Sally Maclachlan

Using gathered materials and direct experience of the environment to create through :

Sounds

Film

Projection

Making immersion (sculptures)

Photography

Writing – invisible writing, mobius loop

Animation

Innovation

MEMORY MAPS – LOST WORDS – REALISATION

Thinking on memory I made attempts to create maps of places that were no longer able to be accessed, a step away from water in to the mind. I enjoyed exlporing the places again in my head but representing them proved emotionally challeneging. This focus on loss.

I was reading Robert Macfarlanes Landmarks at the time, a book full of glossarys of words that are passing out of time. This localised, specialised language that creates stewardship of a place. He spoke of the Isle of Lewis, how people would create memory maps in their heads of the peat bogs to be able to pass through the expanse. This connection between lost language and place interested me more than my own memory maps of places special to me. I wanted to highlight spaces important to all.

His glossary of lost water words was specifically interesting to me :
Abbain- substantial river, often running to the sea, with numerous tributaries (Gaelic)
Aghlish- Crook or sharp curve of a river (Manx)
Aker – turbulent current (East Anglia)
Bala- outflow of a river from a lake (Welsh)
Beck – Stream (N. England)


I think this shift towards localistation is very important, to deeply observe and then be able to change what you can. Rachel Carsons silent spring really emphasised this as a neccesity to me, how can you know somethings wrong if you don’t know how it is?

An on going and organic process I began thinking what to observe from my time in the sea, initially I began with:
Who I was with
Where I was
When
What the sea looked like
What it felt like

Information gathering from the sea, this has now progressed to thinking much more deeply. Adjusting and creating paramenters to hold the sea in awareness
How the stones sound
What I felt before and after
Quality of the water (contact science department and see if there potential for testing)
Experimenting with photo sensitive paper in sea
Sky (photo)

AMY SHARROCK – Muesum of water

Begun in 2013 in London this collection of publicly donated water allows people to be active participants in the museum. Accompanied by stories of where the water is from it allows us to revaluate our connection with water and the impact it has on our lives.
Making seen something many take for granted.
Funded by Artangel and LSHTM the collection can be viewed online as well as touring a variety of different locations including Somerset house ,Europe and Australia.

This work was inspiring as it highlights our relationship with water, allowing us to become curators and purveyors in its importance. Making the invisible visible.

The Collection – Museum of Water by Amy Sharrocks, London UK

05102020
Thinking on nature we explored a variety of artists who explore this, we experimented taking notes using an automatic technique. Where we just responded directly to what was going on with a pen and paper- drawing, direct writing.
Interesting to see engagement and vastly different responses

• 

• 

• 

The artists work that most stuck with me and that I would like to further research are:
Ludwig Berger – Melting landscapes (Field Recordings, 2016 – 2018)
Jan Svankmajer –  Faust, 1994
Simone Kenyon and Lucy Cash – How the Earth Must See Itself, 2019

READINGS (notes):
Gerhard Richter– Atlas- Lynne ccoke anylysis
Physical collage, diversity of clippings as artwork in itself

The studio of the street- Jeffery Deitch
Basquait emergence, no distinction between art and life environments

Marcus Boon and Gabriel Levine- Introduction/the promise of practice
TO DO– REVOLUTION — OPEN ENDED ACTIONS
A nebula named practice – dematerialization of art object

Praxis in Greek- to Aristotelian philosophy meant an action that is valuable in itself (had an ethical dimension as how to live and political concerned with how people live with others )

Marx invested practice with collective transformative wordly action

Henry LefeBreve- transforming of everyday life

Lydia Clark ‘structuring the self’ Art move in to art therapy

0410
2020
Big rolling waves, cautious. Sun shining hot bands of grey feel little wound up, somewhat sad. Sun sparkles on.
IN>> Grey turquois POWER stones smash waves devour murky churned froth bubbling underskirts collapsing peaks travel backwards through time shoreline divide flickered
Warming feet stumped on stones to the obliterated sun. She shone 2.45pm when i swam

On own, bottom of north

More in depth sea observations from the storm:
(contemplating whether to go in)
0510
2020
It is windswept. The sea looks browny and grey, there are mysterious shadows of seaweed. Unenticing. Little roolly waves. Giant seaweed scum. The wind chides me. Makes me forget the allure of the sea. What tempers. I feel uncertain, the sea looks matt. 6PM. On own. Small starling party. By jetty north beach.
AT LEAST Y NOT >> BIG scary clumps of seaweed, what lurks within?? Jellfishes. My hands are cold. I see you and I don’t.

On deciding not to swim, you have to be sensible with the sea as it powerful far beyond us and indiffernt. To be held.
We had meditated at the start of class and it inspired me to just sit with the sea if I thought it was too much to go in safely and reflect.

0610
2020
Waves as big as horses roaring up sky aghast with clouds rising above horizon giants laying back on sunrays. Peeping island amongst grey gutteral touch the sea iron rain blue above wind wilts and decays under clothes rampage. Scum on sea churned up dirty seafoam beige bethrothal to the white waves seagulls glide skirting the peaks

Common Ground- 1983
Founded by Richard Deakin, Sue Clifford and Angela Price
This organisation is intended to encourage people to engage with they’re local area, to specilise they’re interest. to fall in love so they have a reason to protect. Three of my favourite projects from them are:
Tree trails: A series of maps of diferent trees
https://www.commonground.org.uk/tree-trails/
Arcadia:
Watch for free on BFI player
https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-it-never-really-happened-1930-online
Ty Unnos- Owen Griffiths

Owen Griffiths
Social practice artist, read interview with him from the centre for artistic activism . Welsh based artist

Actipedia
Amazing collection of different artists projects that help bring about change!!
https://actipedia.org/

09102020 Tutorial reflection
PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE

On setting up a practice, art as a reflection of your life – what you’re exploring, questioning, engaged in? How you respond to this in whatever framework you set for yourself. For me this works in relation to the sea, visiting the sea as a practice. A body of water that relays actions and draws parallels and remembering s of deeper forces.

