Setting up the exhibition
For the interim exhibition, I decided to focus on what I achieved in the first project as I felt it was a more coherent body of work. When planning how to display the work, I decided I did not want really large images as I wanted it to feel intimate. Given that the photographs were fine art images, I decided to use a fine art paper so that it could provide further texture to the images. In detail, I used Hahnemuhle german etching which provides a lot of texture and makes the image looking more like paints than photographs. It is a matt paper so it also overrides issues with reflections when displaying the photographs.
Before installing the images, I got the wall ready by painting it as well as the plinth I was planning to use to set up the projector.
Some days later, I went back to do the installation. I initially printed eight images but when planning how to arrange them I noticed that there was not enough space so I decided to discard one of the images. The image discarded felt a bit repetitive with the other images so I felt that it did not contribute that much.
I printed the statement in foam so that it could look a bit more solid on the wall and then set up the projector so that the time-lapse I created as part of the project could be displayed. The statement read as follows:
This is how the final set up looked like:
Overall, I was pleased with the set up. During the presentation, I brought some images printed out so that they could provide either a visual reference or support the different processes I followed (an example of these can be found below):
Further Reflections on the Interim Exhibition
I really enjoyed looking at the work produced by my colleagues. Exhibitions provide an opportunity to see not only the work but how this is displayed which can tell a lot about the work itself.
Besides having an opportunity to listen to the motivations and aspirations that underlined each work, the interim exhibition made me wonder about art in general. For example, one of the pieces exhibited consisted of three pieces of blank papers that although they seemed quite similar they were treated differently. To the eyes of the lay beholder these might be three pieces of paper but to the eyes of the artist this is a work of art. This made me think what we understand by art, what makes something a piece of art. Is the artist intentionality enough to call something art? Soon I thought about Salvatore Garau’s invisible statues. I thought this kind of work is targeted more at making people reflect about what art is which is an important endeavour on itself.
Another aspect I reflected is the motivations that underlined the work. Most people seem to rely on personal experiences and contexts in their creations while some others seem to be more concerned on the process than the final outcomes in the search for experimental outcomes. Can these two processes reconcile somehow? I felt that these might be disassociated in some instances and made me wonder whether the two might be needed to challenge one’s own practice with a clear purpose. In this regard, I feel that for example with project 2 I lost the coherence in favour of the experimentation so it seems keeping a balance is key.
Finally, I also reflected about the importance of the installation on itself and how the environment can shape how the work of art is perceived. When I was planning to display my own work I considered different scenarios such as displaying on the ceiling as these were taken that way. However, I had to discard it due to how the space was.
Overall, I thought it was a great learning opportunity to learn more about others’ work. I felt that the work is finished once it is displayed not once is made. Depending on how the work is displayed the way it is perceived and understood can change completely.
Alberto Gonzalez 