Roger Hiorns - Seizure

Roger Hiorns 

"In 2008, every surface of an abandoned London council flat was lined with a thick 
layer of glistening, knife-sharp copper-
sulphate crystals – creating an angular cave that was at once alluring, sensuous and needlingly dangerous. This was Seizure, by Roger Hiorns – the British artist (or, you might think, alchemist) who once caused flames to rise from the drains of the Tate" - Charlotte Higgins, Chief arts writer, The Guardian, Feb 16. - http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/
2013/jun/13/seizure-copper-sulphate-crystals-yorkshire

Playing on the idea of growth in my own work, I was very intrigued by Hiorns work. Again it held a scientific calling, using copper-sulphate to grow large crystals encapsulating the entire of the London flat feature in his work pictured above, Seizure, 2008. The work is now on show at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Previously Hiorns has used the same technique but on a much smaller scale covering engines and other object with the same copper-sulphate solution. Perhaps I could explore the potentials of chemical growth and experiment with how the might fit into my work. 

"Copper sulphate crystals are a recurring motif in Hiorns’s sculpture. Fascinated by the unpredictable and uncontrollable growth patterns of this inorganic substance, Hiorns chooses to cede the task of determining the eventual appearance of the work. Critic JJ Charlesworth has written about the self-supporting nature of the process:

If crystals grow on the body of a BMW engine ... they no longer have anything to do with the human intervention that initially set them in motion. Hiorns makes objects that suggest a sort of independence, a separation from the world of those who see them, as if they have a purpose, or at least a story behind their existence, that exists despite the context in which they are encountered. (Milton Keynes Gallery 2006, p.6.)" - http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/hiorns-untitled-t12456

klari Reis

Klari Reis: Artists Bio

"San Francisco artist Klari Reis talks about     her work and career. Klari uses the tools and techniques of science in her creative process, constantly experimenting with new ways to apply materials and methods. She is driven by curiosity and her desire to explore and document the natural and unnatural with a sense of wonder and joy."

"Klari is grounded in actions and reactions with a new media plastic - epoxy polymer.  Similar to resin, the UV resistant plastic is her method and language for exploring and expressing interactions on a microscopic level.  Powders, oils, acrylics and industrial dyes are used through many layers of ultra glossy, durable plastic.  A technician of sorts, studio as laboratory, Klari has turned the invented process into a science in the service of art." - http://klariart.bigcartel.com/information


Inspired by Reis and listening to the feedback I received from my tutors, I think I would like to avert my practice back into a much broader spectrum. I feel like my work has recently become to focused on trying to get an idea across rather than just playing with materials and exploring the practical side of art. With this in mind I am going to move on to explore just the idea of growth. Reis's work really intrigued me with its scientific aesthetic, echoed by the patterns and effects achieved within the resins she uses within her petri dish canvases. I would like to explore the idea of growing my own bacteria using agar and petri dishes and see what I can grow from the normal home environment.

Hypochondria, 2013, Petri Dishes, Resin, Tee nuts and Steel rods

Just so happens this piece ^ in particular is named after the very thing I'm exploring within my own work

www.klariart.com

Crit Feedback

Having presented the work shown above in crit, I have been given a lot of useful feedback and some really interesting ideas to try.

- Printing on to physical ward curtains or plastic sheeting in order to provide a more direct link.
- My crit group liked the idea of the tracing paper, describing the Ebola cases as ephemeral although they also raised an interesting point that the ephemerality of the disease is more apparent in the cases of William Pooley and Pauline Cafferekey, however, it seemed to have more of a lasting effect on the lives of people in Umaru's situation.
- The group also discussed that it may be too obscure and need more information in order to make a clear link to the subject matter within my work.

Using this feedback I am going to look at ways of distinguishing the difference between the people pictured in my work and their constructing circumstances. I would also like to look more directly into portraying the sense of hypercondria I previously spoke about, considering ways in which I could recreate such a sense with no visible threat. I am particularly interested in the idea of using ward curtains or a similar material in order to reinforce connotations.

Sketchbook Portraits...

