I set up the studio space with hanging drapes made from the same material that ballet dresses and performance wear etc is made from: a type of organza. I hung these drapes from the ceiling in order to create a multidimensional space in which to move/paint/project and generally explore the notion of movement, colour and light.
Once i had hung the drapes I lit the space from a variety of angles (much like in a theatre) in order to highlight the space and make it feel somewhat surreal and dream like. This reflects the concept of the fairy tale, a fantasy setting in which to tell a narrative.
First of all i moved through the space myself as in future (if i continue this exploration) i will bring dancers into the space and make mars with their painted limbs in movement.
This looked as though it could be effective, but with myself being much "clunkier" than a ballet dancer I decided to move on as i was not achieving the graceful look i had hoped for!
I then projected scenes from The Red Shoes, upon the hanging fabric which brought the space to life and created a really interesting sort of canvas.
Below are some videos taken of the space and projections.
I feel these short recordings show a "narrative within a work" which reflects the nature of the film itself. By showing the film within my installation I am exploring the creative process in addition to its inspiration within one field.
The space is alive with movement from the film and the drapes move dreamily in the shallow breed in the room and also from my own movements through the space. This highlights the importance of the dance and movement itself.
The way that the film can be seen from a variety of angles on a variety of surfaces adds to the sense of the surreal and the layering of fabric and film reflects the "narrative within a narrative" once more.
I explored the space with stills as below...
Once I felt i had played with this idea enough, I decided that i would begin mark making. I traced pen lines on the fabric around cast light images of Vicki Page and the red shoes, Picking particular stills where i felt that her body was in interesting and elongated positions. I did this because after discussing the film It became clear that a lot of the visual language of the film was based around the notion of the female as an object and her body being a key focal point.
I intend to paint onto these pieces of fabric in a manner which reflects the film at a later date.
I am very interested in mark making and felt that at this point I wanted to explore the movement within the film further, and also the colour. One fact about the film that I found very interesting was its use of colour, and that it was one of the first colour films.
The key colour in the film is obviously red, so this was an obvious choice. I also chose black, as to me, black conveys a sense of darkness, suppression and emotions such as sadness and frustration that are strong within the film.
To make these marks i followed the body movements of Vicki Page other characters and the Red shoes as they became present on the fabric from the projections.
These images show where I followed the movements, essentially tracing them, spraying paint onto the hanging fabric. What was left after this practice was a hanging, seemingly abstract piece of dripping black and red. The piece appears frustrated and chaotic, embodying the final scene of the film despite not actually following it in the process of making.
I like the outcome and the way that the female form in movement is the fundamental basis of the piece. The conflicting passions of Vicki's life within the film, reflect that of women at that time, before women really found a strong voice within society. Her fluctuating levels of importance during the narrative are frustrating for me to watch as a woman, because I feel the need to tell her to stand up for herself somewhat. However, even more than half a century later, I as a woman still relate. As a new mother I am "expected" to look after my child, attend full time university, be a domestic "goddess" and also an attentive partner. I think this is a lot to handle and I feel frustrated at times juggling all this and a yearning for something more enjoyable and self indulgent. So perhaps these marks are also a reflection of how I feel.
As I took down my work, I felt the hanging piece looked interesting. To me it resembled the late scenes in the film where Vicki has jumped to her death (or been taken by the shoes/her desires) The way the piece/fabric hung, looks like the tattered remains of her clothing, stained in blood and soot from her collision with the train. I could take this further by creating a garment from the fabric. Incorporating that into a performance piece? I feel that film work is useful as a response because it mirrors the film through medium. However I enjoy the practical act of painting and the way that emotions can be captured through a sort of action painting.
Prior to this work I conducted a series of shadow explorations inspired by Nsoferatu and the notion of cast light and shadow. I was interested to discover what can occur through chance using a relatively unpredictable medium. The contrast between Light and dark can be said to be more than aesthetic, representing much more with obvious connotations such as the contrast between good and evil, happiness and misery, a sense of right and wrong, and many other 'opposites'. With one always comes the other, which symbolises the concept that opposites always attract. There will be no shadow without light and vice versa.
The original object that I made for creating shadows. A piece of paper cut into elongated curves and scrunched up so as to not create anything pre-meditated shapes. I had the intention of just seeing hat appeared and also seeing if anything familiar arose from the images of shadows.
In the above and below images, I can find shapes and forms in the shadow that remind me of rats, or creatures with long tails or possibly long tongues. The small eye like square of light creates the illusion of an eye.