This importance of specilisation, not getting lost in trying to portray something totally- becoming consumed generally. Allowing a deep look in to something (in this point in time a locality for me) to resonate.

Exploring water, time, memory (mapping), lost places, lost words, lost stewardship
Really inspired by Rachel Carsons knowing of a place so well you want to protect it. As for recording, not sure where I’ll go- get lost in process.
Environmental question, am trying to hold lightly and not force. Interested in some film and visual artists and temporary- BILL VIOLA.(Tom Creed also looked at video sculpturally)

Swim diary. Quality of water?? Who ask?

OBSERVE RESPOND REFLECT

Socially distanced project room visit- Flashing cube, fluxus imposition

ETOMOLOGY OF WATER WORDS
Spray : water blown by waves 1620
Billow : To rise or roll in big waves 1590
Undulate : to move in waves 1660s
Fluctuant : moving like a wave

https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=waves

Liminology- Richard Skelton
Arranging over 1000 ‘water words’ from the local dialetic of his area in Cumbria, Skelton creates poems and words that tumble across the page. Flowing like water!
This is really inspiring as it reminds me of the waves I am trying to create in the sea diary. Should try buy this book to see some of the techniques he’s used in creating a watery atmosphere through shape and language. He has also set up his own printing press ‘Corble stone press’ . The book also is accompanied by a music soundtrack that builds and swells in relation to tracking the course of a river from the mountain rill to the sea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDEVgy9cUfg&t=321s

Waterlogged by Richard Deakin > Wild swimming around the UK, looking at space in a differnt way. Allowing people to engage with places through water.

USEFUL WATER RELATED SITES
Dwr Cymru
Elan valley trust
Water footprint

• 

• 

• 

• 

WATERLOGGED PHOTOS

• 

• 

SEA DIARY:
1010
2020
gentle lap small roll dripping orange essence iridescent pools that hover over peaks rippling mountains aglow green grey trilobite sky memories of binoculars pinpoint vision obtuse to the parameters zoom in to all
on own. South beach 6pm
Amazement at sunset, wind feels warm in my nose, daydreamy
After- relaxed
cold hands. Muscle man got in after me with just trunks

1110
2020
Crumpled red behind purple amorphous shapes fractured waves shiver asunder blink shift change quarterize the heart and barely bleeding reply in tounges too heavy to hold unspun your passing shallow condenses to rot
Some sallow grace hallowed peaks of haggard joy old spun lace lamenting lost journeys

1210
2020
Amongst boulders, placed sea defenses traveled from unknown to stand protectors behind sunset rust bars chewed in dereliction sober yellow eyes squint flashing sequence stumbling silhouettes twirl against the sky all bleeds grey dirty dusk sea lap jittering juddering TOO DARK MOVE ON scorched orange dragons tail

REFLECTION:
am glad to be doing some things grounded in materiality, the sea diary- the direct charcoal drawings. The practice of going to the sea, of being. I found this process of setting up a practice incredibly inspiring, looking in to artists who contemplate time, memory and the documentation (mapping) of things lost, to be held.
Keep wanting to work with temporal materials, maybe try make more colours than just the black charcoal. Am enjoying the use of film and photographs as documentation at the moment, perhaps try refine some water soundtrack as well with my sound producer online friend.

CHARCOAL

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

IDEAS TO TRY:
– Leaving photos of sea in the sea, see how this degrades them
– Putting photo sensitive paper in the sea, at day and night. See if this leaves any imprints .
Artist Megan Ripenhoff does this!
– Cyantype chemicals
– TEMPORARY TIME

ARTISTS LOOKED AT THIS WEEK:
– Bill Viola
Born in 1951 he is a pioneering artist of our time (especially for video art). His work is charactised by symbolism and questioning universal truths. His close relationship with water especially interested me, his work ‘Reflecting pool’ 1977-79 involves someone diving in to a pool in a forest. Exploring actions that happen below the surface. Water hides, reflects, relays, receives. Made me think more on the symbolic qualities water inherently has.

–Nikki Lindt – soil sounds
‘Beneath the forest floor’
Consisting of sound recordings made underground in the Hubbard experimental forest in 2019. This piece was done in collaboration with scientist Lindsey Rustad who is exploring the possibility that underground sounds can inform us of the health of the forest.
Inspiring as the collaboration with art has inspired a largely unknown line of scientific enquiry.

Beneath the Forest Floor, Nikki Lindt on Vimeo

Workshop 1: 14/10/2020
Moments in time and space. Hunter gatherer. Getting lost> searching>growth and decay.
We went out in search of acorns, rummaging through the forest. Was a long hunt to find them, as we got closer the ground darkened with dried out husks. Trying to spy the green unbroken shells to plant. When you are looking specifically it reframes the space, you notice new things in relation to what you search for.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Ritualistic practice of watering…of care
HYPER FOCUS
Lost language of nature, people not being able to recognise. NOT SEEN NOT SPOKEN
Time span- slow and fast, memory within. Small time of planting now, big positive time frame affects. Ripple affects of actions.

