Container of memories

During my tenure in the ANU Art School Wood Workshop I was witness to the constant change of the workshop environment: the movement of benches, introduction of raw materials – reduced and transformed into objects, the departure of students, and the removal of annual landmarks – like a planned obsolescence. Despite these environmental changes there continued to be a consistency in visual language through shapes in the workshop.

In light of this I approached the “container of memories” brief by creating a physical replication of the workshop as silhouetted plates. By physically recreating the space I am able to identify the stable shapes and lines of the workshop as I remember them.

My piece is a simple structure consisting of nine stainless steel panels set into a timber box. The panels are uniquely perforated into silhouetted layers of the workshop environment. When viewed from either end the observer is subject to what might appear to be an abstract configuration of evenly spaced panels. However, what can be identified are the familiar shapes of the workshop expressed through choices of negative space.

The image created is simplistic and the use of structure allows for limited vantage points. Through this I hope to express a representation of memory where fine detail is discarded or concealed signifying that experience is subjective.

While the content is a response to the Wood Workshop, the method of construction is a reflection of my own developed preferences for construction. The inspiration for layering of two dimensional panels comes from my childhood where I took a keen interest to the pull-out a concertina of images contained within “The Jolly Postman’s Christmas”.

1 Comment

  • February 7, 2012 at 2:27 pm // Reply

    What a great blog

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *