Intro | Background 2 | Breathe 2 | Manchester | Propositions 2 3 4 | References | Results 2 | Inquiries | Notes

Results

Sorted: A Mancunian Commemorative

The result of my investigation into British commemoratives and Mancunian slang, weather and temperament is Sorted, a limited edition of 50 gilt and enamel pin badges. The badge depicts a banner over a rain cloud, which is obscuring a drab rainbow. These symbols suggest the coexistence of gloomy outlooks and vibrant attitudes.

Pounds of Happiness: Cheap and Cheerful, Modest Expectations

Pounds of Happiness (installation), 2009, mixed media, pound store items, 8 x 8 x 5 feet / 2.4 x 2.4 x 1.5 m*
Pounds of Happiness (conveyor belt), 2009, paper, neon gel pens, glitter pens, wood, motor, table, 48 x 34 x 24 inches / 122 x 86 x 61 cm* more info

The result of my investigation of cheap and cheerful is Pounds of Happiness, an installation and freestanding sculpture that highlight modest pleasures available in daily life. Free of class ambitions, the works are a celebration of visual pleasure and a cheap and cheerful aesthetic. The sculpture is a simple conveyor belt displaying a drawing of pound store products drawn with pound store materials. The installation is an intuitively made collection of works of modest ambitions—small moments of pleasure. The simple gestures draw visual connections, make curious recursions, and declare unwarranted exuberance.

Renee Gertler, Secret Garden, 2007, paper mache, spray paint, hot glue, paper cup, polymer clay, plastic ties, cactus, thread. Approx. 18 x 14 x 15 inches / 46 x 35 x 38 cm. Source: ReneeGertler.com
Mary Heilmann, Lovejoy Jr., 2004, Oil on canvas, 40 x 32 in. (102 x 81.3 xm), Collection of Rena Conti and Ivan Moskowitz, Chicago. Source: NewMuseum.org

The project is really just about pleasure, in the same way as Mary Heilmann’s paintings or Renee Gertler’s Secret Garden (2007) assemblage. The intent is to inspire pleasure, unadulterated by skepticism or irony. As slim as the works in Pounds of Happiness are—with their simple techniques and familiar materials—they attempt to embody optimism via the hope that small pleasures are alone are rewarding.

Unlimited Promise: Material Modesty as Contrast

Unlimited Promise is an installation of text cut from mirror foil paper and hung individually. Gallery lights cast a strong shadow on one wall, and reflections spin around the room as the letters rotate. It is an installation of inversions: forward- and reverse-readings, light and dark, cast shadows and reflections. The work is mostly immaterial, correlating to its theme of the unknowable future.

Unlimited Promise is an examination of how high ambitions bring optimism and pessimism into sharp contrast: the phrase, unlimited promise, may be read as available potentials (to an optimist) or impossible goals (to a pessimist).

*Produced in the Breathe Residency at Chinese Arts Centre.