For next week:
Come with an idea to plan to create a collaborative project from…
LOST LANGUAGE TIME
Potential spaces _ Creative arts studio, project room and outside
Materials could use: Compost, watering can, spoons, plant pots, gloves

WEEK 3

SEA DIARY IN PROGRESS
Decided to make a physical sea diary by binding my own book and hand painting the paper. To touch down in a materiality while so much is online. I was taking notes at the sea and transposing them which was creating mix ups anyway. I wanted to create a beautiful object where even the way the text is structured is reminiscent of the sea. I took inspiration from the original sea posters I made earlier on and created waves of text.

Seaweed dye research
Am also very interested in the potential of natural materials to dye and change the paper. There are so many different colours of seaweed round here I will look up the local varieties and see if any can be used.

Bootlace weed Chorda filum
Red seaweed Furcellaria lumbricalis
Red seaweed Griffithsia flosculosa

(information sourced form Seasearch an underwater volunteer sea survey organisation)

Seaweed research, photograph

SUNSET
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jMRwQUG_50

• 

• 

• 

• 

MORE CHARCOL PHOTOS

• 

• 

WATERLOG ANIMATION (above)

CHARCOL STOP MOTION IDEAS
– Creating quick animations of washeed away drawings-
– Experiment with different natural pigmenst, see how long they take to disappear
-look in to passing time
– could draw the local area on the stones??
– Wave patterns
– Something we’re losing and finding??

ARTISTS LOOKED AT:
WVLENGTH FILM:
structural look in to filmaking, exploring time within film and space created from slow change. The same image of a wave. A repeation. A questioning on how some images we will gaze at unendingly, a sunset, a fire, the sea. Mesmorizing. Boring.

MARIE MENKEN:
B. 1910 New york, abstract painter and experimental film maker
DWIGHTIANIA_- filmed in Dwight Ripleys studio (she also filmed in Amdy Warhol, Piet Mondrian and Noguchis studios). This piece uses stop motion to frame the artwork in new ways and engage the viewer differntly with the pieces.

WANDERLUST- REBECCA SOLNIT
Still reading Wanderlust and am inspired by the way she shows how dynamic and layered the history of walking can be. The branches and twists it shows you reveals that even simple acts can have far reaching affects.

REFLECTION:
From this week I’ve become interested in how water can portray the elements of time and memory.
With the washing charcoal, dissolving photographs and stop motion animation it creates a look in to time within this practice.
The free motion wave based documentation in the sea diary is exciting aswell in relation to a free form free written look in to the sea.

WORKSHOP 2: 19102020

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Uncommon ground Land Art in Britain 1966- 1979 education pack from London Southbank centre



Good educational pack, detailing the history of Land Art and the artists featured in this exhibition

Roger Ackling – Born 1947 London
Sun Pyrography, concentrated time. Strong sense of time, in relation to weather conditions and the intensity of the marks!! Focus on the microscopic.

Ian Hamilton Finlay, Born 1925 Bahamas
Became known for poetry carving words in to stones. From 1967 started turning his own garden Stonypath in to a work of art. Adding headstones and carved peices. Alot of focus with the sea, carving inscriptions related to sea.
The Monteviot Proposal 1979

Anthony McCall- Born 1946 Kent
Light and projection, Landscape for fire

Garry Fabian Miller, Born 1947 Bristol
Fine art photographer, Sections of sea: Sea Horizons – focus, exposure, viewpoint and arc all fixed. Timing of shots was random and not recorded. 1974 studied Shetland Islands which has given him a strong sense of place in their work.

Others of interest to look in to , Keith Arnatt, Barry Flanagan, Derek Jarman

‘Most of England has had its shape changed – practically the whole place, because it has
been ploughed over for centuries – rounded off.’
Our impact on the land
32
Richard Long, speaking at Earth symposium, Cornell University, New York 1969

CHARCOL ANIMATION-
Using stop motion as a technique for the charcol is not very effective as the tide washes it off too fast to take many photos. For that reason I have ben compiling short films instead.
Would still like to experiment with the effectivenness of different pigments on stones to see if they last longer.

Still want to make some sort of sea based animation, am very inspired by the animated snake from Marie Menkens animated short film ‘Dwightiania’

SEA DIARY –
Potential of sea diary to be in a scroll structure, be more fluid and like the rolling sea?

DARK ROOM –
First attempts to set up our own darkroom at home. Want to do this so am able to fix the sea printed pictures and experiment more with solorizaration cans as a means for collecting time and cyantypes for more defined wave patterns.

This process involved measuring
354ml water (room temp)
5 tsp coffee (must be caffinated)
3 and 1/2 tsp washing soda (we made this by baking baking soda in the oven for 30 minutes)
3/4 tsp Vitimin C powder

Mix well so crystals dissolve. This is the Caffenol alternat8ive developing process that I found out on

https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/how-to-develop-film-with-coffee-caffenol-guide

However after trying to follow that link again the page seems to be dead. I will hence write about my experience on here.

Add mix to film cannister, agitate constantly for first minute, then three times a minute for 11 minutes.

Wash with running water (as close to room temp as possible)

Pour in fixer 2oz of fixer to 6oz water , agitate 3 minutes

Pour in water with a drop of washing soap, do this 12 times- agitating as go

Although my first experiment of this process yielded totally void film I can still use this to scratch in to or on top of to make an animation – nothings truly wasted. An interesting process to try in the cupboard!!

Listen to shipping forecast everyday!! Record in sea diary, then will know tide times and sea predictions
will keep me safer and have some factual response to the sea

WORKSHOP 3 : 26102020

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Charcoal dissolution. The sound on this works much more effectively and gives the film more motion. Need to adjust the levels so is less crackly though.

