Angus Fairhurst: Pools

In Angus Fairhurst's work, the concepts of 'un-doing', 'absence', 'thinking' and 'feeling' are reflected (literally and thematically) in three mirrored sculptures of ponds, Untouched (2004), Unseen (2004) and Unwit (2006). The pools feature mottled black banks and sparse rushes which were originally modelled in clay and subsequently cast in bronze or bioresin.

Implying pristine-ness, seclusion and oblivion in their titles, the works collectively suggest a kind of unbounded guidance in what is visible or unknown. As I am interested in creating a substance that can run over the sculptures and perhaps collect in a pool at the bottom, Fairhurst's 'Pools' caught my attention. I could create the pools out of resin and tarmac to contain the glistening/shimmering substance. I really like the idea of reflection/personal reflection too as you become consciously aware of your negative state of mind after trauma, depression, anxiety or intoxication.The Birth of Consistency (2004), showed a gorilla – one of the recurring motifs of Fairhurst’s work – contemplating itself in a similar mirrored pool and wrenching the reflective surface towards itself. It references the classical myth of Narcissus - almost like the artwork folding in on itself.

Angus Fairhurst: Untouched (2004),Unseen (2004) and Unwit (2006), displayed at Sadie Coles.

Liquid on the Surface to Enhance Colour?

My fascination with the colour of oil slicks on roads or pavement surfaces is something I wanted to experiment with, perhaps producing something that is even better than flip paint, or that compliments it well. I thought about different liquid substances that could be poured over a sculpture during the exhibition, that would then react with light to produce an oil-slick effect, more colour enhanced than anything I have done before. I knew that this idea of having liquid continually pouring over sculptures was going to take a lot of labour-intensive calculation and specialist equipment (if I didn't want to just have a tank dripping slowly from above, without flowing back into itself) This idea would also have health and safety implications - however I was adamant to explore it in case it could be possible.

A Little bit about Pavement Oil Slick Rainbows:

"When petrol is dropped on the road during a rainy day, a thin layer of oil will appear on the water surface. Both the top and bottom surfaces of this oil film can reflect light. If the path difference between two light rays is an integral times of the wavelength, there will be constructive interference (SEE DIAGRAM). A light ray will pass through different thickness of oil when the angle of reflection varies. The wavelength corresponding to the constructive interference also differs and this causes the reflected light to have various colours. As a result, a rainbow-like colour pattern is shown on the oil surface and this phenomenon is called thin-film interference."

Essentially, the rainbows we see are dependant on:

- Light hitting the oil and water in a very specific way.

- Dark colour on surface.

It might be possible for me to create the look of a rainbow or some kind of iridescent liquid, using the pigments I bought for use in my printmaking (instead of working with oil, water and light).

Experiment 1: SUNFLOWER OIL & SWEET VIOLET SHIMMER PIGMENT.

I like how thick this appears, but it doesn't look that great flowing over the surface of black expanding foam. It is too yellow but the consistency is perfect.

Experiment 2: WATER & SWEET VIOLET SHIMMER PIGMENT.

I really like the way that this pours over the surface of the sculptures, although the shimmer pigments stick to the surface which might not make it as effective as I'd hoped (it had it's best moment when it is first poured). If the liquid was oil based, maybe it would have worked.

It was suggested to me to try baby oil or clear mineral oil with the added pigment to see how that works. At this stage it's probably more practical to conquer what I'm actually going to make first, then revisit this later.

The images below FAR LEFT & RIGHT is experiment 2. The middle image is just a FAIL. (water, oil and blue transparent resin pigment).

Matias Faldbakken: Gas Canisters

I found the artist Matias Faldbakken on Pinterest and upon reading about his work I found many parallels to the conceptual and visual tones I am always drawn to. Matias is interested in languages of underground youth cultures (much like my early work), vandalism and extremism. A lot of his sculptural work uses ready-mades that evoke a strong sense of danger, for example gas canisters used in the German military in 1939. Often there is abrupt manipulation of these objects - piercing, cutting, compressing the materials to suggest violence. The anarchic, vandalistic and violent language of the urban environment interests Faldbakken, and contextualises much of his work. Blurring the line between the readymade and fabricated sculpture, this work exists simultaneously as a reference to the real world of metropolitan dystopia and as pure formal gesture. The violent, urban environment is what I am always drawn to, more specifically in terms of the personal headspace regarding it - putting the mind in a dangerous position. The dystopian feel to his work is also how my work tends to be perceived.

I just wish I could obtain materials in the way he has been able to. Ive always been interested in giant gas canisters like BELOW, because hospital gas is always stolen and used for nitros oxide balloons in illegal squat raves.

Matias Faldbakken, foreground: Gas Sculpture; background: Four Flat Boxes, both 2014, installation view.