I was tasked with exploring domestic spaces around my home. By disrupting, adding, excluding and placing my body in these spaces, the overall relationship is changed. The two spaces I decided to experiment with were the pantry and my chest which I hoped in to as it sat on my bed.
When reflecting on this work I realised I hadn’t captured the way my body reacts to such a small space. I decided I would focus that aspect in my second photos. This image started off with a pantry filled with food. I though what doesn’t go with food. Dirt, Mud, the outdoors. I brought this idea in over the period of 4 pictures. And the last two pictures bring a sense of a body occupying that space and emerging.
These images capture the way my body interacts with a wooden chest. I decided to place this chest on top of my bed and then lay in it, to change the relationship to the space and the function of the chest. In the first photo It looks like I am only just able to fit within it. But as the images progress you are able to get an idea of the space and volume the chest holds. Eventually I become the chest laying in bed.
Reflection / Summary During this topic of spatial interventions, I was challenged by finding spaces to interact with. Although, when these spaces were discovered ideas began to emerge and I remembered to consider the background and frame in which these pictures were taken. I was hesitant about bringing dirt into a pantry but the overall effect was worth the clean up. I had my phone in a fixed position to enable the same shot each time. In the end I had to change this as the contents of the pantry weren’t seen very well. In future projects I will think of the small things like this in order to keep a cohesive frame through my images. My other space was a wooden chest in my room. But this didn’t fascinate me that much so I decided to place it upon my bed to give the image more meaning. Why would I lay in a wooden box on my bed and be restricted from the comfort my bed brings? Why not? I inhabited the space my chest held and rearranged by position until the chest was able to close leaving a box which seemed empty. I brought my body into the second space because I struggled with using my body in the first domestic space. By interfering with these spaces I have somewhat changed the habitual response. Overall I really enjoyed being creative and experimenting with domestic spaces around my home, especially how a human body sat in that equation.
Siobean
Your observations around your device positions and framing are really valuable to doing this type of work.
I took your gumboot and dirt sequence and chose the second to last image, popped it into its own window to view. I enjoyed all of your works but for me this is the most interesting. Putting dirt, grass and the boots next to the food definitely got a physical reaction, somewhere between humour and disquiet.
The boots could belong in a cupboard like that so they were almost in normal situation. The dirt and grass in your previous image by themselves might have been curious enough on their own but as you observed the angle of the camera wasn’t quite there. Gumboots refer to the body so just having them in the cupboard does the job of the body reference but the staged dirt and grass mix it up and unsettle the work more. Nice!
You look like sleeping beauty and your wooden chest is a little small for you but your very comfortable with the pillows! Really cool, I also like how your slowly going in and the last pictures just a box. Very cool!
I really like the boots and dirt in the pantry! genius! Totally payed off :)))