Darkroom – development and further experimentation:
Emailed the School of Art asking about taking my home darkroom further as it is hard for me to access the art departments darkroom with lockdown restrictions. Accommodatingly they leant me an old disused enlarger! Having access to this means I can actually reverse my negatives, make actual photos and play around with the capacity of using it in flicker films and animations! Learning about the material of making.

Photosensitive paper – continuing to put this material in the sea created some interesting colours. Most of the patterns come from the small rocks scraping i think. It is hard to not let them be pulled out by tide. maybe I should fasten them to string instead. To get the flow of water. These were done in daytime.

Liquid light – potential of this as can be painted on to other objects, could try painting on to stones. Should look how harmful for the environment it is also. (Liquid light is a chemical that turns any surface photosensitive when applied)

Richard Skelton:
Continued resaerching this artist, he is very concerned with locality and stewardship.
https://atlasarts.org.uk/artists/richard-skelton/
Wrote another book called ‘Landings’ which maps an area of the northern moors, looking at its history, the language used to describe it that’s getting lost. A crucial bit of landscape writing it deeply evokes place

Reliquiae – biannual poetry journal
Ecologically aware writing, ethnological to philosophical, landscapes , nature and mythology. Most interested in esoteric , visionary and mythopoeic. Anyone can submit!!

New frontier project
http://www.frontiersinretreat.org/about


Art atlas collaboration (singing to the sea in response!!)

https://atlasarts.org.uk/projects/a-work-for-the-north-atlantic-singing-for-the-sea/

Binocular vision:
‘The peregrine lives in a pouring away world of no attachemnt . Finding his way in remembered symmeteries.’ – The peregrine – J.A Baker

Peculiar form of looking high focus- shut out rest. End of tunnel .

Potential good way of showing specilisation – try filming through binoculars, the sea, the water.

Pigment research :
Soils
Plant matter
Rocks
Heavy metals
Seaweed
https://parideazafarmart.wordpress.com/workshop-on-making-paint-from-soil/

Relics- Richard skelton and autumn richardson
https://richardskelton.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/relics/

Book documenting all the trees on the Cumbria fells from 12,000 years ago to present. A poem and travel through time and memory. Thought this could be relevant to our class collaboration project and also my own work.
Documenting, remembering, saving.

Also found out about the ‘Ash project’ through researching this book, a cultural response to ash dieback in the kent downs. Collaborating with a variety of differnt artists inclusing Ackroyd they are creating a collective memory to combat ash dieback which will likely destroy 90% of the species.

Autumn Richardson & Richard Skelton: Relics (Fraxinus)

WEEK 6

How to read water- Tristian Gooley (notes)
Interesting look in to the signs and signifiers water has that we are just not aware of. The maps of the sea, that water makes up most of the world and there are ways to read the waves like maps.
Good change of perspective on water and how can approach it.

Visiting the studio:
Important to still make use of the space while reading week is on, very grateful to have access to these areas while lockdown is still in place. Went in to check on the oak forest we have planted, some very budding sprouts shooting. The creative arts compost is placed on a plinth, we all add our food waste in and this in turn nourishes our plants. Feeding in to this observation of the interconnectedness of nature.
Also discovered a sound book

Charcol snake

Tidal sound waves –
Have been speaking to a sound producer about the potential of turning the tidal pattern diagram in to a sound wave! Seeing what the tide sounds like, compressing two weeks worth of time in to a 15 bit sound. Am learning about sound design for this, recently installed ableton on my computer so will be using this software.
Hired out a marantz recorder from Creative arts this week also to record some sounds of the sea to potentially be able to modulate with this wave form!
Need to start making some diagrams about comparative frequencies and explore in to the maths of this. Very exciting though!!!

Sea diary

Pigments research:
Artist, John Sabraw – Environmental engineer, Guy Riefler
Found the quote below by Goethe on John sabraw website, very inspiring to my own practice in remembering the universal languages of communicating. Trying to explore science and art together.
John sabraw does this with environmental engineer Guy Riefler, collecting toxic sludge run off from rivers they create pigments. Most pigments are iron based anyone so with the contamination in these rivers this can be turned in deep oranges, blacks, reds, rust. They’re hoping to get a big paint company involved so they can continue to clean up rivers on a wider scale.

Made me very inspired to look at the potential of turning heavy metals in to pigments as the local rivers round here have high contents of these as run off from mines.

https://www.johnsabraw.com/
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21929300-100-toxic-sludge-from-polluted-rivers-turned-into-art/

“SCIENCE AND ART BELONG TO THE WHOLE WORLD, AND THE BARRIERS OF NATIONALITY VANISH BEFORE THEM.”

— Goethe

Further pigment artist research:
Dirty water collective
Found out about a project done by a group of artists in the filipines, using the polluted rivers mud to create watercolour paints. they have then been exhibiting these and selling them to generate money to restore the rivers health.
They decontaminate the soil and mix it with gum arabic!
Could be a good potential for our own collaborative pigments.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-36394985

Creative coalition 2020
Will be attending this 3 day collaborative festival, due to lockdown circumstances the festival is now free AND online. Some silver linings in the dark. Variety of different artists speaking about circumstances and performing their work.
https://creativecoalitionfestival.com/festival-programme/

Artists – Fluxus
International avant garde collecton of artists founded in 1960’s and continuing till present. Derived from Latin word for flowing, it challenged the ideas of what art can be and continues to open up new definitions for it. Using a range of media they expounded a do-it-yourself approached, often including chance in to their work they thrived off collaborations and humour.

