I've mainly spent the past week preparing for the installation I'm planning to try out next from Tuesday to Friday of the week coming up. I've booked the installation space in the sculpture area of the studio for these days, and I'm trying to be sensible and plan in advance what I will need to do/bring etc, which I hope will mean I use the time more effectively. The planned installation involves balloons, cacti (the number of which is not yet fully decided, and is not likely to be until I can actually see how everything works in the space), and an electric fan (or maybe 2) with a timer plug. This will be the first time I've attempted to approach my ideas in this way, and I think I was influenced to try it by the Roman Signer exhibition I saw at the Hauser & Wirth gallery in February. The idea is that the viewer can enter the space, with the potential to influence the outcome – the situation will remain more or less ‘dormant' until the pre-set timer activates the fan(s), leading to a situation where the balloons and cacti may or may not come into contact. I'm interested in exploring how danger can be direct and immediate, or indirect, and in returning to the themes of how one object can impact on another, and of whether objects will behave predictably or not in these situations.
My first concern was how to position the objects in the space – should they be on the floor, or raised? In the latter case, should they be on white, gallery-style plinths, or should I be looking for domestic-type furniture? I went round Habitat and Homebase, looking at what sorts of tables were available, and trying to work out whether I would be able to afford to go down this route (assuming I can't get anything suitable at home or in a charity shop). There are some ok looking tables for around £25, but whether this would be a viable option really depends, I decided, on how many would be required, and really I should look at ways of doing it without spending this kind of money. I toyed with the idea of enquiring about whether they had any ex-display furniture I could borrow (this was more in case I should decide to do something like this for the degree show) but managed to get myself feeling very anxious at the prospect. I took some catalogues away to consider things further.
With the prospect of the degree show catalogue going off to print, and thinking how I would really like to have a website up and running by the time it gets used, I took the plunge and register a domain name in preparation. I signed up for a domain name and web hosting package, and I'm now hoping to find someone who can help me with the process of setting up the site…
Next instalment: Cactus shopping!
