Having experimented with discarded objects and how our perception of value can be altered when we see ‘weighted’ images on a worthless material, I wanted to work on a larger scale to see if this is an avenue I want to pursue. I found a large table top in the skip which i then took to paint onto. However, during this process because of the pre-used surface, I was picking up different textures and colours of paint underneath.
Photography of Process by Ruth Linnell
This did alter my work as I planned to paint with white onto the surface of the board. This was an idea influenced by Jasper Johns limited tonal and monochromatic work using symbols which I recently saw at the RA. Because of the surface, when painting the symbolic widow onto the boards surface- when wet you could pick it out. However, as time passed and the paint dried I found that some previous marks were whiter than the paint I had used and therefore interfered with the image. I think this changed the commentary of the work to have a larger focus on the ‘reclaimed’ aspect rather than the symbol and use of minimalism to communicate.
On reflection, I think I want to look at how different reclaimed materials could communicate differently. I want to upload the symbol of a window within my work but possibly consider how glass works in conjunction with photography. So much of photography is behind glass, and the subject of looking through a contained perspective (from behind bars) seems to marry perfectly to using glass as a medium. I think it could also be interesting if I had painted the window with a reflective clear gloss, not introducing any more coloured paint, so that the image could only be visible when light was reflecting off its surface.
2017
By Ruth Linnell