Pen Drawings of William Pooley, Umaru and Pauline Cafferkey

Scientific Illustration of the Ebola Virion

Sketchbook Development

Following on from from my research into Ebola cases in the UK and Freetown, Sierra Leone I have continued to draw portraits of each person affected by the Ebola Virus. Above I have experimented using paint and tracing paper in order to show the temporary effect of Ebola.

Illustrations of the Ebola Virion, Pencil Drawn (Right) and Screen Printed (Left) 

Using the scientific illustration of the Ebola Virion, I have used tracing paper in order to overlay the image of the portraits of each of the Ebola victims. I have decided to use the tracing paper to reflect the layers found in the specialist care units. I feel that the tracing paper also reflects the how people view those who have contracted the virus, blurring the identity of the person behind the label. 

I feel that this piece works fairly successfully to convey what I am trying to say within my work, however, I would like to develop this idea further to show the difference in treatment towards each person after being both confirmed Ebola positive and post treatment, for example, the isolation by groups of people of some victims such as Umaru. I will be taking this piece to show in Crit in order to gain a wider perspective and se whether my message is as clear as I'd hope it to be. 

Art & Science: Research Progression

Ebola: Alive Again

Following on from my last post I have found a fascination in the way that people react to human condition. I was particularly drawn to the following article detailing the account of a young 20-year-old man called Umaru. Having contracted the Ebola Virus Umaru managed to recover from the virus after being admitted to the MSF's Prince of Wales Ebola Management Centre in Freetown.

 What struck me about the article was about the reaction Umaru faced after being diagnosed and even after being cured of the virus. Umaru stated that when first experiencing symptoms of the virus 'everyone was scared. I could not stay in my own home any longer.' He also stated as if it was normal practice that 'Normally people with Ebola get driven from their homes.' and that despite being cured that his 'younger brother was stopped from seeing me by his father.' The comparison between the treatment of Ebola suffers/ survivors in the UK and in Umaru's case intrigued me as to how different cultures cope with human condition and illness. I was reminded of the UK cases of William Pooley, and Pauline Cafferkey whom both contracted the virus while working in Sierra Leone, both of which were admitted into UK hospitals for treatment. 

Reading a further into the case of Pauline Cafferkey I found a profile article of her case on the BBC. The imagery featured in the article struck a chord with me, finding them intimidating and foreboding, the sense danger in the occult. This sense of place and sense of danger is something that I think I would like to try to replicate within my work, making the viewer reflect on the strange hypercondriac , fear like state that we all are so vulnerable to despite the missing presence of a visual threat. 

Still from the video diary Pauline Cafferkey kept during her time in Sierra Leone 

Highly Infectious Disease Specialist Unit Ms Cafferkey was admitted to

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-30684665

Art & Science: Research

Contemporary Art and Medical Regimes: Curating Anatomica 

Looking in to the subject of art and science I have decided to begin by looking at how other contemporary artists have approached such a topic. Curated by Cindy Stelmackowich the exhibition brings together a mixed collection of medical artefacts alongside contemporary art. This curatorial decision by Stelmackowich aimed to start "new conversations about biomedical imagery and artefacts" highlighting "the unmistakable interconnection between Western medicine, the histories of aesthetics, and the cultural representation of human anatomy."  

Lisa Nillson - Thorax
Mulberry Paper, 21.5 x 12.5 x 1.5 inches, 2011

Stelmackowich states 'in most instances, the artist exploits the
physical nature of their materials and places importance on uniquely crafted presentations that simultaneously echo and unhinge the dominant (and somewhat sterile) scientific representation of the human body." The materials and techies used by the various artists in the exhibition range from textiles to paper craft, capturing the intricate and delicate nature of the human body reflecting its inner complexity. 

Looking at the work featured in this article, I have began to become interested in the way that people view and interact with the body. I like how in this exhibition artists such as Lyn Carter and Lisa Nillson have explored the inner parts of the body, Carter with her textile organ constructions and Nillson with her carefully crafted ribbons of paper laid out to represent to MRI-cross sections. I'm interested in the way that their choice of materials has transformed a raw part of the body, of which physical form its physical form people would usually turn away from, into something approachable and interesting, emphasising their complexity through recreation. 

See original article below: 

https://impactethics.ca/2015/02/19/reading-medical-artifacts-contemporary-art-and-medical-regimes-curating-anatomica/

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