The Forest as Studio
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Cosmos 2014 by Semiconductor,
Jerwood Open Forest commission |
This week the MA Fine ART group visited Alice Holt Forest in Surrey and set up base near the lake to create site specific work. The objective was to use the forest as a resource and as practicing contemporary artists, develop our ways of working as our studios can be anywhere.
At the start of the visit we received a talk from the forestry commission education representative and viewed a really interesting film on a site specific work entitled 'Cosmos' created by Semiconductor (Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt)in 2014.
"Their work explores the material nature of our world. Through this piece they consider scientific data as a means of understanding the environment, and the relationship between how science represents the physical world and how we experience it."
We discovered the 2m spherical artwork after a 20 minute from the visitor centre and its presence in the setting was awe-inspiring. There was a quiet magnificence surrounding the work, evoking a sense of another world, inviting the viewer to explore through thought and touch. The tactile quality of this piece was very appealing to me and its presence in the location is an important learning point for me to take forward into my artworks.
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| Picnic |
Despite the bitterly cold weather we took inspiration from the forest and proceeded to develop creative works. I had loosely planned some ideas before visiting the forest but these were not fully formed until I had selected my area of forest to work in. I discovered a moss covered stump near a beautiful twisting tree. The stump became my altar for my reverential 'picnic' composition. Nearby I placed my reliquary art box containing pieces of 'mother'. In front of this I stationed two crows as if they were inspecting the box's content. The low perspective photographic shot added to the narrative creating an intimate view. Again, the up-close perspective in 'picnic' suggests participation; the spectator becomes part of the gathering. The crow is becoming increasingly integral to my work and is a motif and signifier of communications with my mother.
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| Untitled (Mother) |
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| Missing Family |
Mother II is a still from a short video installation. It depicts the presence of Mother through a series of dangling scarves flapping in the wind suspended from a tree branch. On this ancient site, early inhabitants made the woods their home. There are echoes of these lost worlds through found archeological artefacts. The poignant, symbolic representation of mother in this film will be added later to a much larger installation in the Museum of Me.
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| Mother, Mother |
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| Mother II |
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| Untitled (Babes in the Woods) |
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| Untitled (Babes in the Woods II) |
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