A Territory - Preface
The ideal environment for encountering this research might well be in my studio, or similar space, with the objects spread out on surfaces, cameras mounted on tripods ready to use, projections upon the walls and numerous smaller screens scattered around the place. Likewise the pieces of writing, including the loose leaves of the ‘Aphorisms’ text included in this research would be spread around allowing the reader/viewer to linger with the material, dwelling amongst the writings, objects and moving images: reading, looking, handling, reading again, watching from a different perspective, trying out some ideas, having a go at exploring the objects in front of the camera.
Sadly, perhaps, we must content ourselves with the present document in which the written material has been sequenced and is accompanied by a number of video and image files with pointers throughout the text of where and when the reader may wish to view them. However, I would like you, the reader, to feel free to approach the material in whatever way you see fit and encourage you to go back and forth: spending time amongst the work, rather than moving through it from start to finish. For whilst the research had a beginning and an end, the material produced does not seem to me to function best in this way. Over the course of the research a territory has been uncovered, experiments have spread out in different directions, by no means covering all possible interactions of possibilities, but nevertheless making some sense as a whole. The argument, if such a thing can be articulated, resides in the interconnections between elements and the possibilities for thought and inspiration which they produce; a network of meanings which will shift subtly depending on the way in which the material is approached. The intention is not to make some grand and singular claim but to uncover the nuances, intricacies and complexity of the creative process itself when turned towards a particular focus. In this case the practice of making sculpture to film. I hope you enjoy it. I hope it is useful. Above all, I hope it makes you want to do more.
Sadly, perhaps, we must content ourselves with the present document in which the written material has been sequenced and is accompanied by a number of video and image files with pointers throughout the text of where and when the reader may wish to view them. However, I would like you, the reader, to feel free to approach the material in whatever way you see fit and encourage you to go back and forth: spending time amongst the work, rather than moving through it from start to finish. For whilst the research had a beginning and an end, the material produced does not seem to me to function best in this way. Over the course of the research a territory has been uncovered, experiments have spread out in different directions, by no means covering all possible interactions of possibilities, but nevertheless making some sense as a whole. The argument, if such a thing can be articulated, resides in the interconnections between elements and the possibilities for thought and inspiration which they produce; a network of meanings which will shift subtly depending on the way in which the material is approached. The intention is not to make some grand and singular claim but to uncover the nuances, intricacies and complexity of the creative process itself when turned towards a particular focus. In this case the practice of making sculpture to film. I hope you enjoy it. I hope it is useful. Above all, I hope it makes you want to do more.