece so that it was almost like a cushion- this would definitely work on a much larger scale.
Next I moved on to making a much larger ear. For this process I started out by drawing the ear shape out on to a large piece of card. I then, began layering recycled materials on top. These materials included old newspapers, recycled paper, bubble wrap and cardboard.
Layering Process.
Shown above is my layering process for the large ear. As shown I have cut the base layer of the card so that I could manipulate the layers to create depth. I did this by folding up pieces of card and pushing it between the layers to separate them. This meant that the deeper parts of the ear would be pushed back and appear as if they are further back.
Before the final layer.
Above is the end of the inside layering process. At this point I was happy with how each section was defined so I decided to build up the final layers with papier-mâché.
First papier-mâché layer.
Shown above is the first layer of recycled papier-mâché. I used brown paper i found to make the ear look uniform. I continued to build on these layers to ensure all materials used to build the structure were covered.
Once all of the layers were dry I decided to use permanent ink pens of different sizes to write on the ear. I did this to help add depth but also to add impact to my final installation.
Up close – final product.
As shown, I chose the phrase “I can’t hear you” to repeat on this sculpture. This particular piece is quite personal as when I was a child my brother was deaf. He constantly had trouble understanding people as he couldn’t hear- which made him very frustrated and angry as a young child. He now still suffers from dyslexia due to his hearing problems when he was much younger and unable to communicate effectively.
Although this is my take on my piece – and final installation- I want this piece to be interpreted by the individual. Whether they see it as a cry for help, a piece on disability or something else. I feel that there is so much to unpack. I feel that this will all be shown once I assemble my final installation.
Final Product (recycled materials and papier-mâché)
Next, I tried working with paper to create an ear with a small stretcher in the lobe. For this piece I used a scalpel to cut and score the paper so I could fold and manipulate it to create the illusion of an ear.
Final Product (Paper Manipulation)
I continued to use manipulation of materials within my next piece, only this time I focused mire on folding and layering. For this piece I used patterned card. I used a different pattern for the darkest parts of the ear along with folding and layering pieces on top of the base layer for the most highlighted parts of the ear.
I really enjoyed tis technique – although I had hoped to use different colors so that it would match my installation better I still think it turned out well.
Final Product (Patterned Card)
I then decided to work with even thicker card using a recycled card board box.
Final Product (Cardboard and wire)
As shown I stripped parts of the cardboard to add texture and depth to the piece. This was one of my more experimental pieces as I tried using negative space and adding a different material- the purple wire for the two hoops.
To continue to fit the brief I tried making an air dry clay ear to scale. This was modelled from a peer within the studio in order to try and make it an accurate depiction.
Final Product (Air dry clay)
I was extremely happy with this model as it highlighted the intricacies of the ear in a way my other materials may not have.
For my final ear sculpture I wanted to use metal. initially I had planned to use negative space ( as shown in the sketch below) but as I went along my ideas changed slightly and i decided to keep the copper plate mounted on the back without any negative space. I felt this made the piece look more effective.
Initial drawing for metal design.
With this design drawn out I had to scale it down to use the scrap metal I had. This meant the piece would have to fit into a 5x4cm box. The adjusted drawing is shown below.
Adjusted drawing for metal.
I then cut this piece out and taped it on to the sheet of scrap metal (1cm aluminum).
Design taped on to the metal before cutting out.
I cut out both templates – one on 1cm thick aluminum and one on 5mm copper.
Cutting out each template.
Components before drilling and riveting.
Both pieces were then taped together and drilled into using a rotary tool and a small drill bit.
Copper after drilling.
After riveting the components together.
Each of the rivets were placed so that they look as if they are piercings. I also left one of the holes open so that I could create a wire hoop earring to add in addition to the copper rivet piercings.
After this i ended up using several different files to ensure the pieces fit together perfectly. This made the sides smooth, shiny and the metal flush.
Final Product (aluminum, copper, copper wire, stainless steel wire)
Installation.
Before drawing up my final installation I considered the idea of additional items that I could create such as hearing aids or PPE masks. However, in the end, I felt it was best to keep the ears the main focus of the piece so I drew up a final installation idea that would convey that.
Sketch for the final installation presentation.
Continuing on from my sketch I proceeded to lay down the base I had imagined in my initial ideas.
Base layer for the final installation.
Initially I tried mounting my pieces on this wall however, I felt it wasn’t enough so I continued to add elements – these are shown in detail below.
“I want to listen” metal ear mount up close.
“I can’t hear you”// “Please Listen” paper ear mount up close.
“I wish I could understand you” foam ear mount up close.
Air dry clay mount up close (attached using Velcro).
Patterned card mount up close.
Final Installation.
Above I have assembled all my ears using methods such as hanging, screwing them into the wall and various adhesives such as Velcro and tape.
Although I feel it is a personal piece I hope that the consumers have their own take on it. I am extremely happy with the overall outcome.
For scale reference – here is a picture of me standing next to the installation ( I am 5ft3).
Image showing the scale compared to me.
Lens Project.
Within this project I didn’t get the weather I had hoped for to take photographs outside so I ended up focusing on people in an indoor setting.
Although the color “red” is the main focus of my images I changed the black point on many of them to wash them out and give an eerie feeling to my set of images. Below are my final 8 photographs.
I wanted my images to be jarring. I felt that within such a short project my images had to be creative, impactful and most importantly; memorable.
Although some of my images/pairings are stronger than others I feel that I approached the task in a unique way. I also feel each of my pairings would have worked well in a photo book- therefore I have created a digital photo book- which I can add to later if I continue this theme.
The digital photo book can be accessed by clicking the underlined link below.
Charlotte Dixon lens project RED