Verisimilitude
Yesterday (thursday) I attended my Virtual group critique call. I enjoyed this call because there were a lot of us contributing to the conversation and it was very helpful for continuing my idea, and everyone else’s ideas!. I failed to mention in my previous blog that I chose to work with a butterfly specifically because in Cornwall Park, I am seeing a frequent number of butterflies, bees and other insects flying around due to the multitude of flowers blooming in the park. I thought that it would be a lovely connection to Cornwall park.
After telling my group this inspiration, they gave me so many suggestions I could go with! What most interested me is the possibilities my sculpture has in terms of the environment, and more specifically, the insects in Cornwall park. My choice of fruit to use for my sculpture is interesting because fruit is a direct result of cross-pollination that insects themselves perform. Not only this, but insects also eat fruit as well! Through research of what butterflies eat, I found that alongside pollin, they also eat fruit both rotted and fresh. In my research I found that butterflies particularly enjoy bananas, apples(!), pears, and oranges.
With this in mind, I am going to attempt to make multiple different butterflies and place them around Cornwall park, particularly in places with lots of flowers! I have also decided to keep the original apple butterfly I made so that it rots a bit before I use it to make another site intervention! In my flat, I currently have bananas and apples, so I am going to use them! I am going to buy an orange and a pear so that I can have sculptures which are both rotted and fresh!
I intend to leave my sculptures out for the remainder of this brief to see if any insects eat them! If its a hit, it would be interesting to find the metal frame alone. I think that this idea fits well with the brief I wrote for myself because I needed to have consideration of my sculpture in the impact it has with the environment. I am interested in introducing a cycle of sorts where my sculptures are both visually lovely in colour and shape, while also useful in helping the insects of the environment which my sculptures are placed!
Cornwall Park was originally a private farm, and upon the death of the owner Sir John Logan Campbell, who gifted the farm to the people of New Zealand. This was so that there was a place in the heart of Auckland City where people could enjoy and experience nature. The life of nature is hugely impacted by insects in nature. Insects perform some of the most important acts, such as cross pollination, which allow nature to thrive. Through the introduction of these sculptures, I hope to make works of art which help to continue the value of nature in Cornwall Park, and in turn, the continuation of nature which relies heavily on insects. My assemblages will offer food for insects to eat, like a bird feeder. The use of metal will allow for my butterfly frames to remain intact and therefor, reusable, and my use of fruit will allow for a decomposable material which can be removed from the frame and then replaced for a continuation.
My research over the next few days will be to visit my assemblages and to assess whether they are being used for their intent, and to make revised decisions on whether they need to be placed in different areas which are more concentrated with insects, and to also see what fruits attract more insects. I am interested to see whether people notice these assemblages, and whether they are moved by people.