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Initially for this experiment I was working with documenting a sexual experience. Melting chocolate over my partner and myself we had sex on top of material which picked up the movements and positions we did.
After trying this idea out I became interested in the whole idea of repulsiveness and desire. This piece visually shows a mess where as we subconsciously take in the rich aroma of the chocolate confusing our thoughts about the work. We are instantly drawn to the scent causing confusion as to whether we find the work visually appealing. I definately like shifting and changing someones experience with an art work but playing with scent and i think this piece does that.
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New York based artist, Janine Antoni has used chocolate as a medium in a number of works. In the performance work Gnaw of 1992 (pictured), the artist explored both visually and theatrically, the psycho-physical ideas of pleasure and repulsion, by re-sculpting two aromatic cast cubes, comprised of 600 lbs. of chocolate and 600 lbs. of lard, through a process of biting and chewing.
The distinctive rich aroma of chocolate, which is linked to pleasurable experiences for most people, was developing an interesting history in art even before it was scientifically found to be so chemically complex and pharmacologically active, with mood-altering components, including phenethylamines and caffeine.
The distinct smell and taste of chocolate makes a powerful cultural and chemical connection in the brain where art is perceived and emotional responses determined, producing a double or triple whammy of memories, associations and emotions.
I am becoming more and more influenced by olfaction art and the way it effects our sexual experiences. It’s interesting how this sense becomes so sensitive during an intimate experience and how we are drawn to our sexual partners because of their scent. I think i’d like to try document how a sexual experience is different dependent on the scent in that space.
‘Odours can not be readily contained, they escape and cross boundaries, blending different entities into olfactory wholes. Such a sensory model can be opposed to our modern linear world view with its emphasis on privacy, discrete divisions and superficial interactions’
At the moment i am currently focusing my practice towards the power of scent. I find it particularly interesting how our scent can trigger past memories and also affect our sense of place. I have began studying our olfaction and how we are all subconsciously effected by scent whether we realise it or not.
After looking at artist Clara Ursitti she inspired me to experiment and at the moment I’m quite interested in the thought of recreating scents which are only smelt in intimate situations, if this piece was shown to the public the experience should be one you share with an intimate partner but this would now have shifted and you are now sharing an intimate scent with a friend or family member…a sent which should never be shared between the two of you. I want to document how our moods shift in certain spaces and Im also interested in looking into the other senses. I’m just in the experimental stages at the moment and haven’t grasped a solid idea yet. I may need to look into working with a perfumer or aromatherapist if I continue with this idea.
Make up artist Chloe Watt had asked me if i could help her with a slightly gothic type of photo shoot to build up her portfolio. Here are some of the images I took last night!
We have planned to go out again this weekend to get better images so fingaaas crossed it goes well!
Model: Morgan Smith
Make-up artist: Chloe Watt
Editing and Photography: Holly Aitchison
(Source: weissesrauschen)
Day time fireworks
Never seen this before!
Mirrored Exhibition @ Grays
I attended this exhibition on Thursday 13th to support one of our Textile class mates Matthew Russell. He had collaborated with a 3rd year Photography student - Holly Aitchison - on a personal project to push the boundaries between their two subjects. I found it extremely interesting how they had brought areas of their personal lives such as their childhoods and travels and combined this with textile prints of Matthews to create quite a unique and intreguing end result.
Awesome job guys!
Oh and cheers for the free drink!
Recently my friend matt and I worked together on a collaborative exhibition exploring the bridge between photography and textiles.
Working from textile prints and photographs taken by matt and myself we combined these images together to produce a set of projections. These projections were then projected over the body and face, manipulating the image and creating an interesting body of work.
We worked in a high quality photo studio in the dark photographing these new manipulated projections. By selecting our favourites we then printed 9 a1 prints. During the exhibition we also had the images that weren’t printed projected in the corner of the room over a mannequin.
This was a new experience for both matt and myself, with such little time to prepare and organise it all worked out in the end and it’s definately something I hope to do again
colourful fountains - picture taken in salou
photo taken by myself when i was on my way to Salou!
