Shop Windows...

...at Selfridges.

'The above four examples are the 1:1 scale model of the Concorde engine by PostlerFerguson (they bought the manuals for 5 quid on ebay!), Matthew Plummer Fernandez' Apifera (inspired by comparing the function of window displays to the art of attraction of flowers), (We)Make's Beryl & Friends recycled lamp shades and Toby Summerskill & Jim Rokos' Kaleidoscope'

Photographs & Text www.core77.com/
Location Selfridges, London
Source www.core77.com/

Garbage City

I came accross this series of photographs by Klavs Bo Christensen which I find very powerful. I find it intriguing that this industry and more so this way of life has been the subject of artists working in various media and I wonder how this might inform my own work.

Photograph Klavs Bo Christensen
Location Manshiyat Naser, or “Garbage City”, Cairo
Source www.klavs.dk/

'These striking photos by Danish photographer Klavs Bo Christensen were taken in Manshiyat Naser, or “Garbage City”; a district on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. Although the first impression when looking at these images might be that of a filthy slum, there is (or at least was) rather more order here than is first apparent. Until recently, Cairo's waste disposal was the responsibility of the Zabbaleen,...'

Source http://eclectica.co.uk

Garbage Dreams

Film Garbage Dreams

Found

'In his first exhibition at Haunch of Venison London, British artist and designer Stuart Haygarth examines his ongoing relationship with abandoned objects and his fascination with taxonomy through a series of new furniture works, lamps and chandeliers. Finding beauty in everyday, discarded items, the artist's work challenges perceived notions of the precious and beautiful.

Haygarth has spent many years gathering seemingly insignificant, discarded items such as ceramic figurines, spectacles, glassware and plastic objects whilst beachcombing, cycling and on excursions to markets and car boot sales. These are then sorted...'

Text www.haunchofvenison.com

Having seen this exhibition, I dont have much to say except for 'strength in numbers?', have a look at the photographs and if you can then also go see it.

'11 Urchin (Thin), 2009
Spectacle arms, black powder coated metal platform, led light strips
50 x 100 cm, Edition of 3'

From left:
'14 Mirror Ball, 2009
Crushed car wing mirrors, spun polished aluminium sphere
155 cm (diameter), Edition of 3'

'1 Lighthouse (White), 2009
Found plastic from dungeness Beach
36 cm x 225 cm, Edition of 2'

'17 Magoo Chandelier, 2009
Circular stainless steel ringed frames, mounted with uncut optical lens
Lit with 8 x 1 metre architectural 100 watt light tubes
225 x 233 cm, Hanging height variable, Edition of 5'

Photographs Youssef Daoud

'OF WARS & WITS & POWER'

I came accross this work by an annonymous industrial designer going by the alias 'Daniel Loves Objects'. I found a few of the designs very intriguing in the use of materials or form but it is really in the design shown below that there exists a very obvious agenda.

'Driven by the recent crisis of certain countries who got very uptight over issues of being asked to disarm their missile test launched, their alarming action to remain hostile and persistent in their belief had stirred me to create this part of a furniture combination to depict their behavioral trait, a bookshelf with their golden army, strategically placed underneath, to uphold and to protect their ultimate plans,frozen in time for all to see.'

Designer Daniel Loves Objects
Source www.coroflot.com/daniellove

2 x Copper Table

I designed these copper tables with the materials of manufacture in mind. In the same manner as 'The Object' I have outlined below the ingredients and recipe.

Ingredients
2 x 3000 x 22 mm copper pipe
2 x 1000 x 1000 x 15 mm shipping wood
16 x 22 mm 90° elbows
1 x 0.5l white egshell paint
56 hours Labour

Recipe

Wood
Cut wood according to sketch drawing
Miter angles accordingly
Check assembly and disassemble
Paint inside of wood 2 coats and lightly sand before applying finish coat
Paint outside of wood a light coat but rub deep into wood grain
Let stand overnight
Glue open boxes
Machine sand finish the outside to a polished finish

Copper
Cut pipe lengths according to sketch drawing
Check assembly by fitting corners
Prepare for soldering using wire wool
Solder
Sandblast for even finish
Apply 3 coats of advanced oxidizing agent to turn copper green
Let stand overnight
Apply 2 coats of parafin wax to seal oxidized finish

Design Copyright © 2010 Youssef Daoud

One aspect I particularly enjoyed was figuring out how the two entities (wood and copper) meet eachother and the surrounding space. It is these details that are a direct manifestation of my thoughts. I like the idea that they touch eachother and the floor yet remain visibly separate

Photograph Youssef Daoud

'The Ambassadors'

This is a very interesting painting with meanings on many different levels by way of agenda and technique. It is the deeply rooted symbolism that captures me most in this painting and bears the most significance.

'The picture is in a tradition showing learned men with books and instruments. The objects on the upper shelf include a celestial globe, a portable sundial and various other instruments used for understanding the heavens and measuring time. Among the objects on the lower shelf is a lute, a case of flutes, a hymn book, a book of arithmetic and a terrestrial globe.

Certain details could be interpreted as references to contemporary religious divisions. The broken lute string, for example, may signify religious discord, while the Lutheran hymn book may be a plea for Christian harmony.

In the foreground is the distorted image of a skull, a symbol of mortality. When seen from a point to the right of the picture the distortion is corrected.'

Artist Hans Holbein the Younger
Location The National Gallery, London
Date 1533
Source www.nationalgallery.org.uk

Photo vs Film

Taking the now mobile object along a corridor, I was able to record the moving image through one view port and juxtapose this with the photo of that surface. I will show you the photo and then the corresponding video. My comments may sound contrived but that is intentional because they are! I created the object to manipulate how we see space and once constructed the images, videos and effects produced are all resultant of the interplay between the object and its space with my only intercession being the choice of which videos I chose to show.

One Ceiling

The continuity of the orange cabling gives structure and direction.
The lights give a moment of extreme brightness that quickly fades.

Two Floor

The size of the mosaic on the floor distorts the scale.

Three Wall

The dado rail gives the same effect as the cabling by way of structure and direction.
The brightness of the lights above is reflected on the wall.
The dado rail is disturbed by the door that we pass.

Film & Photograph Youssef Daoud

Mobile Object

The fixed installation was successful in its own right. The separation of object from output worked well to express the control that I was after. The output was however governed by the placement of the object within the door frame. I now felt that the object needed to move around for the full distortion effect to be experienced. I mounted the object as pictured below and planed a series of experiments.

Photograph Youssef Daoud

This secure base with wheels will allow me much flexibility in moving this object around and filming the output on the viewports.

Installation Beyond Installation

Part of the idea of the installation in the door frame and the canvases was to think about how this would be displayed after. I figured that the object would have another separate use beyond this installation but I didn't want to forget it so that's why I stretched the image of the silhouette of the back of the object on a wooden frame the same size as the viewports combined and set the canvases on the wall in a similar fashion. This piece now has a subtle reference back to the installation which serves to remind me of the origin so that the object itself is never forgotten.

Photograph Youssef Daoud