Constructing the sculpture

After struggling for a while to think of how to best construct the sculpture, I felt the best way was to use foam board to create the layers, and then use clear wire to hang each layer.

The photos below show the process of construction:

I started by printing each layer onto paper then cutting around each one.

2. I then stuck each layer onto foam board. I chose to use foam board as it was versatile to work with, enabling me to easily cut around each layer. Photographs can also be easily attached using spray mount. 3. Cutting around each layer, the shape begins to take form. When hung seperatly from each other, each layer will form the body which will be clear to see. I will use sand paper to go around the edges of each layer to make them neater.

Liz Wells: The Photography Reader

Once again, in regard to the photographs of me as a child, I found the ‘Remembrance’ chapter especially interesting when reading ‘The photography Reader’ by Liz Wells. ‘Family photographs are quite often deployed – shown, talked about – in series: pictures get displayed one after another, their selection and ordering as meaningful as the pictures themselves’. It was interesting when looking through my family albums, choosing what photos I wanted to use for this project. The photographs were obviously all in chronological order, some very similar than the previous, with only a slight change in pose being the only difference between them. As Wells quotes, it is just as important to consider the selection and ordering of the photographs than the actual content of the photographs themselves. At some point somebody, probably my parents, would have picked what photographs would appear within the album, and therefore only display a small portion of my life. It is interesting now as a photographer considering what photographs I choose to show, and this project enables me to show the negative side of my life that you may not want to put within the family album.

Layered sculpture design

After struggling to think of ways to construct the sculpture with layers, i’m going to put it together using invisible wire. This will allow each layer to hang separately so that the pictures and writing can be seen, still enabling the shape of a person to be made.

The wire will go through each layer, and the sculpture when presented will be hung up. When the sculpture is not hung up it will simply collapse together, meaning the sculpture is only visible at certain times.

Photographs within my work

Up until this point my research has focused mainly of the design of the sculpture itself, however after beginning to think about the actual photographs I want to use I have come up with a few different options that I will experiment with.

Photos from my childhood – These photographs will represent my life before I had social anxiety, showing the difference between life then and now with anxiety.
Self portraits – After using self portraits within my previous module to represent what it is like to live with social anxiety, I have decided that I want to carry on with this idea and continue to produce self portraits based around mental health.
Landscapes/nature – This is something that I also used within the previous module. The landscapes contrasted with the self portraits, often representing peace. It also helped the project to not become boring, offering something different from continuous self portraits.

Sculpture Design

As well as experimenting with the method i’ve already previously spoken about, in which I create layers that would make the shape of the ‘body’, I also want to experiment with using paper mache to create my sculpture.

With the idea of pulling out layers, I am struggling to find ways to attach the layers together, as well as creating something that allows me to remove each layer and slide it back in. I also think that simply sticking photographs and words onto each layer isn’t as creative or as interesting as I would like the project to be.

Using paper mache to create a ‘body’ shape will allow me to easily cover the sculpture. I would look to cover the main body in words and quotes that I have personally written which describes social anxiety, and from the head have ‘stem’s’ representing my thoughts, in which I hang photographs off.

Below is a basic mock up of the how words would look covering the main part of the body, and as I go onto mock the work up for real, I will then add the stems in which the photographs can be attached.

Basic mock up of text on the main sculpture

The Cut is the Click – Katrein De Blauwer

Still exploring the idea of a project based around self portraiture and my own mental health issues, I came across this article in Black+White Photography magazine. The article focuses on photographer Katrein De Blauwer whose work was inspired by her troubled childhood. ‘I start with emotions… love, pain, loneliness. The last is the present for me’. Although I visually like the work, it is the way in Katrein speaks about her project that inspires me. My own work is very much based around emotions and how with this module I want to look specifically into what events in the past shaped my life and explore what triggered my social anxiety.

Although the work is produced using film, it is a similar style to the type of work I want to produce. It has a ‘scrap book’ feel to it. The work is in no perfect, which is what makes it feel so personal. Because of the work feeling like it comes from some form of diary, as a viewer we feel as though we are being given a private insight into the life of Katrein De Blauwer. She herself says the she is ‘happy for it to be open to interpretation’. Again, this is very similar in regards to the intention for my work. As the project is so personal to me, it is up to the viewer to decide what it is I’m trying to represent and if it relates to them.

Sculpture Design

Each drawing below shows the shapes of each layer which will be used within the sculpture. The pictures start the at the head and work down the body. When using a thicker material such as polyboard, each layer will be placed on top of each other which will build up to produce a 3D sculpture.

Sculpture design

Using CAD software, a ‘body’ was created in the same shape that I aim for my sculpture to be. The white boxes represent where each layer will be – resulting in 23 different layers which when put together create the sculpture. Being 23 years old each layer represents ultimately represents each stage of my life, shaping who I am today.

The main part of the sculpture will be focused around the head, as the main focus of the work is about mental health. When producing the final sculpture, I aim for each layer to be able to be removed, each having photos or writing on them which represent myself and my social anxiety.

Material options

The first material that I have looked into using for my sculpture was foam board.

It is a good material in terms of sticking photographs onto it, and is also easily available to buy meaning the cost of the sculpture will not be to high – something I need to consider when looking into different materials to use. This particular foam board is 5mm thick, which is perfect for creating the desired layered effect I want within my final piece.

One set back to using foam board is how easily it can shapes. I order to create the body shape I will need to sculpt the material into different shapes and layers. Although I believe it can be done, it will take time to ensure that the end result does not look messy.

Project development

When I started this project I looked into using decopatch as a way of placing photographs onto an object. Although I wasn’t exactly sure at the start of how I wanted to represent this, I knew that I somehow wanted to use a mask which I had previously used within my last project.

Since researching into other sculptures that have been produced regarding the issue of mental health, I have found that using the body in some form as a sculpture is a popular way of representing mental health. I have moved on from the idea of using a mask, and instead am looking into a way of producing a 3D sculpture of a head to show the link with the invisible problem of mental health.

I also jotted down keys words and ideas that I wanted to incorporate within my work. They are as follows:

Sculpture
Layers – Different parts of my life that contribute and represent my social anxiety
Personal – Keeping the project personal to me and my own battles with mental health
Decopatch
Photographs
Childhood – The way in which my upbringing and childhood could have contributed to my mental health
Writing and quotes – Using my own writing to talk about my personal experience with social anxiety

I wanted to create something that somehow incorporated all of these different thoughts. The one that stood out to me most was layers. As somebody who suffers from social anxiety i’m not good at expressing myself to people and talking about why I suffer from social anxiety and how it makes me feel. There are lots of different things that contribute to the disorder, creating this idea of layers. Combining this with the idea of creating a sculpture based around the human body has made me think of a new idea for this project.

I am interested in creating a 3D model of the human body as previously mentioned, but almost directing it into layers. On each layer will represent a different aspect of my social anxiety. The work will incorporate both photographs and text which will be written by me. Although the project is once again very personal to me, I want the work to also be a help to those going through a similar thing and will be something that they can relate to. My next steps is to look into what the actual sculpture can be made from and to best produce the layers within the work.