The wooden box of photos

The piece that I have completed for the hand-in of the first module of my final year on the B.A Fine Art degree uses sound and objects to express the idea of family, of moments shared and memories. A old wooden box full of equally old photographs and letters sits propped open upon a large white plinth, which conceals a DVD player and speakers playing an edited sound recording of a conversation between my Nan and myself whilst looking through old photographs, some of which are included in the box. The piece is away from the wall in the studio space, there is a short artists statement attached to the wall. 

Recently my studio practice has been exploring the marks we make as humans that determine our presence in a space, particularly looking into more personal examples of this. I photographed my Nan’s house, searching for a visual combination of what elements make up who my Nan is, her essence. The one photograph that stood out for me was an image of the chair in my Nan’s spare bedroom, it visually personified who my Nan was, her character. The chair was soft, yet strong and reliable, it also stood alone: my Nan is an independent woman. The chair felt sad, the black and white photograph along with the surrounding room gave that sense of age that I associate with my Nan. In the artists statement I focused on reducing this negative impact and instead pointing out the strength of the chair. These photos made me consider the power of family, and the unconditional love that comes with this. When photographing an afternoon of myself and my Nan going through some old photos, the sound recording I had made captured what the camera could not. The conversation that was recorded was emotional and honest, and a completely open door into the life that we have shared together as well as the lives of the family I did not know. The power was in this recording, in the laughter and the thickness of voices on the verge of tears, the advice my Nan gives and the memories she shares. I realised then that this is what the final piece for my hand-in needed to be. 

The voice recording was the main element of the piece, however I didn’t want the equipment to be seen. I wanted it to feel like the sound was around the space, like it existed in the room, taking the viewer to that afternoon. The echoing effect of the sound underneath the plinth makes it sound like my Nan is right there in the studio, her distinctive voice travelling around the room. I wanted there to be something that connected the viewer with the context of the sound, I think it would be possible to distinguish that we were looking at photographs from just listening to the sound piece but I wanted to make this connection easy. The box of photographs is significant because those are the ones that my Nan chose when I asked her which ones she linked with our conversation, the box also contains a letter that my Nan reads out towards the end of the sound piece. Its visual indicators like these that I wanted to ensure that the visual elements link with the sound. I believe that its important that although not obvious, it should be possible to make the connections. The plinth as well is relevant, as I wanted to the height of the box to be at touching distance, you can see clearly all the photographs, and when something is at direct hand height I feel it really entices the viewer to look through and physically become involved with the piece.

This is the artists statement that I wrote for the piece:

The wooden box of photos 

It is bittersweet; love and loves lost. It is happiness; laughter, moments shared and remembered. It is guilt; guilt about the things that I should never have forgotten. It is wonder; fascination with the lives they had before, before us, the children. It is unsettling; the knowledge that there’s another side to them that I do not know, one that to me has never existed. This is the before us, they were happy then too. It is sadness; there are some we wished were still here and some we never had the chance to know.  

I found this very difficult to write. I have started recently trying to write more emotive artist statements instead of something more clinical or theory based. I feel that if you are making a piece of work that is emotional the statement needs to match this, it cannot be completely detached and remain effective. This statement is very experimental, its more poetic than any of the others I have done and I want to test the effectiveness of this. I considered what I felt when I listened to the piece and the feelings I had when going through the box of photographs, I highlighted these giving the audience the chance to question why I felt this way. It is a very honest description of what was running through my mind, much like the conversation in the sound piece, this honesty is what I find emotional, there is no hiding. I was fascinated by the lives my family had before we existed, particularly the life my mother had, sometimes you do not remember that the people you love have a history, this should be recognised. 

I am intrigued to get feedback for this piece. I have listened to the audio CD all the way through, and I admit that I felt very emotional at times, however I find it difficult to judge how people would react. I have such a close connection to the piece I feel I am biased. My friend Sarah has listened to the sound as well and was moved by some of the things she heard however I feel it is the environment that matters. This will next be playing when the studio is empty, when everything is displayed to be marked, and to very few people. I feel this will make a difference. I listened to this piece when I was alone, and to me it was more powerful on that occasion, I felt like I was remembering a very personal moment. I wonder if the viewer will feel like they are intruding or listening into the conversation? Or perhaps enjoying that moment with myself and my Nan. There will most certainly be a difference between when I am listening to it in the crowded studio to when it is played when it is extremely quite. The echoing in the hollow space will most likely be sad, it will feel empty. However, in the moments where there is laughter and reminiscing I hope that it will fill the empty space that is the studio, I have made sure the volume is loud enough in hopes that it achieves this. 

I feel that the piece looks refined, I have thought carefully about each element. However there are a few changes I would make if I had the chance to do this over again or in a larger space using better equipment. I wondered first about the effect this would have in a dark room under a strong lamp. I considered this for the final display but changed my mind, mainly due to the fact that there was no place like that available under such short notice, but in reflection I felt it would change the atmosphere that I would be trying to create with the piece. I feel the darkness would be sinister, and not reflective of the conversation that took place. The ability to see clearly the photos and the details of the box in the bright white of the studio space shows the age around the edges of the photograph, I feel it is also more inviting, there is something about the dark that keeps people at a distance. I feel that this piece would also work if it was alone in a large gallery space. The studio is full of other things and although my singular space is clear there is still a lot surrounding it. The echoing effect could be resonated throughout the studio if this was changed. What would also be interesting is if there were speakers around a room, the sound coming from each side. The viewer would then be much more submersed in the sound, the voices will not be lost in the room; they would fill it. I could also see the box of photos resting on a large old table, like at my Nan’s, in a gallery space if I had that amount of room. This would bring even more of a context of the situation to the work. I could see the work as a larger installation, not necessarily a whole room but definitely a table setting. 

I am pleased with the final outcome of this piece of work, and surprised at how my studio practice has developed over the last module. The final piece is leading towards the direction I wish to be taking for the final module, I am excited to get started with this.