Workshop 5
This workshop was the last in the series of workshops inspired by the first one where we planted the acorn, The Farmer and the Forager. Although only three of us turned up, I felt what we did and achieved was really impactful and rewarding for all of us involved. Originally we were going to walk with all of the masks dangling on a line, each one of us holding the line wearing our painted masks. However, due to the small group number and the subsequent smaller number of masks we actually collected, we decided to change our idea and instead have two of us wearing the found masks. Myself and Richard volunteered for this. Using a long black piece of elastic, we first threaded the masks onto it, and then wrapped the elastic around our bodies. Amy and Miranda then pinned the masks in place, so that the messages on each one could be read easily. I thought this was a great idea, and it really reminded me of the way that animals and wildlife get wrapped up themselves in the masks, being suffocated from the elastic hoops.
These photographs are from the workshop itself. At first, it was quite intimidating walking around the town as people would stare at us. However, I quickly found that I was becoming more confident the more people looked! I think this was because I was proud of the message we were telling, of educating people to not use disposable masks and raising awareness of the devastating environmental effects they cause. Amy walked around handing out cards to people with more information on them, talking to people. She found that many were not aware of the dangers the masks pose to the environment and wildlife. This is interesting as it is something I can take forward in my own project – educating people.
I felt particularly emotional when by the sea, as it really brought the message home to me about the effects to the sea and marine life, and emphasised the terrible pictures and statistics we discovered in the previous workshop. Overall, I found the workshop to be beautiful, emotional and powerful. I felt part of a collective, and it was lovely to get outside and raise awareness. Even though we are all suffering in the pandemic, it does not mean the environment has to suffer too – we can still, and should protect it!
Practice for Proposal
As the deadline for the proposal form for the Winter Show is in Week Nine, I have begun to take photographs and finalise my plans for it. I will post the finished proposal form in Week Nine, and describe my presentation and feedback of it, but this is what I have been doing this week. I first decided to take all of the new photographs which I would be using on my proposal form. This includes the area which I will be preparing and cooking the cress in, and also the plinth which I will use to take the time lapse of the cress.
These photographs depict the preparing and cooking process. For the purposes of the proposal, I used watercress instead of garden cress as I did not want to waste the cress I have been growing. I will practice using the real cress later. The recipe also works better with garden cress, even though it was lovely using watercress. Taking these photographs was a useful experience as it allowed me to see that I will need to source a professional light and tripod to film the actual videos with.
These photographs show more of the preparation stage, cooking and the finished soup. I think the ingredients in little bowls look great as they are reminiscent of cooking videos you see on television and social media. I also like the way that the photographs and videos will be taken in my home kitchen – it feels eccentric yet totally normal and relevant – we all are spending so much more time at home than we previously did.
These photographs depict the plinth which I will use for the time lapse video of the cress growth. I have used existing mask pots for the purpose of the photo, but I will be setting up 24 in rows of 6×4. I am excited to see the growth of the cress as I think they will look great on the plinth; it makes them seem even more important, giving an artistic element to the important message of cycles and non-degradable items.
The proposal requires five drawings of my project so far. This is quite difficult for me as I have not got a strong confidence in my drawing abilities, so I have tried to make them as clear and simple as possible. Each drawing resembles a different stage I will be performing in the exhibition. One drawing resembles a tripod pointing at a plinth with the mask pots on. This is the set up for my time-lapse, which I plan to make into a 10 minute video
I have depicted myself, chopping and measuring the ingredients, in the first picture. This will take the form of a 15 minute video. The next drawing shows myself stirring the cress in a pot, cooking it. This will also be a 15 minute video. The angle of each video is facing directly at me, much like the forms of cooking videos we see on social media. The final drawing shows me eating the soup which I have made. I intend this to be a 5 minute video.