Initial responses

My starting point focus for this project is the concept of “slowing down”. I have gathered this from a mind map i created to explore the given theme. This theme provided me a lot to work with so i will likely connect other areas of interest within it.

Starting this project my mind has been moving to fast with thoughts instead of visuals- I have realised I need to start practicing this slowing down that I have been focusing on and to start creating. Part of slowing down is noticing, creating recognition for the seemingly less obvious subjects and details. i have set a task for myself to help me start to visualise this slowing down, i started by creating small studies of the things i notice.

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These drawings helped me to get going, i also decided to do some ‘automatic’ writing to work with as i feel it helps to connect the drawing to the theme. i used photoshop to develop this work and plan to continue this kind of development.

Although i like the drawings as a start, i decided to produce a variation of initial responses so i have more options to develop. I started to take more notice of the space i am in for inspiration and the thought of a ‘to do list’ came to mind.

To do list- we create this with the intention of getting things done often to fit a deadline or to provide some sort of incentive for productivity. Using this language/format I created an alternative version listing things that can influence me to slow down or depart from a financial focus. whilst looking for a surface to write this on I found long receipts and found them to be perfect- I also like the irony of writing over a documentation of money spending and how the receipt nods to the idea of weekly common errands.

i also found inspiration in Rebecca Thompsons work “Receipt Poetry”which looks at the intimacy/individuality of receipts and how they can be quite revealing. She sentimentalized unnoticed daily relics by creating them in velvet and hanging them from the roof.

Having been given too much spare time this year, i have made many ‘to do lists’ in an attempt to find extra work, exercise, keep organised and generally fill my time in a efficient way. i like how the list implies the idea of productivity whilst suggesting and alternative. In the second picture i extended it on the desk, i like how this suggests the idea of endless tasks piling up over a current task. i dont feel like this work has much substance for development but i might continue with some of the ideas e.g. the work space surrounding it and the suggested tasks.

Another initial response also explore our current setting in relation to confinement and slowing down. i found an old ice box and used it to hold a small clay figure. This work kind of represents what i feel, like ive been frozen in time and confined to a box- chillin out. Not really sure what could come next in development but i might be able to use some of this imagery in future.

Developments

Using the ‘to do list’ as inspiration, i looked into the tasks written on it and the space it was presented in. I thought about how people have been forced to create home office spaces so they can continue their work, my dad also built a shed in the garden with the intended purpose to continue work. (which feels kind of silly as he is a builder and most of his work is done on site- so i think that actually he was feeling the need to break free of the confinements/limitations of a family home like many others)

This gave me the idea for alternative purpose built spaces- a place to cry, touch, listen, visit etc. all things that would benefit from its own space. Spaces for this ‘to do list’ to be completed?
I started to draw out a quick plan of how they would look.

I then created a cardboard miniature mock up so that i could take pictures and imagine how it would look- altering the lighting. This first one was based on a room to cry in with floor drainage and tissue walls- i feel like there could be many more ways to execute this idea; considering size, domestic imagery, lighting, materials.