Very inspiring as highlighted how practice can be art and that process is as important as result.

UBU WEB –
Amazing internet resource compiling multidisiplinary artists. examples of sounds, interviews, videos and papers written by these creatives. Fluxus soundtrack

https://www.ubu.com/sound/fluxus.html

Reflections before tutorial :
Am still really excited by practice. Having gone to the sea and recorded this everyday I still have the continual thread of the sea diary and the grounding experience for me. To be with the sea at this time. It has created an event for me that restores and inspires. Rippling off in my mind, the effects of time, memory and place. Using animations, films, sounds that explore a notion of place within nature. Making the invisible visible,
Still exploring:
Charcoal/pigment animations/films (potential of group happening in this)
Film as installation and projection (lost languages of the sea reflected on sea)
Tidal sound patterns
Logogriphs and lost language research
Darkroom and degrading photos, solorization- tracking of time
Sea diary, poetry, reflect
Fieldwork

Although I have no set idea for my final piece I am grateful that my practice of being with the sea has opened these different avenues to keep investigating in the context of play. I know I would like to use the project room, to create a space. With sounds, videos, projections, activities. The sea, to be.

Reflections after tutorial :
Gather the formats I would like to use, sound, video and projection and start finessing the research. deeper and with more focus on how the piece will work within a 3 hour digital workshop.

Miranda notes:

I.P.1, 3, 5 Tutorial 2, week 5

Sally

What are your reflections on the workshop this week?

What have you been exploring and experimenting with so far?

Lots of rich vibrant experimentation so far with the sea visits, everyday visiting the sea with the intention of writing poetry, making short experimental animated films, developing photos in the sea water etc.

Sally is very engaged with research and it is all moving along very well, she is exited, engaged and motivated.

But we discussed now being a good moment, within the given time line, to stop experimenting and move deeper into an element of the research so far – she suggested her deepest interest at the moment is in the wave form, tide forecast graph.

This is a very strong idea, Sally has the time to develop 1 x 2 week forecast into a audio waveform.

We discussed how she might work with the 3 hour online exhibition platform in an exciting and appropriate way – we discussed doing live performance perhaps on the beach alongside a more professional/packaged/digital presentation – of the waveform?
We discussed this online exhibition would be a good opportunity for Sally to draw the two sides of her together – the professional, organised, sophisticated and the more organic, spontaneous, natural and unpackaged!

We discussed how the duration of the 3 hours could be related to the time in her work?

What seems to be emerging as the strongest aspect of all of your experimentation?

Commitment to the idea, to the sea, to the ‘practice’, to research, to play without a destination

What research have you done so far?

Lots! But I am not sure – who more deeply – it is hard to tell form the notebook?

How are you using the Online notebook? Is it working for you?

It is working very well indeed, it is a brainstorming space for Sally and a depository for her research – she does it with the idea of coming back to it

I think it is time for Sally to go back to it – to tidy it up using a strategy – maybe colour blocks for each aspect e.g research, experimentation, reflection, workshops

Making sure Weeks are marked clearly – large, bold font

Tidying up spelling

Adding more photos of the artists research

Have you any idea yet what you will write your review on?

We didn’t discuss

So overall a stopping, going backwards and then moving forwards more specifically moment for Sally.

WORKSHOP: 09112020
Presented our research:
Energy and tree’s – Curleon photos of leaves, Curleon energy. Way of exposing photos so it seems they have energy radiating out of them.
Tree perception – bio energy – Mycrohrizal fungal network

Research does not have to be logical, looking around

Time – Sam taylor Johnson B. 1967 London
Killing time – Tate modern
Rotten fruit still… 2001/02 – Stop motion ‘smells like fruit rotting’, video format effective, still lifes – more to than meets the eye

Trees- Byran Nash Gill
Prints of wood, woodcuts- vimeo
Nils Udo – depth of wooden nests (Land art)

Woods – Shakespear
Oberon King of the forest, lives in woods. Inspiration marriage culture in Britain in 16thc .
William Blake – Midsummer night dream etching

Diversity – Ronaldo Hernadez – Mural political and cultural diversity

Katie Patterson – Significant young artist, Future library, Hollow
(Zella and Moye architects) Made with Bristol uni, funded by situations. a planets worth of trees- years of research . Interactive website . Monument to 10,000 tree’s globally . Intergrate and work well with others


Showed that you can research around

Time to refine ideas!! Condense and coalesce,

Tidal wave (Foley sounds)
Started properly plotting the different high and low points in to a graph to figure out the difference between them so I could make sure the values were really accurate.
We then assigned each tide height a different frequency which were then sampled. Each wave then needs to be zoomed in and spliced together with the consequective wave to create one consistent sound – coming in coming out, going up going down. Is an amazing way to condense time, the most basic form of this 2 week cycle is reduced to a less than 2 second wave.
Similar to music concrete in that it is taking its value from actual real world sources. Now the wave has been formed can experiment with stretching this.

Richard Skelton – Lancashire, musician  
Liminology  
 
 

Very concerned with locality and stewardship. Deep observation of space.  
 

This project tracks waterway systems in an area and creates a musical score from found sounds tracking the journey of water through this place. The accompanying book creates visual patterns out of word lists, creating rivers through text. Blending poems, myths and lost languages for water. Grounded in place it explores our integral link with water.  
 
28 minute sound piece ebbs and flows and gradually reaches a crescendo, tracking and mimicking the build up of rivers from their source.  
 
