CYNON VALLEY HOSPITAL COMMISSION, 2012
When I was given the theme of Bringing the Outside in, I immediately thought of the outside as nature, so looking at the environment .I wanted to capture the beauty of the world that surrounds us and bring it into the hospital for the patients, their families and friends and hospital staff to explore themselves.I wanted to take quite a literal approach with the theme, so I began exploring the environment around Morganstown where I live. I decided to focus my attention on the Pathways of the Taf Trail that follow along side the river Taf as it links Cardiff to The RCT. I went on a walk down the Taf trail looking at all the individual walkways that were there, just looking for different pathways and roots and the relationships they had with each other. I took note of the paths I was taking, keeping a diary of directions like a personal map.
I decided that my first piece would reflect the pathways I took and would be representative of the textures and surfaces I came across. As I couldn’t use materials that would decompose over time I resorted to a material that was made from nature itself, known as cotton, which comes from the cotton plant. This way I could still incorporate nature into my piece as I could manipulate it with it still holding its original roots.I began free hand stitching on to a piece of dissoluble muslin using different shades of thread, fabric strips and wool, hashing them together to create my own base material, I layered up each material in a way of representing my pathways taken from my walk. I wanted each individual thread to represent the patients, visitors and staff within the hospital suggesting that building up a strong relationship between individuals creates a strong support system, just like a hospital itself.
For my second piece i wanted to use a medium that could capture the same meanings of the stitch piece instantly, with no loss of information. So the best option was photography. My attention was drawn to a rose in my Garden, its layered up segments and the threads in its petals held the same relationship of my stitch piece. These lines were reflective of its life lines, as a rose gets older the threads multiply, which is the same as a human being as we age we show signs of it. To get a close up view on to the rose I had to use a macro setting to allow a sharp focus, making sure the threads of the petals stood out among the rich red tones and the subtle blue out of focus background. I placed the red against a blue backdrop, as red is the prominent colour, the blue forces the red to the front of the image making it appear bolder and vibrant.
I then decided to take my photograph in a slightly different direction, by turning it into a triptych, 3 images taken from one single photograph. The idea behind this was to incorporate the different sections of the rose separating them but making sure they are close enough to still resemble the rose itself. It is reflective of hospitals as there are different units in a hospital, they are all as important as the rest and when they come together they create a strong structure just like the rose.
It was important for me to use a subject for my work that are visually stimulating and interesting to the human eye. As there are so many different textures layers and shades in all three pieces, I hope it will give the viewer something new to look at each time they pass.
Reflection
What were the biggest challenges that you encountered and what did you do to try to resolve them?
During the making of my works I encountered challenges such as not being able to use materials that would decompose, so I had to overcome this by using materials that could represent objects I came across on my walk for my stitch piece.
For my Photography piece I noticed that the photograph had very small measurements and if I was to enlarge it to A2 size I could loose the sharpness it had. I Over came this by testing different settings on Photoshop and printing them on A3 and then Reprinting them at an A2 scale on A3 paper, this allowed me to see the quality it would print off
Which were the most valuable learning experiences of the project for you and why?
To me the most valuable learning experiences of the project was presenting my work to a client, as I have never done this before. I found it quite challenging to explain myself and what my work represented clearly for them to understand. We had a short amount of time to explain everything and I found myself missing important parts out..
What would you do differently if you had the opportunity again?
If I had the opportunity again I would have prepared myself a lot better and would of managed my time for effectively. Overall, I am pleased with all of my works, even though the stitch piece wasn’t selected for the hospital, I still learnt that I can apply myself to a brief effectively and can work to a deadline if need be.
What has the experience taught you about working with others/commissioned work in public spaces?
That your not making work for your own personal reasons, you have a brief and you must stick to it even if its not something you would usually choose to create. There will be a sense of criticism and I have to learn to not take it so personally, otherwise you may begin to feel negative towards your own work. It all comes down to the people who the work is for and if they like it and find it suitable for its placement.
click to read the Wales Online article on this commission
click to view artist Kathy Dalwoods work for the Cynnon Valley Hospital
KAYLEIGH ADAMS 