Documentation as medium - Research and Development

 The House

Research:

I mentioned in my last post that I like the research stage, so after a tutorial with my tutor Jonathan I realised I could use my research as the medium for my work.

I like Mary Kelly's (b.1941) work including the exhibition she did with Margaret Harrison (b. 1940) and Kay Hunt (1933 - 2001) called 'Women and Work: A Document on the Division of Labour in Industry 1973-75. I also appreciated 'Post-Partum Document. Documentation III: Analysed Markings and Diary Perspective Schema (Experimentum Mentis III: Weaning from the Dyad)' (1975), also by Mary Kelly.

I felt inspired by Christian Boltanski 'The Missing House' (1990) which was part building with plaques and part documentation and research about the project. All these artist display their research as their art and I felt my research was too interesting to leave in a pile on my desk.

Mounting the work on the wall also gave me clarity on the project. I could see how far I have travelled with this story and where to go to next. I had found a photograph of the front of the house, which was one of my main missions. The other one was to find images from the interior of the house, to see if my dream images were right. I have not found these...yet.

                             The view of the front of the house from Debdale Lane, Gorton.

 

Development:

During term one we held a 'Home Exhibition', which we presented to our tutor and peers during our weekly session. I submitted my documentation wall about The House. The feel is a little haphazard and 'crime scene' because I wanted it to be casual and forensic in this way. This fulfilled my purpose of moving forward with my practice and gave an intriguing layout the viewer wanted to read (not easy online!) . I may in the future develop this idea and see how it looks printed on high quality stock with framed images and a more formulaic layout with graphic rather than hand drawn signage.

Included in my documentation wall are photographs, aerial shots, maps, contact sheets, emails, text messages, an artists water colours sent to me by a helpful 'friend of Debdale Park' and items from the house, including a jug and a necklace. I have connected images with red lines to show how I checked the image of the house was correct and added post it notes with extra information.

I wrote about my dreams, recalling how I felt when I was dreaming of the house, the smells and visuals to log the information. I plan to develop this area in the future as I enjoy the writing aspect of my BA course.

Ariel map which shows how I checked the location of the photographer to make sure the images was of the front of the house.

Written work about the dreams I have about inside and outside the House.

Additional items which I know were in the House at some point, including a jug and necklace.

Drawing on an exhibition by Patrick Keiller (b.1950) at Tate Britain called 'The Possibility of Life's Survival on the Planet' (2012). Keiller created a fictional narrative using images in various mediums displayed in in the exhibition. Artwork ranged from Turner paintings to design blueprints, rock art photographs, road signage and sculptures by Barbara Hepworth. He wove a narrative about a character called Robinson around these objects and his journey around the South East of England. 

The idea of using various mediums to illustrate a narrative really appealed to me. I still feel I am at the stage where I want to keep trying all mediums to see where it takes me. Especially because year 1 workshop courses were cut short due to Covid. The House project gave me the ability to keep creating in different ways before I find my specialism.