Very relevant to my sea diary, to the recording of a space and building up a relationship with it to observe the important rhythms. An accompanying soundtrack based on water patterns was very inspiring to my creation of a tidal soundwave and how I could edit this further to highlight this flow.  
 
With his wife he also set up a print press called Corbel stone press, a way to publish his own art and collaborate with other artists. Anyone can submit work to this biannual poetry publications!

Ideas how to utilise 3 hours:
– Passage of time (in tides)
– Scratch photo and film animation (sea develop) , cycle of creation and destruction
– Rhythm of life, how affect
– Rituals , affected by this , my personal affect…

3 HOUR : Do something by sea, make animation, film sea
Wider picture : Being separated from natural rhythms

Memory – Tate podcast

George the poet- Creative coalition talk
– All existence is contribution
– Time and place have passed physical stage
– Self determination, knowledge is information we use to get higher
– Knowledge – skills – opportunity in DAILY LIVES
– Context of creative content!!!

Ash research:
As well as gathering the leaves of our tree’s for the class we also collected information about them to speak of.

From previous research I looked further in to the Ash project in Kent. Creating a living archive for a dying tree they collaboratively teamed up with scientist and artists to explore this through public monuments, walks through woodlands and public engagement. They have an extensive website which even recommends tips for setting up a collective practice! Asks how we might mark and celebrate ash tree’s before its too late!

Ash dieback – fungal pathogen ‘Hymenoscychphus fraxineus’ , 90%- 98% will die over the next decade. Over 150 million mature tree’s in Britain. One of our most ancient tree’s , appears in pollen records from thousands of years ago and mythology.

I was very inspired by Cydney Adams film ‘Frission‘,
it documents an ash tree and then as time goes on through this stop motion animation film the human interaction with the tree. The photographic stop motion gives it a kind of stuttering, like a final breath.
Reflections : Blurred out, abstract. Sounds like noises in tree, crescendo ambience, observing being. Humans come in, holding.

https://www.theashproject.org.uk/frisson/

Reminded me of the Battle of the tree’s poem by Taliesin a Welsh poet from before roman occupation. Born 534AD Powys. His words have survived through word of mouth and then potentially his manuscript the book of Taliesin.

http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/t08.html

Pigment experimentation:
To begin with I tried grounding down a couple of different materials, two different colours of slate (one with an orange coating on outside). three different colours of seaweed and some shells.

The slate was definitely the most effective powder to make as I could get it really fine, the two different colour slates had almost no distinction though.

The seaweeds produced some really fascinating shades of green and brown, however they did take a long time to dry out (had to finish them off in oven) and were significantly bittier than stone.

Shell was incredibly had to ground down fine enough to make pigment, think i put too many shells in at once so might try again with a smaller quantity.

Taking forward from this is that stones are the most achievable pigments to create, will hunt for some river clay also as think this could be very effective. Am still going to try get the iron ore pigments from round the abandoned mines as these could be beautiful and similar to what Sabraw was exploring.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

WEEK 8

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

16112020 : WORKSHOP 5



Someone suggested in class the potentional of using leaf chromatography as well as a method of extracting chlorophyll and using this as dye/ pigment if dried out??
Get any green leaf, soak in ethanol, crush up and then sieve out the leaves.

For the most appalling quality of water is its strength. I love its flash and gleam, its music, its pliancy and grace, its slap against my body; but I fear its strength. I fear it as my ancestors must have feared the natural forces that they worshipped. All the mysteries are in its movement.

Nan shepard, the living mountain, published 1977, pg 27

This is the first render of the tidal patterns. Nothing has been altered except that its stretched out as otherwise would be less than 2 seconds. Am thinking of different ways of experimenting to get a more distinct sound of the tide coming in and out. Rhythm of this.

2111
2020
Grey green ice deep time rolling foam confined to shoreline 3 people swim no wetsuits. pattern skirted array stretched horizon weeping grey fragment. mostly sky grey gallivant, darkening slate wind caress tideline run renegade.

RHYMTH – natural cycles of life and our cut off from this
TIME – animation
Practice as ritual

Creation and destruction in constant balance,
Photos – getting worn off (thin film of memory ), new images being created

Owen Griffiths –  
Based in Wales, social practice artist, mainly focusing on site specific practice and allowing community to be involved in generating piece. Reclaiming and reframing spaces where art can be. 
 
Treherbert skyline –  
 
 

This project was a collaboration with the community, to reimagine the space. Instigated a ‘Festival of ideas’ that bought together the community where they could share a walk and conversation. Had speaker (Sakina sheik) that explored themes of stewardship, reclamation, resistance and revealing.  
 
Created maps honoring the locality, combining history of Treherbert with local biodiversity in aim to further future collaboration and reassessment of place and our role within. Further workshop were held at the local primary school, creating poems and writing grounded in place.  
 
This valley is our resource 

This place, this land, this future 

The soil, the rivers, the hills 

Imagine all we took was returned 

Mining the Imagination not the land 

Sustaining community identity  

Re-modelling community ownership 

Let the work of re-imagining begin! 

 

Changing the space of an area, creating outside workshops, opening different dialogues. Doing a live animation on the beach, creating an alternative participation. What does the sea feel like? To sit with it, to be.  Asking people this directly to leave on stones, to wash away.  
 
Although hard to physically incorporate people in this way at the moment I still think this principle of opening up alternative spaces through art can be explored and achieved (online, live streams). This creation of place.  

