Kayleigh and I both need dark spaces for the degree show, so we have agreed to paint all walls black. The technician Mick from J block suggested to paint with a theatre paint call Flint; this paint can only be purchased in a few shops, so Kayleigh and I bought two tins online for £19 per tin. We cleaned and sanded our walls down and got help from Jane one of the first years to paint the walls. This paint is exceptionally absorbent, which means that it does not reflect light as the paint dries matt.
I have had help from Richard and David to set up frames for my space as well as a heavy theatre curtain to block out as much light as possible. I had suggested making a frame that can hold up a long beam so that the fabric could be stretched out as tight as possible. When David and I started to assemble the structure, we realised that we could put a wooden beam across the space as well in order to help hold the fabric up even better. See the image for a visual demonstration.
I then build a shelf designed for the projector I have hired from the library, so to be less noticeable. I have also hired a DVD player and speakers from the library and TLR. Marcus Pierpoint provided me with a long phono cable so that the two speakers are connected with a long distance. This enables me to place the speakers on either side of the audience so that the sound is the best possible when sitting in the space.
The material I am projecting onto is the same material you use when making kites; it is called Nylon ripstop fabric. This fabric is perfect if you want back projection, the image is a lot clearer on the side that is not projected directly onto. It was a problem when you were sat in the space that the image was quite unclear. I have therefore attached a large piece of tracing paper on the inside of the area to make the inside clearer. Doing this has made the outside more blurred, but I think that it has given the effect I wanted to begin with. The exterior provides a taste of what's inside and will draw people to come into the space. And to invite people into the area, I have borrowed an exhibition bench from Firstsite Gallery.
I had for a long time thought that I wanted to retake some self portraits with me acting like the people I have impersonated but I had the original ones, which was inspired by Claude Cahun and Gillian wearing. I have now decided to exhibit them. Kayleigh suggested to the photography students to maybe suspending their photos from the celling at the Free Range exhibition and they weren’t that keen. I on the other hand like suspending work so I have printed out these self-portraits on tracing paper that shows my work on both sides. These photos are hung from the ceiling. I used copper pins that is in a creational point of view fitting to Heidi’s work, they are hanging like banners, which talks to Charlottes work and they are all hung from the celling on a white rectangular structure, which taps to both mine and Kayleigh’s show.
