I had an interesting time with this brief. I was exploring two very different ideas with the Rorschach and the pockets. Ultimately I went with Rorschach to display as it was much more visually effective but I did still enjoy doing the plaster work. Being in the wet lab was heaps of fun and very cool to learn in there. I am proud of myself for venturing into technology with the laser cutter as that’s something I haven’t done before. It makes me realise the importance of harnessing at least some technology skills to improve my work. It opens up so many more possibilities.

At first I had no idea what to do, I think I felt a bit of pressure to make it really good that I just didn’t want to do any of my ideas. But once I got into it, especially in the last couple weeks, I found ideas were coming to me much quicker. I am proud of my final work and I think it represents me well as an artist- maybe a bit darker than I normally go though lol.

Rorschach tests are so interesting to me both aesthetically and intellectually, and I think I have reflected this in my work.

Folding the Light

Finally done! Went simple but striking.

Details:

Cool toned light- give a more clinical effect to tie into history of ink blot tests

Bright light setting- makes the shadow darker

Medium width- Created balance and subtlety

Brief Explanation

Folding the Light is an installation sculpture that explores the themes of mental distress through the iconic Rorschach ink blot test silhouette. The symmetry of these shapes are not only beautiful, but examine the relationship between perception and mental state.

After Sunday, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to display as my final installation. But I still played around with ideas to see how it would look.

The main 2 ideas that I had in terms of positioning was placing the sculpture in the middle of the wall, or having it tucked away on a smaller wall. The issue with having it tucked away especially if it was down low was being able to fit in the light. This meant that I was fairly restricted with the positioning. I considered putting it on a different wall that was smaller but found the light would get in the way of peoples work, and I still really liked how it looked in the middle.

Then I tried putting my other sculpture along side it on plinth but I felt it detracted from the main sculpture without really bringing anything great.

By having it in the middle of the wall, it gave lots of space for the light to get in at the right angle and gave a good perspective to viewers when they walk around the room; with the symmetry lining up just as they walk past. It is simple yet effective with the bold black ‘wing’ and the shadow really drawing attention when contrasted with the white wall behind. This allows the viewer to focus on the symmetry rather than getting distracted by other elements.

I was also looking at the position of the light as that affects the way the shadow is formed. I prefer for the shadow not to be stretched and instead for it to be symmetrical. I found this was more impactful.

Check the next post for final installation!!

With my Rorschach sculpture i decided to take it home and pin it to a wall in my bedroom. The point of this was to add rawness and vulnerability to the piece. It is displays in a private space where emotions tend to express themselves the most. It’s situated alongside our most vulnerable memories and moments. With the torch light creating the strong shadow in the dark room it looks creepy, like a scene from a horror movie. The Rorschach face is lurking in the darkness.

I also wanted to position the sculpture in a place with strong natural light and I was going to do that today but it was too overcast for any strong shadows. But, it was supposed to show a more natural, subconscious effect of our mental wellbeing, when things are not in our conscious control. I think it would have been to see how the shadow changes throughout the day.

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After the success of the previous acrylic rorschach sculpture, I wanted to use the laser cutter again. I used scrap black acrylic that I found in the digital fabrication room which has a really nice reflective surface. I made the shape on illustrator and then got it cut out by the laser cutter which is a very interesting process. Then I went to the 3D lab to drill some holes in the backing so it would able to screw into the wall. Then in order to attach the backing to the rorschach shape, I used a chemical which essentially joins the pieces together- again very interesting. That took a few trial and errors but overall turned out pretty good. It dries really quickly but you have to apply the perfect amount or it will eat away at the acrylic leaving a permanent mark. I did realise when I was talking to Harriet that I should have waited to take the plastic cover off of the acrylic as it got quite scratched, but oh well, i don’t think it takes away from it too much.

Then today I went to attach it to the wall, as I didn’t have a drill, I just used 2 pins which was actually quite good as I the could move it around easily.

I shone a light on one side which produced a shadow which mirrored the rorschach shape, forming a full symmetrical ink blot shape. I also found the if I changed around the position of the light it would give a really cool effect.

I had the ideas for this work in the back of my head but actually making this work and seeing it lit up, really solidified it’s conceptual ideas that I wanted it to convey. The main intention behind this work was to focus on the verb “of symmetry” in a bit more detail.

