I was advised to talk to Jon Spruce, (course leader of Spatial Design at LJMU), due to my interest in Interior Design and the online course that i am doing in it. When i started talking to Jon Spruce i could not believe the overlap between spatial design and fine art! Spatial design is not just interior and an environment but also people's experiences and feelings in the space. The course that i am studying at the moment in interior design is very structured, and has rules to follow in arranging, planning and furnishing a living space. It is very interesting to me as it is completely different from fine art which is very free and subjective. Spatial design is something in the middle - it works with the space and environment but in a more free way than interior design. What has opened my eyes was one question that Jon Spruce asked me in our meeting - “What particularly do you like about interior design?” in which i answered that it was the experiences people have in the space, you can create different atmospheres and moods, play with the architecture, the lighting etc…
I think that is when i realized again that what i am interested in, deep down is people's experiences through what i do or change in a space. I looked back at the works that i have created for the past couple of years. From a floor piece that i have made in foundation course which was really interactive in the sense people walked on it, to solo show in Set the Controls where i created work the size of the wall, using uv lights which meant people had a unique experience of art in the dark. The lighting determined whether the work was seen or not. Both were also site specific and worked with the space itself. The floor piece engaged with splashes on the floor and the uv wall art engaged with imperfections and traces of previous artists artwork.
As i think about my current piece of work such as the spiral on the window, spill work on pavements, or the “mapping” piece where i work with symmetry in a space, it all engages with people's experiences of the artwork. It's not something i can take a picture of and call it art, but it's art for me when people engage with it. Some kind of interaction is very important to me.
The odd one out piece in this bunch of works in progress, is a piece of performance artwork where i unpick a cardigan with my hands. This piece of work is more about the traces of people through their clothes. The memories that are imprinted in them and the experiences that the clothes and their owners went through together. This is interesting for me as this is now a “performance piece” however i would prefer to call it an experience and the sharing of it, compared to an interactive piece where my audience is engaged. Or where i actually engage with the space. However it is still important if i was to do this performance, to really pick my spot in the showing space which is pleasing and somehow responds to the space also, visually of where it is placed.
Another strand that this project went is where i make work in charity shops. Engaging with the clothes such as coats and jackets by putting one on, getting a feel of its character and whilst wearing it quickly writing a note addressing the next owner of it. Slipping the note in the pocket and placing the jacket or coat back where i found it. This has nothing to do with the space structurally wise however it is very particular in what happens in the space and the objects there. It is very interesting for me. It is like a performance, however not an obvious one - it is an experience both for me and the people who find the note.
~Ev
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