Future Projects

What I'm planning next and the centrepiece of my series...

As I've been thinking about what I want the centrepiece of my show to be, I keep coming back to the concept of perfect order. So far, my works as I plan to arrange them begin with chaos and progress closer and closer to order, beginning with ceramic tiles arranged as a puzzle that does't quite work, progressing to tiles that are visibly sewn together, and a vague impression of fields in oils. The natural next step, I believe, is creating almost a collage of fields, all cut to finally fit together, albeit unnaturally, is the end goal. My plan now is to create my final piece as a large scale work (I'm planning for 120x120cm) that features precisely cut squares of green and brown fabrics of various textures and weaves, all fit together into a square grid on linen.

Unfortunately my ideas are often ambitious for a student budget, so I've had to get creative. I'll have to source raw linen for my background, no way around that I'm afraid, but for the green and brown squares I've come up with a cheap (free!) solution: I've ordered no fewer than twenty seven fabric samples online, including upholstery material as well as fabric for blinds and curtains, ranging from chenille and velvet to cotton and linen. In order to make a resolved and fully realised work, I've opted to use a tray frame, which I have discovered is prohibitively expensive. My solution is to make one myself, and as my woodworking experience is nil, I am not entirely confident I'll succeed. I am glad, however, that this new project is getting back to soft fabrics, which is infinitely less labour-intensive than what I've been doing in ceramic.

Undoubtedly I've been inspired for this project by Yto Barrada, whose solo exhibition "Thrill, Fill and Spill" I visited last October. Barrada often works with textured fabrics mounted in pleasing geometric patterns, much like I aim to, and chooses particularly evocative textures, shapes and colours that I hope to evoke myself with this work.

I've a lot on my plate for now and expect not to get around to this project for quite a few weeks, so for now stay tuned for my progress.