Sculptures and Final Piece.

Rose Sambrook
Apr 30, 2020
3 min read

Its kind of crazy that I'm currently at home isolating on my 7th or 8th week (I forget at this point) and continuing my second year fine art degree. The worlds a scary and wild place at the moment and art is not always a priority right now, however art can be such a powerful reminder that beauty is in the everyday, and that through creating and learning we can find some solace. Its no secret that I struggle with writing blog posts, and always delay them to the last minute. But I've found through doing them they're such a powerful way to remain grounded to reality. I've been able to properly review my own art work in ways that pre Covid19 I would have never had the time to do. Ive learnt I really love the environment. Im really passionate about change. Ive learnt that my work has a tendency to be very literal in outcome and that I sometimes go to the first option instead of experimenting in materials. The outcome of all this being a collection of pieces that I'm well and truly proud of. The first pieces in years that I'm actually proud of and think are effective in aesthetic and contextualising theory and using artists to influence and inspire the final piece.

The pieces themselves, I initially resisted letting the sculptures morph into the beaches that they later became. I felt I had tried so hard to explore abstracting my art, and here I am creating sculptures grounded in real life and that look like actual beaches. I resisted the pieces and yet eventually I came back to it. I couldn't help it. The pieces encompassed everything I was interested in, all of the theory, the anger, the activist in me, and all packaged in a way that was aestheally effective and engaging.

After I discussed my work with friends, Kate and parents I realised this was the work I needed to be doing it, denying it was a mistake. So I began creating small sculptures with the found or thrown away objects. The themes of repurposing and finding value in objects that have been used, thrown away or littered have been explored throughout my project. Creating consciously and with the world in mind, I try not to partake in unnecessary consumerism and use the found or recycled. By using these thrown away items I take them through the process of rehabilitation, giving them new purpose and life within my artwork. The sculptures I created where used with materials I had around . Th old blue slushee syrup I found against the tobacco and old sand created a sculpture that when photographed from close angles resembled Birdseye beachscapes. I was really interested in exploring scale and altering reality for the viewer. My sculptures are all only around the size of an a4 page but through close up angles the beach scapes look vast and real size. I am absolutely in love with the idea of creating a series of photos of different exotic beaches, but in reality them being photos of temporary sculptures made from trash and toxic materials. Through editing and photoshop I can create really vivid colours and crop photos in a way that enhances their sense of scale and perspective. Below are some of my favourite pictures ive taken and edited that look most like actual beach photos. I fooled friends and family showing them the photos and even when I told them it was fake and made from rubbish some didn't believe me.

Feedback:

has been overwhelmingly positive. Every single person I've spoken to said they thought they where real beach photographs and loved the concept and execution of the pieces. Danika had some really interesting feedback. She suggested instead of the sculptures being temporary (me building them, photographing them and then disassembling them) that I leave the sculptures outside over night to interact with nature and the elements. I absolute loved that idea. The idea of collaborating with nature, letting animals, wind, rain, interact with the piece resulting in an end and changed result. However, because I used old food items in my sculptures I didn't want to leave the pieces outside in case it attracted rats. Not that that wouldn't be an interesting result but we don't really want rats in our garden. I might try to recreate the piece with non food found items and leave it outside and explore the repercussions and how the earth can reclaim some of the items or change this beach.

Below are beaches made from the following materials

Slu