Refined idea for creative online event:

RHYTHM REEL: To feel the sea, tidal pattern video that is synced up to the tidal soundtrack. Using old developed film left in the sea to create a film made of sea marks.
For 15 minute summation of my practice so far I will show a video of the film and photos being created and destroyed by the sea edited so it fits in rhythmically with the sound recording of the condensed tides.
So far I have 2 weeks of tide sounds and its 10 minutes long.

To feel the sea. Live go pro recording , animation of rocks covered in iron ore (make these out of locally sourced iron from polluting mines) , write the words the sea makes people feel on the back. Have sea cover after putting them in different patterns – rhythmic. )Can then animate this after by frame grabbing)
How does the sea make you feel?
Held
Wet
Free
Held
Reflective
Contextualised

Ask different people, want to try show how the sea makes you feel, what its like to be with the sea. To have no focal point.


This plan draws together all the different elements of my practice that I have identified as key to the work

23112020: official proposal of ideas
Reflection : Think my presentation went well, managed to keep to exactly 15 minutes and maintain eye contact, despite the masks.

Role of curator in Winter show :
Initially concentrate on Group 2 then come together with 2 other curators and see how best work comes together.
Members of group 2 in show,
Notes from class:

PRACTICE DOING ANIMATION
Reflection: Will not work if it is wet (rained when initially tried it ) so need to create a backup version just in case!
Experimentation: Do from above!
Get footage using go pro also so can overlay them

2411
2020
sat beneath the sea
amongst tiny shells, if wells
backwards eyes that
gurgle giggle of immortality
the furious sponge
sea anemone that
coagulate minds
tumble swallow
sharks jagged rocks
postulate cold ankles
somewhere to walk
tidal resolve

REFINING
Need to try ‘live’ animation again as it is very weather dependant.

Want to make video smoother and more like the experience of being in the sea

Will also try projecting on sea for more experimentation, to bring the work back to the sea and in a public space.

ABLETON
had real trouble showing my work through zoom as the sound massively distorted. A classmates comment was that it made her feel like a panic attack. This was not what i was going for so i decided to add some affects to make it feel more like the sea (while retaining the same wave pattern).
lowered some of the volumes too as well as adding extra reverb to the master track to bring it together.
Played with the panning of the track too so it had a wider sound like the sea.

think this has worked really effectively and creates an experience more of floating in the waves which was what i was trying to achieve.

PROJECTION EXPERIMENT
tried projecting on sea as further experimentation, the unedited film was too dark to be seen against the water. the solarised version worked a bit better but I still felt that it lost a lot of its clarity so wasn’t as strong as I’d hoped. the waves were still interesting underneath and it is something I may consider taking further next semester as it brings art into public space.

RHYMTH REEL CLEAR: Revolving
Experimented with tinting the film blue which gave a much stronger association with the sea. I then played the solorized version after as this was still blue and I felt retained this sea memory. Solorization made the footage really look like light reflecting off surface of water.

I decide to not include the photos that had been marked by the sea as I felt for the film to work as a whole it was stronger to just use the 35mm film pulled through an enlarger.

The second version (one below) is significantly stronger than ‘rhythm reel’ as I managed to focus the enlarger much better and run it through smoother.

I would like to put more film in the sea to get different patterns.

Also experiment with speeding up the rate the film moves through the enlarger.

I reversed the circle sections so it would further mimic this pull push of the tide coming in and out.

The tidal soundwaves and imagery syncing up is really strong and adds a good rhythm to the piece. The accompanying representation of the tide through a mimicked soundwave adds a conceptual dynamism to the piece.

Reflection on Revolving: process of stop motion animation with tidal waves soundtrack.

• Good way of showing process using two perspectives of camera​
• Animation is too slow and the waves go on for too long at end ​
• Does give strong sense of being with sea and holding a space there.​
• Liked the mix of waves and tidal soundtrack as continued this sense of rhythm from previous video. 

Reflection on winter show

• Amazing to come together and see others work. ​
• Supportive, creative use of space. ​
• Curating was interesting to conceptualize how a 7 hour show would run, would like to think even further on how things could work dynamically together in future. ​
• Didn’t realise would be small box in corner when I was presenting, am still happy to have held live space though. ​
• Use of phone data is consideration for future as creates precarious connection ​
• Thought 35mm video worked well and created strong feel of the sea, rhythm and no focal point.​
• Worried about lag for others viewing but mine might’ve been slower as viewing from beach ​
• Glad I pre recorded animation. Was bit too long but important to show process and glad I held longer space with sea. ​

​

Commingled containers: Echoes from the bay
San Francisco Cinematheque

Amazing free exhibition consisting of two programs of experimental films. Guest curated is fantastic mix of work. Only on till 10th January!!

Commingled Containers: Echoes from the Bay | San Francisco Cinematheque (sfcinematheque.org)

Bibliography

“About.” Owen Griffiths, http://www.aboutreconnection.com/about. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

“About – Frontiers in Retreat.” Www.Frontiersinretreat.org, http://www.frontiersinretreat.org/about. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

“Actipedia.” Actipedia, http://www.actipedia.org/. Accessed 3 Jan. 2021.

admin, Arts. “Amy Sharrocks.” Artsadmin, http://www.artsadmin.co.uk/profiles/amy-sharrocks/. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

“Amy Sharrocks | Centre for Contemporary Art & the Natural World.” Centre for Contemporary Art and the Natural World, ccanw.org.uk/project/amy-sharrocks/. Accessed 4 Nov. 2020.