Ok this whole time thinking about rorscharch tests I feel like I really neglected the key theme that they represent, mental health and mental illness. Not sure why this didn’t quite click previously but when making this work it became very relevant. I think the beauty of this work is that it can be interpreted many different way depending on the viewers own relationship with mental health and mental illness. It gives a clear but not cliche representation of mental hardships that uses symmetry

One way of interpreting it would be how the shadow represents the ‘human’, the brain, the subconscious; while the object acts as the Rorschach test, absolute, and categorical. They reflect each other yet have different qualities to them. The shadow is wavering at the edges, and not always perfectly aligned.

Shadow itself has a history of being ‘darker’, a darker version of the object. A distorted representation. In this work it both plays into that but also rejects it. The shadow is not distorted, it is accurate and it is symmetrical. However, the shadow also causes it to become recognisable. As just the black object, it is difficult to decipher what it is, but when the shadow is introduced it becomes clear. So in some ways it does distort the initial perception.

The act of symmetry is very physical within this work. As it is created when a light is physically turned on and put into the right position. It is not given, but formed.

Although this makes it seem super dark and whatever, I think the beauty of the Rorschach shines through and should not be overlooked. The use of the shadow emphasises the symmetry and the breathtaking shape of the Rorschach pattern. This is what has given it its long lasting effect, it has such a mesmerising pattern that you can’t help being drawn to.

I also played around with the position of the black object. Having the object positioned on a non assuming area or wall, a shadowy corner, shows how dark the human mind can reach. It can occur in unassuming places to unassuming people. It isn’t always obvious.

This acts as a site responsive work but I also want to explore this further by placing it outside the studio- perhaps in my room or in places where it seems apt (like places where your mental illness may flare up wherever that may be. So then it really acts as a symbol of mental distress. That is only really recognisable when a light is shone through it (attention) producing the shadow.

Then I also want to work with natural light to create the shadow. Representing the subconscious response to something so concrete and categorical as the Rorschach test.

As a simple explanation, the shadow creates the symmetry to ultimately form the ‘face’ of mental illness. I am very happy with how this turned out and may use it on its own as my final installation.

Today I also had a play around with my other works as I got another light from loan central so I could make it more permanent (instead of needing someone to hold their phone flashlight). But I couldn’t quite get the stand low enough for one of them so I used a big cone that happened to be the right height. Obviously not good enough for an actual installation but I just needed to know that the lights would work. As much as the acrylic translucent work still looked cool, it didn’t look cool enough. And my clay version didn’t quite work with the lights this time so I don’t think I will display it. I also kept trying to play around with the lights to see what affect it would give. I wanted to give the objects a big looming shadow, like a Rorschach monster, but the lights would need to be quite small and right next to the base of the object which wouldn’t work with what I had.

Other ideas:

I know I don’t have enough time to do this but just another idea I had. It would be very cool to have a larger version of the work pictured above as a chandelier that would spin and create multiple shadows across the ceiling. Lights would be shining from multiple angles and Rorschach faces would look down at you from all around the room. Not only would it look like a chandelier but the way it is so central and would cast shadows that encapsulate the room reminds me of feeling trapped in your thoughts.

So I actually ended up glazing and firing my carrot that I made at the start of this brief in the wet lab. I don’t think I did a dedicated post to that process as it hasn’t effected much of the work I have been doing. But I did make a cast of a carrot from plaster, filled it with slip, and removed it once it was dry out of the mould, creating a lil carrot. It was a fun process but tricky to get right. This carrot was done with black coloured slip that looks more of a grey blue when it was dried but fired a lot darker into a beautiful black. I glazed it with a clear glaze so its cool and shiny.

It came out great and now I want to make more coz it is just so precious.

This was my take on phase 2 of the brief, ‘in situ’ where I used the plaster pockets to respond to their surrounding. I went with a fairly natural choice with this one, with the site being a person wearing pants. So i put the plaster pockets back into pants while someone was wearing them.

These are the outcomes:

The pants she is wearing are not the pants that the plaster was poured into. The idea that these casts have been placed back into their ‘home’ but in actuality it is not their home, it only seems like it at face value.

I am made the private pocket space public, and then now have made it private again. The plaster pockets also make the pockets obsolete and unusable which goes back to my original idea of looking at seemingly ‘negative’ space.

Anyway not really remarkable at all but yeah…

Next I tried to do an installation work with them.

