22/08/08

Eventually got around to carrying out the filming last night. Both footage of the traffic lights, going from red to green and back again and then up to the train station to carryout the sniffing of the platform (one of my fictional performances where by, every ones standing around Hertford east platform, sniffing the spot that always smells of urine). I have still not conquered the skate park but have decided to work with another artist on Sunday to do this. This week also been fairly slow and the work is still fairly messy, lots of ideas going on, maybe too many. Chatting with one visitor this week allowed me to discuss the work in depth, it was a good conversation in which we discussed repression in society and how she felt the work in the gallery almost dealt with that, embracing human nature, play and experimentation. We also spoke about authenticity and as I spoke I began to understand further about my own thoughts and interests. i realised that fundamentally I  seek whats below the surface, not content with any kind of facade but wanting to get to the nitty gritty, the foundations of something, somebody, the truth, the most natural, primitive human behaviour. This made sense in both what I wanted to film at the Station at the action I want to carryout at the skate park. Something out of context but also very ordinary and everyday, but just exaggerated or shifted in context.

I feel i need to summarise the progress again at this point to find some clarity in whats been happening,

1) There's the gallery space, acting as both a gallery and studio and having elements of it exposed, such as an area of plaster and concrete not plastered over behind a plinth.

2) The chairs and plinths in the space uprooted- to expose there inside.

3) The performance- a tour around sites of interest or a speech in the space

4) Performance for video- Skate park, sniffing platform, traffic lights used in live speech performance.

5) Drawings/collage

6) Finding context within Hertford life- Hertford glamour compared to London?

7) Art as lifestyle- my flat, my studio, the gallery contexts shuffled, combined and rotated.

8) 'Mind the gap'- sign and 1 day performance

There's a lot there and I have realised then when I'm working I often repeat ideas, or keep generating new ideas without sticking to one and developing it. I guess now I'm beginning to get nervous about the performance as I'm not sure at the moment how it is going to exist. I mean I hope that it will be able to incorporate all these ideas, to expose many different facets of my thought process but then i don't want it to become to convoluted either. I think I'm going to really need to edit or leave some of these ideas behind to focus on those of most interest.