Concluding working in the collective group – I was opened up to new ideas and got a better understanding of my own work through becoming aware of my interests and why I am interested in them. The concept of the group was to use art as a form of therapy, where we discussed our past and present traumas which has affected us as people and the way we make art. As the group was all female it was also orientated around womanhood and the troubles a female may have to endure compared to a male group of artists.
In the scenarios where we discussed our personal traumas, I was at discomfort talking so openly about my personal life. The positives of this was that I noticed a correlation in my interests and my personal experiences which I had been unaware of before. Instead of discussing my experiences, they were subconsciously being let out into my work through the materials and themes I’m interested in.
The performance, which involved the 6 of us working in pairs, in boiler suits, cleaning up a large area of mess we had created ourselves. It was metaphorical for ‘cleaning our shit up’, but physically and mentally the mess is always there. In our pairs we cleaned and painted over the mess in a 1.30 hr period but physically and mentally the mess on the wall couldn’t be completely erased. The group worked well together and we were well connected with our ideas and interests, however we didn’t communicate enough meaning the end performance wasn’t how we expected. I feel like the performance ended up appearing quite tacky and was interpreted by the majority of the audience in the wrong way. This being that we were women being objectified to clean (we knew the work came with these connotations and could easily be seen as this).
The current work I’m experimenting with – carrying around unwanted baggage/the subconscious in my work that I’m putting into a physical form (PVC clothing and accessories) – STILL EXPLORE MAKING THE CLOTHING – play with converting the interior to the exterior – this can lead onto materiality with latex etc.
Charlotte Paris 