REFLECTION

 

Looking back on the project as a whole, I am happy with the outcome and the important lessons I have learnt through the process of collaborating with a group of people from different courses.  I have definitely learnt a lot about the process of collaboration, along with working for a particular space. Collaboration before this project was an unfamiliar way of working for me as a student, and if I’m honest after this unit of work collaboration isn’t something I’d look forward to doing again.

Due to our group for the majority of this project being such a large group, communication was a definite struggle for particular members. People have different ways of working, and some don’t work as hard or efficiently as others which is difficult. Furthermore, for everybody to agree on little details such as colour or a shape for a structure took longer than it should and some struggled to focus on one task at a time, and to complete tasks one at a time in order of importance.

 

From this, and after a very unprofessional group conversation on Facebook where a lot of inappropriate insults where made from other members of the group, myself and two other group members from textiles decided it was definitely time to become a splinter group as the three of us. We felt this would be a much more productive and efficient way of working, seeing as we only had one week left until the final exhibition and the other group members had not communicated or come into the studio for days even after the complete change of plan after the pitch/presentation. It was from this point on that working became much easier and a lot more work and problems were solved in a couple of days than had in the previous eight weeks.

Looking at the actual final outcomes of this project, I am so pleased with the success and the impact our pieces had on the viewers as the walked up to the rooftop space. We definitely achieved our intentions in that respect, as our pieces where what the audience looked at and engaged with as soon as the walked out of the building to this new unfamiliar stair way. 

Although this sounds very negative, I have really enjoyed the unit and I am really pleased and proud of the outcome, as I think that our intentions from the very start of the project in creating this sensory experience where definitely achieved and in a good way. Also, the whole process of development and critical reflection and feedback is a vital experience in preparing for the professional world outside of university, and so I am glad I have had the experience that I have from the project.

Furthermore, as I am very interested in textiles as an art from much more than design, it was great for me to be able to learn about creating a piece for an actual real space, to learn about scale and the problem solving in terms of health and safety and getting the pieces to the actual venue. These are very valuable to me and will definitely stick with me and aid me in my further work.

If I was to do this project again, the things that I would do differently are to be much more decisive in decision making as a group member to make things much easier and quicker. I would also want to stay much further away from my textile background and learn and utilise range of different skills from people from different courses.

INVESTIGATION

When looking back on the project as a whole, there are certain stages that stand out to me and key points of development and investigations:

Health and safety problem solving: The problems we incurred when originally putting together the shelter structure before our pitch are definitely a significant part of the process of creating a piece for a public exhibition. Despite us not actually completing the structure due to the conceptual approach not being great for a rooftop space, the group solved the issues of health and safety in terms of stabilising the silk screen structure, by working closely with the metal workshop technicians and using steel hinges and weights to ensure stability and safety.  Problems like these would occur in any public exhibition in the professional world and therefore these hurdles which we faces and overcame where definitely valuable to us as students.

Experimentation and up-cycling materials : Using found and recycling materials to use in creating this urban sensory experience we intended was also a key development point in the collaborative project. As textile students, myself and two other members of the group didn’t really want to take the typical “textile approach” but felt we were expected to do it by the others as they believed our “material knowledge” in terms of the psychological effects and impacts of material and structure. However, these sensory impacts of materials where as new to us as the others, and so as a group we should have researched and planned this much better in order to make this experience and relaxation zone as successful as possible.

Client Pitch: Pitching a presentation and explaining an idea for a piece that hasn’t been fully constructed proved a difficult task to get people to visualise and understand. Having members of the group from interior design was a definite aid in this pitching process, due to the visual diagrams, drawings and model that they put together. However, having the pitch so late in the project a week before the planned exhibition definitely led to unexpected developments and changes in the whole outcome and put strains upon the group as a whole.

The clients had concerns about the whole experience we were creating and questioned as to whether creating a shelter would enclose people and restrict the experience of the rooftop rather than accentuate that experience as we originally intended. Being completely honest, looking back now I don’t feel that the silk screens and the large scale weavings where the best choices, and where very “textiles” which we should have been more firm in avoiding and resisting. Hearing these views made us think a lot differently about the way the shelter would actually make the viewer’s feel and therefore I am much more happy with the sensory experience that we went on to produce on the stairs structure on the entrance to the rooftop.

This professional pitch and last minute change of plan was definitely an eye opener as to how it would be to work for a client in the outside world and therefore in terms of context a very Valuable experience.

Splinter Group formation: This was definitely a key point of the project as the development of the project and the size of the group changed massively, due to complete lack of communication and consideration from other group members. This proved the best course of action after a talk with Kate Egan, and looking back in reflection I am really glad it happened as the outcome was much stronger than it would have been if we were still in such a large group, we were able to be much more productive in much smaller time.

So development turned too creating this sensory experience and engagement with the audience on the actual journey from the building up to the rooftop space which consisted of three works; hanging structures and washer wind chimes under the stairs for visuals, a sensory rolling wall to be touched and played with by the viewer immediately when making the journey and another sensory wall at the top of the stairs to feel which contained a range of different textural qualities and techniques. This was a much more sensible, realistic as well as successful creation of an experience which we intended from the very start of this project.

RESEARCH

 

Our research has had a range of different aspects. It has been heavily based on colour, texture, and the creation of environments such as Zen gardens or relaxation zones. We also looked at large scale interactive art which required the audience to participate and be surrounded by the piece, due to the fact we originally planned to create a structure to highlight and extend the feeling of being away from city life when on a rooftop. We also wanted to respond to the requests of the clients that own the rooftop, which actually related very well to our intentions from day one of Unit X, which where all based on this idea of creating a sensual environment which would be a relaxing sensory escape from city life, this was a great opportunity to learn about working in the professional world for professional clients with visions for a rooftop space.

