Sinister Associations (03/03/2014)

I have been doing a lot of research into more sinister connotations that fishing wire might evoke as a material. One of the most powerful things that I found out was that birds use fishing wire to build their nests, and in some cases become entangled in it. I think this is such a dreadful, poignant thing how something built to protect becomes a threat. I'd be really interested to investigate the concept of safety and danger existing together in one object.

I have been reading 'Diverging Critiques' regarding the work of Joseph Beuys, which has encouraged me to think about the mythology of materials, how they can be given meanings as well as assuming them. With this in mind, I think fishing can be used in my work to epitomise danger, to give it a material form. I am unsure at this point whether I would want to create a sculpture, a standalone fabricated object, or an installation which will immerse the viewer in theses ideas of safety and danger. I know an installation will be a lot more powerful but I want it also to be subtle.

 

Whilst researching how animals are endangered by fishing wire, I came across this one image of a sea lion which had a particularly big impact on me. The way the line has cut the flesh inspired me to do a few maquettes wrapping fishing line around squashy materials such as foam pipe insulator. I did these more as an active response to the photo than a material experiment. I had to use a lot of force to cut the foam, even to compress it, I felt uncomfortable doing it. I think this idea of wounding flesh would be one way that I could take the project forward; it is certainly an issue that I feel strongly about and that could potentially provoke a very strong response from the viewer. However, I think this might be at odds with the other properties of fishing wire that interest me, its translucency and ability to disappear.

In considering how fishing line ensnares and entangles I have observed how this might come about, what properties does it have that makes it work in this way. I have done a few experiment where I have unravelled long lengths of line and seen what actions are necessary to make it tangle, weaving and threading it and twisting it round itself. My plan is to make a video where this is illustrated, it would be interesting to observe the process in a more removed position, and as a visual study instead of a multi-sensory experience.

 

The drawings were something I did because I wasn't sure what else to do. They are the result of allowing my hand to wonder over the paper while I was not looking, it felt like I was exploring the paper through the nib of the pen. Visualy, there are many connections to the fishing wire so I made a series of them. I think the role of the hand in these two experiments has a lot of interest, how it entangles itself, and is the creator of the tangle of lines. I would really like to try drawings of this kind on a huge scale.

 

 

 

 I also photographed tangles of my hair (removed from my hair hairbrush for a friend's project), which I realised had similar qualities to the fishing wire. I really like the photographs and the negative spaces between the lines, I view them more of as a drawing...in space...(idea for future sculpture...!).