Space Invaders

I initially considered creating a photography series on how people invade their own spaces through hoarding – as that is a big problem among artists. But I decided to develop an outcome into a less obvious way of interpreting the project. I drew from this idea of clutter and decided to send an environmental message through the work. Looking at how our space and natural spaces are invaded by artificial materials such as plastic, I used scrap/waste plastic to create pieces to them be used/worn. I began by creating a functional piece (a handbag) to work with basic shapes and forms to experiment with my chosen technique: crochet. Looking at the artists Helle Jorgensen and Mary Sibande, I decided to make my design more abstract, but explicit in the message I will convey to the audience. Sydney artist Jorgensen crochets plastic to depict coral structures that are very vibrant and organic looking. S. African artist Sibande combined a sculptural approach with fashion to communicate ideas of femininity and ‘blackness’ at Somerset house. I was influenced by her wearable designs bringing forward connotations of confinement and danger to me as a viewer. The vine like winding structure seemed comforting as well as having feelings of entrapment attached. The use of one colour: purple, for the entirety of some of her pieces, to her, was to depict ideas of uniform and family history of being maids for white families. I have decided to take forward this use of only one colour and adapt it to my concept. I have chosen to use solely white plastic for my final outcome, the colour that coral turns when it bleaches and dies. I have been primarily using wasted plastic medical aprons from dressing kits that would otherwise have gone to waste. Using crochet to make this piece was more challenging than I expected. The textures of different plastics plays a A large role in how easy It is to crochet and how close together the stitching will be. For example a shinier and thicker plastic is a lot harder to crochet, leaving larger holes in the stitching. The range of white plastics I acquired during this project made the peace more interesting as there were different shades of white as well as different textures, making the piece as a whole varied within the constraints of a white colour scheme. Placing the sculpture in different natural environments and photographing it would be a great idea for development. within the studio, I had displayed the sculpture on a light wood coffee table, which for me didn’t hold much significance as the photo shoot I did for the piece was to show the way it was intended to be displayed. However it was suggested that placing it on a coffee table added much significance to the concept of the piece. As coffee tables have connotations of talking, comfortable conversation, this made my creation a discussion piece; it made it an opportunity to highlight the problem of sea pollution to others.