Territores

The idea of a ‘palimpsest’ was introduced to me , which was a manuscript, typically made from papyrus, animal Hyde or parchment, that was written on more than once, with the earlier writing being incompletely erased and often still legible. This was done, because the material was too expensive to reproduce for everyone’s individual benefit, so they would create one book or manuscript that could be circulated, and then the ink would be scrubbed off to make room for the next story. This initiates the idea that through the conscious decisions that we make, in turn we are left with an unconscious result; linking back to Freud’s concept of the ‘mystic writing pad’.

Through a week of drawing I started to look and develop the idea of layers through narrative and like the palimpsest, how over time this can then lead to an unconscious result. With my initial project still fresh in my mind I continued looking at identity and the self and how stories get passed through generations and slowly adapt and change through the users interpretations. Slowly over time each rendition gets further from the original, creating an alternative outcome to that once told. My thoughts started to show direct links to time, and how these alterations of narrative and image were showing visible traces and therefore illustrating their movement, creating echoes of time. My thought process continued looking at archiving, layers and preservation, the texture of life and ultimately the reflection of the past and its history.

The loss of resolution through the time started showing an indicative result. Looking at how the exposure over a period of time can lead to a compressed composition, intending to preserve and protect that, which was once important. However it became apparent that I needed to question how I got from the composition to the compressed outcome, what was it that helps me travel from A to B and yet still see the process?

An outcome that I started to investigate was through image and by taking a picture every 5 minutes throughout a day I tried to conjure up and create an outcome that could reflect my daily ware bouts and therefore be a tracking device; perhaps like a visual diary. By taking an average RGB reading from each image I took, I ultimately collected a colour for each five minute interval for my day. By the end of the day I had an average colour reading. This reflection of my day, ultimately giving me a ‘colour for the day’. Whether this is a literal reading of the colour that I saw through that day, or whether this reflects the mood I encounter. it allowed me to start to question the transitional process from a composition to a compressed outcome.

An artist with a similar intent is Idris Khan who creates multi-layered photographs, often of appropriated art and books, in a way that both augments the aura of the original and reveals the idiosyncratic trace of his own hand. Khan's work “explores the history of photography and literature, the beauty of repetition and the anxieties of authorship. It's obviously not about re-photographing the photographs to make exact copies, but to intervene and bring a spectrum of feelings - warmth, humour, anxiety - to what might otherwise be considered as a cool aloof image. You can see the illusion of his hand through its layering. It looks like a drawing. It's not systematic or uniform.

Another artist that was introduced to me was Jonathon Miller who has pursued the pastime of photographing unusual and bizarre objects. In his acute, perceptive gaze, ordinary details of the everyday world, often ignored or overlooked, somehow take on a life of their own. His images visually display the layers of time, and through decay the layers are revealed .This again reiterates my idea that through the conscious decisions we make (in this case each image that has been layered upon one another) we get the unconscious outcome. In this instance the decay of the layers gives us the unconscious, uncontrollable outcome. They display one way in which compositions can be compressed, still allowing you to see the layers in between.

Being able to see the physical layers reminded me of a tree stump, where you can count the years of its growth. It made me think that if we were to take a cross section of something would we be able to read into it’s past. I tried an experiment by simply slicing different types of wood to look at its cross section.

I chose to do a variety of woods so that I could look at how it had been compressed to create the final outcome, linking back to the transitional process of composition to compression. Chipboard for example had gone through a completely different process to plywood. By looking at the cross sections you can see that chipboard is manufactured from wood particles, such as wood chips and a synthetic resin, which is pressed and extruded. Plywood on the other hand is a type of engineered board made from thin sheets of wood. The layers are glued together, each with its grain at right angles to adjacent layers for greater strength. Both these examples illustrate how the composition of a process can create a completely different outcome with different attributes, although when you look at its outer shell, they appear the same.


Compression of memory and the loss of resolution of time can be seen in ‘smile plastics’ work with the use of recycling in products that we grow out of and do not need any more. This image of wellington boots depicts memories, past users and the ultimate compression of these creates a new useful outcome. Perhaps it is important to question the reason for the compression of the layers, and maybe not only look at the aesthetic appeal but also the meaning for the outcome. In today’s environment I feel it is just as important to start questioning this. Another experiment I can look to explore is the compression of rubbish and the stories and secrets that this reveals, is it possible to take a cross section and look at ones lifestyle.

In the short term I want to carry on experimenting with composition and compression, but also develop my understanding and begin to question ‘one time telling’ and how once the layers have been compiled, you can’t return to the original. I want to develop my project by questioning why we preserve and archive. Perhaps in the long term I will start to look at the relationship between user and memory, for example ‘eye witness testimonies’ and begin to question whether the user is as important as the outcome? I want to question, indulge and experiment and ultimately pull away the protective screen on the stylus and reveal the indentations, ripples of history and consciousness and ultimately reveal my unconscious.


(2003) Idris Khan [Online] http://www.victoria-miro.com/artists/35,biog/ [02/11/08]

Miller, J. (2001) Nowhere in Particular: Mitchell Beazley.

(1994) Smile Plastics [Online] www.smile-plastics.co.uk [01/11/08]