Sunday 14 June 2020

'Unlockdown' Collaboration, Piece 1 (Completed)


A tad more complex than I'd originally intended; this first piece in the collaboration project (now titled 'Unlockdown') between myself and the talented artist, Sharon Griffin, is finally complete. Whilst documenting the sculpture I was surprised at how drastically its outline changed when photographed from different viewpoints. So here are a few pics of it, from those different viewpoints.

1st sculpture from 2020 collaboration project between British artists, Sharon Griffin & Wayne Chisnall

My earlier posts about our collaboration cover the nature of the project and how it works. I was tempted to simply cut and paste in those details from an earlier post about our project but as I'd already done that at least once before I thought it best not to, to keep from going over old ground. If you are interested however, please feel free to check out any of my earlier Collaboration posts.

1st sculpture from 2020 collaboration project between British artists, Sharon Griffin & Wayne Chisnall

Throughout many of the project discussions that Sharon and I had, one of the themes that kept coming up concerned the notion of 'the self'. I don't know if it was with this in mind, or whether I just started reading more into the work as it developed, but I came to view the piece's external framework (and internal to an extent, as the oak battens penetrate the body of the central ceramic figure, locking it in place) as a form of cage. This provoked me to consider the potential loss or imprisonment of the self, through the cages that we build around ourselves; similar to how we conform to, and are restricted by, the stories of our own lives. Stories we tell ourselves and stories told about us.

1st sculpture (detail) from 2020 collaboration project between British artists, Sharon Griffin & Wayne Chisnall

1st sculpture from 2020 collaboration project between British artists, Sharon Griffin & Wayne Chisnall

One of the things I love about art (more so with sculpture) is the slow reveal of extra layers of meaning that frequently occurs during the creation process. I never truly know if these ideas are always unconsciously there, or whether it's a meaning that I impose upon the work because of the way its developing, and the visual suggestions it presents. Either way, the ideas and notions that are thrown up often go on to inform further work and future lines of enquiry.  

1st sculpture from 2020 collaboration project between British artists, Sharon Griffin & Wayne Chisnall

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