Clients Presentation.

The use of Pinterest throughout this collaborative Unit X Project has been a great tool. The group have had the opportunity to communicate from home, to show ideas and theme which we found interesting to show the way in which we were communicating the ideas discussed within the group in relation to our overall concept. Thinking about the professional world, if I was to be collaborating with another artist or designer for a project or business task, realistically a lot of the communication would be over the internet, so use of website like Pinterest which allows a group to share a pin board is a fantastic tool for communication. 

Pinterest Snapshots- Group Board.

A particular contemporary artist that inspired me for the duration of this unit of work focusing on this sensory experience and engagement of the public would be Ernesto Neto. As a textile student and aspiring artist, these large scale sensory worlds that he creates using materials and knitted structural fibres that appeal and touch all of the senses are so inspiring and intriguing.

Moving away from the typical textile inspiration, when we first began thinking about these sensory experiences and the five senses, I found interest in the use of sensory art for children which made me question why there aren’t accessible workshops/experiences like this for adults, as I believe that this engagement between humans and materials, light, sound and smell should be fully explored and experienced.

Since the pitch to the rooftop clients which was a surprise in terms of development and change of plan during the last week of the project, we then focused much more on the individual’s experience of the journey when going onto a rooftop space, changing our research of enclosures on the rooftop and therefore restricting the viewer’s experience of the rooftop to focusing still on this sensory experience through use of colour, visuals, sound and touch but making use of the stairway up to the rooftop instead.  This led our research deeper into these sensory engaging ideas, thinking about visuals, textures, sounds and lights.

Stair way- new site for our sensory experience.

 This change in sight also impacted on our use of colour. We where keen for the colours we used in these sensory stages of the journey to the rooftop to reflect those of the rooftop itself, so we used heavy greens and flashes of reds, yellows, blues and rusty oranges and yellows. I actually really enjoyed this, and doing the research and thinking much more about the site specifically in producing the final pieces was an interesting way to work and I liked it, especially when seeing the final pieces at the site and how well they fitted in with the surroundings whilst also creating this whole new experience.

Rooftop Image showing colour.

Week commencing 11th May.

Finishing pieces and setting up on the rooftop space.

 

This week has been very busy and packed full of finishing off final ideas, thinking about attaching them and where they would fit best on the staircase, along with actually installing the experience onto the rooftop. This went surprisingly smoothly and myself, India and Lauren worked really well together as a group. We all had our own roles and got on with them quickly and efficiently and finished our installation to a good standard. We where really happy with the overall look of the different sections of sensory pieces up the stairway, and where really pleased with the aesthetics of the way the colours really complimented those of the stairway and the rooftop itself.

Week commencing 4th May.

  

Post Pitch/Presentation.

After pitching our concept and final design ideas to the board of rooftop owners, we came away feeling slightly disheartened about the final outcome. The clients suggested a change of placing for this sensory experience, as they feel the shelter on the rooftop space could be restrictive and take away the actual experience of being on the rooftop itself which we do not want to do. So, we will now be working on the stairs to the rooftop, to engage the audience up through this journey to a new, exciting and unfamiliar place which will be much more successful. So, we need to think more about the individual experience and the sensation we want to create when the viewer is travelling to the rooftop and the engagement we want them to have. By doing this out original intentions from the start of this project will still be relevant and carry through just in a slightly different way.

From this whole experience of working with a client and for a particular space I have definitely learnt some valuable lessons about being slightly too ambitious and working to a tight deadline. These are great things to be learning and experiencing whilst a student in preparation for the professional world.

A visit to the rooftop the day of the presentation confirmed the concerns of the clients, and made us realise the greater opportunities and how much more simple yet effective it would be to work on the stair structure, due to hanging and engagement opportunity's. Having the chance to go to the rooftop space earlier would have been so much better for us to visualise how the shelter and experience would work and would have probably made our work much more stronger as we would have recognised these possibilities and restrictions.

After the change of plan suggested in the pitch after the pitch, the days after this should have been very productive and driven from all group members in order to decide on new pieces and development to go onto the rooftop stair way. However, after waiting for hours for other group members not to come in the studio, and poor communication- myself, India and Lauren decided after a talk with Kate Egan to form a splinter group with the short time we have remaining.

Development of ideas- splinter group.

After this, the remainder of the week has been very productive, and we are feeling confident about the intentions and development of this project into the final outcomes for the exhibition next week. We have focussed on going back to the drawing board and thinking how we could really work with and engage with the stairway space. 

Drawing and visualising as a group.

Individual sketchbook work.

We have spent lots of time experimenting and developing ideas for the different elements which we want for this sensory experience, thinking about visuals, colours, textures and sounds. This has been much more enjoyable and engaging as a student in comparison to the simple structure made of just simple printing screens, as this development and experimentation is my favourite part of a project as a textile student.

Colour.

Colour has also been important to us in developing our ideas this week, as after the feedback from the clients we where keen for our pieces to not only just work onto the rooftop stairs,but to also complement and fit in with the surroundings. By using the colour palette from the rooftop itself in our pieces we hope that this is a successful way of integrating this new and exciting experience for the audience when journeying to the rooftop itself, without drawing attention away from the whole experience.