Initially I was going to do my final installation using the pockets and only show photos of the rorscarch work. I have since changed my mind as mentioned previously. But anyway, the pockets were going to be display on plinths, to emphasise the publicising of the private space. I would perhaps hang the clothing behind it. But in fear of that being too obvious I decided I would hang the clothes on a clothes line with pegs at eye line and have the plaster plaster pockets in the actual pockets. I was thinking it could be interactive so the pockets could be taken out. But just not very inspired by those ideas.

I still did want to do something with them tho so I repaired the clothing that I used for the plaster as they were ripped from cutting the hardened plaster out, and cleaned them so there wasn’t the white residue. Then I stapled them to a wall and put their corresponding pocket cast inside of them. I don’t think this looks amazing or inspired or anything but did kind of tie the ideas up.

Then I stacked all the pockets up together on a plinth. I do like how this looks especially how everything is white. It very much shows the work as a collection. Kind of seems like I am a creep who just takes casts of random peoples pockets and displays them in my house. or like someones fossil collection.

I also used the lights with my clay Rorschach sculpture which had dried but luckily had stayed in one piece. The acrylic object is more clinical and more removed from the human body. Whilst the clay work is more organic, malleable, and human. Clay itself breaks down a lot faster than plastic, and it’s edges are rougher and less clean. I also didn’t fire this piece so it is very delicate and if in contact with water it will revert back to its original state. Making it a lot more malleable and easily changed, just like the human mind and body. With the acrylic piece I was more looking at the clinical side of Rorschach tests, whilst this reflects the ink blots raw, human, vulnerable use. The acrylic work is heavily focussed on symmetry and the verb ‘of symmetry’ whilst this is less focussed on that. The verb I would associate with it would be ‘to form’ The clay is formed using my hands leaving room for error and imperfections. My hands have left fingerprints that reflect the individuality of viewers perceptions of the ink blots.

These two contrasting takes on the Rorschach tests both observe how each viewer brain is different, yet how answers can be categorised into an accurate medical conclusion.

The seemingly random blob of clay create intentional shapes in the shadows. This disconnect from the object to the shadows is very interesting to explore especially in relation to the Rorschach tests. The clay shape is very human, yet the outcome (the shadows) are very uniform and categorical, which very much plays with the clinical/human contrast that the ink blots naturally have.

Now was time to photograph my Rorschach work as I had intended. I got a few lights from loan central and a tripod. I got a plinth and began experimenting with positioning and the lighting. I soon realised that one of the lights was too soft so I had to use my phone torch light as the second light. Still, it worked well.

I placed the plinth in the corner so when the lights would shine you can see both shadows clearly. The lights were slightly different temperatures so I am hoping to change that for the actual install.

This one is using my translucent acrylic Rorschach. I love how the acrylic shapes are hard to make out especially against the white wall and plinth. It kind of blends together in a ghostly effect. This wasn’t intentional when taking the photo but afterwards I noticed how the centre line is lined up to the corner of the wall. This looks really cool and adds to the effect of it blending in with the background which makes the dark shadows seem to appear out of nowhere. You can vaguely make out the shapes in the acrylic but they produced really strong shadows onto the wall which is exactly what I was going for. It plays with perception, the acrylic object acting as the Rorschach ink blots, simply a visually interesting ink drawing, whilst the shadows act as the patients perception of the shapes made. In the brain they are converted to clear imagery, represented in this work not by the imagery itself i.e a dragon, but by the crisp and bold shadows it makes.

At this point I just had one light and used the flash on my phone to light the other side. This didn’t come out as intended but I think it came out more interesting. Due to the angle of the photo the acrylic object looks 2D with the form facing forward. This meant that the shadow produced of the other side of object seems to be appearing out of nowhere. It tricks the viewer and their perception. I want to try and take more photos like this intentionally, and set it up the opposite way. This is because the other face was designed to be more threatening compared to the face that is shadowed in this picture, so I think swapping them around will emphasise this more—- The rorschach tests don’t necessarily look lighthearted or jolly, but the perception that patients have and their usage in mental institutions are even darker than meets the eye.

This was originally to get a few photographs so I could clear my space for my pocket work for the install, but after using the lights I just thought it was too cool not to use for the final installation. I wasn’t feeling too inspired by my pocket work at this point but the rorschach work was turning out as I had hoped.