Throughout this whole degree project I have focused largely upon the production of dry point etchings which make up a large percentage of my body of work. Given the time I have put into these prints I think I made the unconscious decision a long time ago that these would be included in my Degree show in some form.
Something I have reflected on previously, in relation to my mixed media work, is my desire to combine different elements before I feel happy with a piece of work. I feel this is relevant with my prints. As much as I find them aesthetically pleasing and effective in their own right, I struggle in imagining my show to be just these framed prints.
I have discussed many times during this project the significance of using anaglypta within my work. My feeling is that my prints should hang not just on a plain white wall but on a wall covered in anaglypta as if to represent the actual walls of my childhood home.
As I think in greater depth about this idea, I return to a place where I become increasingly nostalgic about the awful wallpaper and carpet which resided in the hallway. As much as I really did hate it, it is something which characterizes me and my family and something which has certainly characterized areas of my work over the past 2 years.
I feel I have been transported swiftly from not knowing what my Degree show would be to having a pretty clear idea. It is as though the idea has just fallen into place sort of like I knew all along.
There are now many elements I am thinking about, many of which may take a while to sort out. I have decided that my final show should be an installation piece which includes my dry point etchings. My vision is to have anaglypta wallpaper pasted onto the walls of my allocated space and painted pale yellow. On the walls my etching prints shall be displayed in a variety of second-hand frames.
I have a few different options in mind regarding the furniture I may want to utilise in the piece. I like the idea of having a cabinet, preferably with glass doors and filled with old fashioned trinkets, photographs, books etc. On the other hand there would be more relevance for me to obtain an old fashioned coat stand such like the one which used to reside in the hallway of my old house. I am unsure whether to acquire both and to play around with the space. I do not want the space to be crowded but I do not want it to be too minimalist or empty either.
One thing which I am sure of is that I want an old rotary dial telephone like the one my Mum had in the 90’s. This also used to be on the wall in the hallway. I can’t even remember if it was functional, I suppose it must have been at some point. I feel such an object would be an interesting focal point within my installation and an integral tool in encouraging the viewer to consider their own memories of such old-fashioned objects.
Everything within my show I want to be distressed, deteriorated, damaged and worn to various extents. I want to set a scene in which a space that was once lived in has been abandoned but remnants of memories still remain.
Within the prints my own specific memories are fractured. Through viewing my installation, however, I want the viewer to consider their own memories and the vulnerability of memory in general. I want people to feel nostalgic, reflective and mournful all at the same time for their own past and for the one I am attempting to represent.
