Walls have layers…

Time is flying by and I need some (physical) work, so I have done some and either gone off on a tangent or ‘developed’ my ideas, I think of my practice as an organic entity that leads to somewhere unexpected, which is why I try and avoid having a fixed idea in my head of what I will produce… also if you do do that it’s invariably disappointing in the end.

wallpapers

wallpapers

I built a wall before, one that was not a replica of one in Chernobyl but rather inspired by a number of walls in Chernobyl and Pripyat, it took me weeks and weeks, painting, papering and over-painting, initially to indicate the layers of domesticity, lives lived – the normality of people ‘redecorating’ their homes, far exceeding the average actual layers there were/would have been during the period the city was built and inhabited 1970-1986. I included billboard posters from Hartlepool to help bridge the gap between the 2 places, illustrating the similarities (i.e. nuclear power plant in close proximity to a densely populated area) and of what could happen ‘to us’… however, also the number of layers came about because it never looked aesthetically pleasing to me, either because of colour or composition. I got somewhat annoyed with it.

wall: sections and samples

wall: sections and samples

Then I started to consider the logistics of moving this wall to and from Manchester and to other venues, it’s very heavy and unwieldy and am not sure worth it. Initially it was as part of an ‘immersive installation’ piece that was challenging for me in terms of scale and the biggest work I had ever attempted, to be placed behind a chair which would be embroidered in the negative, implying someone ‘missing’, ‘emptiness’ and ‘loss’. Gradually I have gone off this idea for various reasons, I did try to resolve ‘the wall’ as a surface to project my video onto, which is still a possibility, and in which case it is almost finished.

wall: as projection surface

wall: as projection surface

The alternative became large ‘ripped’ layers of papers, much more easily transportable, though I didn’t want this to be the reason for the making of it. There ARE other reasons (that the papers in Chernobyl & Pripyat are hanging off the walls now anyway, that they could be hung with just glimpses of each peeping through, the idea of there but not there, was and isn’t, traces and remains… I have ideas of how to display them but they are as complicated, if not more so, than the original freestanding solid wall piece.

In stages - 'partial revealment'

In stages – partial ‘revealment’

one length in two halves

one length in two halves

I started to make wallpapers after original authentic designs from my photographs of the walls of the apartment blocks in Chernobyl-2, to use as layers, partially revealing the under layers, tiny slivers of them…but as I became also inspired by the fading, the wear, the stains and the dampness of the originals, these wallpapers came to kind of work in their own right. Presently I imagine them as stand alone pieces, but that could change too. I just feel happy I have produced some work that is not written.

in stages - part 2

in stages – part 2

interesting how different results can be with the same screen...

interesting how different results can be with the same screen…

I’d also like to point out…still no embroidery.

2 Responses to “Walls have layers…

  • Just browsing the web for inspiration when I stumbled upon your blog. Love the idea of ripped / faded / semi-opaque layers of design partially revealing one another … could make for an interesting series of designs :-)

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