Tuesday, October 30, 2012

The Crustacean Woman

The Crustacean Woman is a collage that I recently transferred to transparent acetate for use on the ol' O.H.P. I still make the most of low-tech equipment and who can resist the charms of a classroom grade projector? This is a still shot taken from the studio at home and was captured as part of another short stop-motion. It will be an addition the growing collection of stills and AVIs I have produced for the 'Lost Girls Strong Girls and the Assembled Image'  video montage work/s. In the coming months, I will be re-shooting/making some short sequences and revising existing shots to then begin the editing and rendering process. Eventually, I will post sample videos here or set up a Vimeo account as a viewing platform - but for the mean time, sit tight.



Thursday, October 25, 2012

Don't say the 'C' word

Deck the Walls 

Deck the Walls is a fab little group show opening quite soon and by 'C' word I mean Xmas (theme is in the title)

November 9-22, Bleeding Heart Gallery

Click here for more details


Norman Park studio days



Sunday, October 14, 2012

Shadow casting with illuminated imagery


After I reviewed the captured photos from this lounge room experiment, I started to think more about different ways I could use the screen and the alternative light/projection sources that could be implemented in this exercise. I recently researched the work of Fleur Elise Noble and Miwa Matreyek and since then the combination of light, colour and motion have become more relevant. Ever since I started using silhouette motifs and shadows in my art work, colour had played a lesser part in this form of visual representation. I could talk about silhouettes and the significance of the ‘shadow’s double’ until the cows come home. But the relationship between positive and negative space cannot solely be read or seen in black and white - pardon the pun. Colour opens up another avenue of symbolic allusion and I think in reference to emotional flux and personal reflection/reflexivity, it is may also form a distinct part of my project. Hence the second round of lounge room screen test shots. When I wrote my proposal, I factored in the need access a data projector if I was to be using moving image processes, stop-motion, shadow puppets etc. Having this piece of easy-to-use but also versatile AV equipment at my disposal has aided the development of my ideas in a big way. As a follow up to the first round of lounge room tests, I used the hired projector as my light source and repeated the process. I connected my laptop to the projector and opened existing photos of sunsets, landscapes etc. In the images I have posted here, the photo of clouds illuminates pinks and blues around the stark shadows. With the help of my assistant Waz, we tested a few varying background images and textures which had interesting visual outcomes. It is my focus now to develop the these experiments further to the stage of incorporating live capture video and/or rear projected moving images for a performed sequence (performed using the silhouette of my body as seen here). 
Thanks for reading, I will keep you posted on the developing two-dimensional pieces and collage as well. 
Over and out.




Sunday, October 7, 2012

Screen tests in the lounge room











The photo above was captured during a series of simple screen tests in my lounge room. As I've probably noted in earlier posts this year, I am currently working on a regional arts project that aims to develop my art practice further. Part of my proposal instigates the use of moving image/video in the project and while I am gradually developing my ideas, ongoing studio experimentation helps this process along. After writing, sketching and storyboarding concepts for the video work - I took a small collection of props into the lounge room at home to test the visual effect. This was a pretty basic kind of exercise, yet in the scheme of things, rigging up a screen with two dining chairs and documenting different movements/arrangements with still photography worked well. I am not sure whether the final outcome of the proposed video work/s will be made using stop motion, live capture or a combination etc - but I think it definitely allows for improvisation.