Semester 2 Developmental 

This semester for my final I explored many different ideas but landed on the idea and material of fish. To me a fish is free yet trapped, free in its terrain able to swim freely yet trapped with the threat of predators and trapped in water. The terrain is sadness, the water is sadness, the predators are the dangers of sadness and escaping it to dry land is happiness yet happiness is detrimental as the fish dies without water. Wanting to become a fish acts as an act of transformation and escapism but ultimately the piece is about drowning in sadness with an irony that fish can breathe showing this self destruction of wanting to stay in the sadness. Wanting to keep getting deeper and deeper into the sadness a familiar sadness afraid of the unknown yet also wanting escape. Theres a theme of contradiction and a sense of confusion. The piece talks of swimming yet the fish is never in water, it is lifeless and bound to the ground referencing a theme of suicide. Exploring the contradictions of suicide wanting to stay and wanting to leave at the same time the video mirrors these contradictions within the words and imagery. The scene changes to a girl in attempt to become the fish slathering the essence of the fish from a fish container. A desprate attempt to become the fish doesn’t work this time. The installation element is representative of an sandclock as the jelly falls time is running out and a desicion has to be made. The essence of the fish now acts as a looming thought. Will she be tranformed into a fish or will she remain the same? 

Artists
Jannis Kounellis piece with a knife and goldfishes explores similar themes of death and the value of a fish. It adds a layer of context to my work as it looks at the torture of animals/fish as only acceptable when we are eating them. This piece being about heartbreak makes me wonder if becoming a fish is all about being consumed by someone else and torturing oneself as a part of it.


Untitled, 1991–2011, Jannis Kounellis

Japanese ceramicist who work with fish glazes insipred me to make the vase/urn with the fish painting on it. Studying lots of ancient Japanese ceramics inspired me with the form and colouring of the vessel. The vessel than inspired that whole segment of the video.

Texts
Reading Julia Kristeva: Powers of Horror and her theories on abjection allowed me to lean more into the uncomfortability of the video and explore grotesque themes. Her ideas on abjection and the idea of objects ‘meaning collasping’ played a lot into my thinking of this piece. The original idea came without reason and eventually it meant too much to the point where it didn’t mean anything, where the meaning wasn’t as important as the act which is what I gathered Kristeva’s words to be.

Exhibitions
Attending Laure Prouvost: Oui Move In You insipred me aesthetically her work Wantee a simple video piece that has a deeper context in combination with her work Above Front Tears Oui including intricate glass blown sculptures created a juxt


Laure Prouvost, Wantee 2013

Laure Prouvost, Above Front Tears Oui Float 2022

Earlier experimentations/ideas include:
- Self portrait photograph inspired by Atong Atem which looked at a collision of cultures the technique of the portrait being western I wanted to style a Burmese setting with tradional fabrics and items.
- A website of ‘how tos’ like a wiki how page, a sarcastic take on it. Video tutorials on how to be Burmese including cooking, get ready with me, bag tour etc. To show an attempt to become something I don’t know much about.

Multiplicity:
middle screen.mp4rightscreen.mp4leftscreen.mp4

For the multiplicity project we came up with lots of ideas as a team then came to a conclusion we wanted it to be filmed at the beach. We had a rough concept of the moon being the centerpiece as the waves and human are controlled by it. When we went to film the moon was covered by clouds so we re-routed to having the waves be the centre with the inplication of the moon moving it. Then having the human movements be replicating the waves, having the same push and pull.
Planning process:



Exhibition Project:
The exhibition project called for all the year 2s to create a cohesive exhibition. To start we had an open conversation to share everyones ideas and we decided on the word collision. From there I made a form for everyone to organise what materials everyone was using and if they were willingly to collaborate, as there was concern in fitting too many video works.

We then asked around galleries if we could hold the exhibition but decided ultimately it was too expensive and chose to do it at RMIT instead. We then started advertising via social media and by printing out posters and putting them up.
We then created a floor plan considering all elements of the work.

Then on the day we set everything up and got drinks and snacks to set the atmosphere of a proper opening night. Me and Bo did a speech and introduced the exhibition.

Vessel Progress:
Intial sketches

Raw clay pot

Glazed pot