“Arts Foundation | Skelton, Richard.” Arts Foundation, artsfoundation.co.uk/directory/richard-skelton/. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

“Autumn Richardson & Richard Skelton: Relics (Fraxinus).” The Ash Project – Kent Downs, 19 July 2018, http://www.theashproject.org.uk/autumn-richardson-richard-skelton-relics-fraxinus/. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

Baker, J A. The Peregrine. London, William Collins, 2017.

Boon, Marcus, and Gabriel Levine. Practice. Cambridge, Ma, The Mit Press, 2018.

Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring. 1962. Penguin classics, 27 Sept. 2000.

centre, Southbank. Education Information Pack.

Clifford, Sue, et al. “Home.” Common Ground, http://www.commonground.org.uk/. Accessed 6 Dec. 2020.

Deakin, Roger. WATERLOG : A Swimmers Journey. S.L., Tin House Books, 2021.

Festival Programme | Creative Coalition 2020. creativecoalitionfestival.com/festival-programme/. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

“Filipino Artists Get Dirty to Highlight Pollution in Manila’s Rivers.” BBC News, 29 May 2016, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-36394985. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

“‘Frisson’ by Cydney Adams.” The Ash Project – Kent Downs, 20 Feb. 2019, http://www.theashproject.org.uk/frisson/. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

Future Music. “Everything You Need to Know about: Musique Concrète.” MusicRadar, 3 June 2020, http://www.musicradar.com/news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-musique-concrete.

Gooley, Tristan, and Neil Gower. How to Read Water : Clues, Signs and Patterns from Puddles to the Sea. London, Sceptre, 2016.

Hawkes, Jacquetta. A Land. Harmondsworth ; Middlesex, Penguin Books, 1959.

“How The Earth Must See Itself – Behind The Scenes.” National Theatre of Scotland, http://www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/latest/how-the-earth-must-see-itself-behind-the-scenes. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

Iain Sinclair. London Orbital. Actes Sud, 2016.

“Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Quotes – 145 Science Quotes – Dictionary of Science Quotations and Scientist Quotes.” Todayinsci.com, todayinsci.com/G/Goethe_Johann/GoetheJohann-Quotations.htm. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

“John Sabraw.” John Sabraw, http://www.johnsabraw.com/.

Kastner, Jeffrey. Nature. London, Whitechapel Gallery ; Cambridge, Mass, 2012.

“Limnology – YouTube.” Www.Youtube.com, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDEVgy9cUfg&t=1178s. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

Lindt, Nikki. “Beneath the Forest Floor — NIKKI LINDT.” Www.Nlindt.com, http://www.nlindt.com/soundscapes-beneath-the-forest. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

—. “Beneath the Forest Floor, Nikki Lindt.” Vimeo.com, vimeo.com/488640416. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

Macfarlane, Robert. Landmarks. London, Hamish Hamilton, An Imprint Of Penguin Books, 2015.

—. The Old Ways a Journey on Foot. New York Penguin, 2013.

“Marie Menken: Glimpse of the Garden – The Culturium -.” The Culturium, 5 Apr. 2020, http://www.theculturium.com/marie-menken-glimpse-of-the-garden/. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

Merleau-Ponty, Maurice, and Colin Smith. Phenomenology of Perception. London, Forgotten Books, 2015.

“Museum of Water, London UK.” Museum of Water, London UK, museumofwater.co.uk/. Accessed 3 Jan. 2021.

Pearce, Fred. When the Rivers Run Dry : Water–the Defining Crisis of the Twenty-First Century. Boston, Massachusetts, Beacon Press, 2018.

Poetry Foundation. “Poetry Foundation.” Poetry Foundation, 2012, http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/marianne-moore.

“Richard Skelton.” Atlas Arts, atlasarts.org.uk/artists/richard-skelton/. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

Shepherd, Andrew. “How to Develop 35mm Film at Home Using Coffee.” Field Mag, 12 Mar. 2019, http://www.fieldmag.com/articles/how-to-develop-film-with-coffee-caffenol-guide#:~:text=%20Step-by-Step%20Caffenol-C%20Recipe%20and%20Process%3A%20%201. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

Shepherd, Nan, et al. The Living Mountain. Great Britain, Canongate Books, Great Britain, 2019.

Skelton, Richard, and Autumn Richardson. “Limnology (Richard Skelton).” Corbel-Stone-Press, http://www.corbelstonepress.com/product-page/limnology. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

Solnit, Rebecca. Wanderlust : A History of Walking. London, Granta Books, 2014.

Tate. “Fluxus – Art Term | Tate.” Tate, 2017, http://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/f/fluxus.

“The Battle of the Trees.” Www.Ancienttexts.org, http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/t08.html. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

“Tide Times and Tide Chart for Aberystwyth.” Www.Tide-Forecast.com, http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Aberystwyth-Wales/tides/latest. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

“/Ubu Editions.” Www.Ubuweb.com, http://www.ubuweb.com/ubu/. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

“UbuWeb Film & Video: Marie Menken.” Ubu.com, ubu.com/film/menken.html. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

“UbuWeb Sound – Audio Arts.” Www.Ubu.com, http://www.ubu.com/sound/audio_arts.html. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

“UbuWeb Sound :: John Cage.” Www.Ubu.com, http://www.ubu.com/sound/cage.html. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

Viola, Bill. “Welcome to the Official BILL VIOLA Website.” Billviola.com, 2019, http://www.billviola.com/.

“Watch Arcadia.” BFI Player, player.bfi.org.uk/subscription/film/watch-arcadia-2017-online. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

“Waves | Search Online Etymology Dictionary.” Www.Etymonline.com, http://www.etymonline.com/search?q=waves. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.