Installations
"Cork Room"
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My aim is to produce a body of work which not only describes and displays my personal feelings towards alcoholism, like last term, but also allows the viewer the opportunity to experience those emotions themselves.
Experimenting with corks among other things, I soon became obsessed with the idea of being surrounded by them. Through research, I concluded that the most successful way to convey this would be to create a small room within which the walls, the ceiling and the floor would be lined with corks. I hired someone to help me design and build this structure which would hold one person and would house the corks. The semicircular design of the structure and the minimal use of lighting creates a less definable space conveying a more claustrophobic and uncomfortable environment.
The viewer is invited to enter that environment and experience similar feelings to those I have (towards alcoholism). The multiples of corks covering the room, not only represent "alcohol", but also evoke an overwhelming atmosphere, feelings of being trapped, powerless and totally surrounded, portraying the domination of alcoholism in my life. I believe that a fully circular structure of the room, with no corners at all, would emphasize more the sense of claustrophobia and domination which I’m trying to evoke. |
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"Shirt Tower"
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An interpretation of a living experience through a material object, exhibited in such a way, capturing the depth and substance of the emotions deriving from personal experiences and presented as an autobiographical issue.
This body of work is about dealing with feelings and emotions concerning personal experiences relating to my "alcoholic" father. I have focused on a specific aspect of our relationship, which involves the embarrassment and shame caused by his "ill" condition. The continuation of the use of shirts represents his physical presence as does the height of the structures. Both of them signify the act of me trying to hide that side of him that causes me so much embarrassment and pain. Because of the nature of alcoholism however, that act of hiding becomes an impossible task. |
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The six foot high shirt sculpture provides enough clues for the public to relate and comprehend my initial intentions and the reasons why I made the work. The shirts and the height of the structure represent my father’s physical presence as a male and as a lawyer, the smell which emanates from the sculpture, and the multiple layers of shirts which demonstrate the impossible task of hiding.
