Pag The Lady is Not Dead

These photos were inspired by 'Pag - The Lady Is Dead' a music video shown below 

It was also inspired by Ally Standings photograph - 

Hand prints are like the shadows of where somebody has been touched. This work is about sexual interaction and how it leaves invisible 'marks' on people... The memories of sexual encounters. I did the photos with Ally Standing and Charlie Davies as models. We used the garage as a setting which I think worked well... I liked the brickwork, mattress and windows as backdrops as they gave the shoot an industrial feel. The bare mattress and bare brickwork also gave the shoot a trashy edge. Someone mentioned they resemble some of Terry Richardson's work.

Point Of View

I think it would be interesting to make a point of view film where the viewer feels although they are experiencing what the camera is showing. Kind of like a virtual reality, obviously this is only aimed at two senses - vision and sound. If I had all the time in the world I would try and make a virtual sensory experience, something that takes you into a totally different reality. Obviously we can never experience what it is like to be somebody else ...as out brains all manage and process information differently...however a piece of art that controls the sensory information a person receives would be interesting. I saw an interesting piece of video art in the High Society Exhibition in London back in the winter. It was a blurred film about the effects of cannabis...the audio was a mans voice saying a rather philosophical verse...however half way through him saying it another verse would layer over it leaving the listener confused and almost stoned! I cant for the life of me find out what this video was...if anyone has any idea please let me know, it was really inspiring. Above is a music video (Chase and Status n Plan B - Pieces) I thought relevant ...note when the girl has the video camera its almost like the viewer is at the party....I like this style....what a bitch thought :P

Screen Printing

Recently I have been concentrating on connections and integration between people. I have decided to produce a piece mapping out the movements and experiences of people at my birthday house party a few weeks ago. A drew out rough diagrams of the upstairs and downstairs of the house, I then measured the house and noted down all the measurements. This took me about an hour with some help. My friend then helped me draw out the diagrams using a programme on the computer called sketcher. I printed out the diagrams large so each floor of the house covered 8 pieces of A4 paper. I then got some A3 acetate, taped it together until it covered each print out of the diagram and traced over in in thick black felt tip. I was using the acetate to make a screen for printing. Unfortunately the way screens are made uses light....if the light can travel through the markings on the acetate the screen will not be successful for printing. The black lines I had traced were not dark enough so the screen which was produced did not work as well as I had hoped, I made a print using it but unfortunately the lines did not show in some places and were faint in others...although i didn't mind the different textures on the lines, I did need all the lines to show up for the map to be successful. I had to make the lines darker so I doubled up the acetate and drew over the second layer with dark felt tip pen too...I am still waiting for the results from this which should be ready after the easter holidays, hopefully the lines made from the screen printing will be bold enough for my piece. Some people have suggested that screen printing was not a wise choice for technical style drawings..however I think the printing method makes the technical drawings far more interesting because the lines are not all 100% perfect and precise and there are some imperfections. (Above is a photograph of the acetate I have been describing)

Playing Games

One way I connect with people is through playing games. I was simply playing catch a few mornings ago on the 24th March....me and my friends had been up all night celebrating my birthday. We were out in the garden and just started playing catch. It was a beautiful way to connect with people through a common goal. I also love playing poker...A somewhat more complicated game ,however, my sentiments are the same. I have made lots of friends by playing poker...it seems a game can be a common ground for which to build friendships.....I am about to play online scrabble with my other friend hope I win haha....anyway I thought I could somehow incorporate my love of games in to this art project, perhaps I could make up my own game.....we will see.

House Measure

Today I measured the dimensions of Russell's house...where the party took place. This was a bit of a challenge so i got Russell to help me...I find being accurate hard and annoying. I am going to do an architectural plan view map of the house using CAD. Using the information from questionnaires I am handing to party goers i am going to draw on to the architectural plans to bring them to life. The Questionnaire is shown above...

My Investigation Into The Social Dynamics Of A Party

I have decided to do a thorough investigation into my Birthday party which was on saturday. It was a house party which was attended by approx 80 people. To me this is social interaction at its height....people meet new friends, loose their inhibitions and 'go crazy' at parties.I have decided as a starting point to question attendees about their movements and interactions at the party.

Heres a few pics so you get the idea....

Pinpoint Specifics

So far the conceptual elements of my project haven't been a problem...now I need to pinpoint specifics...what am I actually going to produce? As a starting point I am going to examine how I connect with people - Eyes are very important, I find assumptions made on eye contact are often correct..if a person is lying you can usually tell by their eye movements. A friend of my brother -James Lawrence Slattery spent a week avoiding eye contact which I found quite interesting. (http://selfimposedboundaries.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-11-21T10%3A21%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=7)

My sketchbook is looking a bit scruffy at the moment but at least i am getting some ideas down ....