Possessions
This project aims to examine aspects of the relationship between humans and possessions.
This encapsulated themes such as: The change of man-made objects over time, the relationship between convenience and necessity, the functionality of objects, the human desire to preserve and document, the nature of consumerism, emotional attachment to possessions, our motives for forming these attachments and our tendency to judge others depending on the things they own.
For my 'Possessions' exhibition in 2014, I talked to a range of people about their most prized possessions. I then produced portraits of these people, depicted with no material 'clues' such as setting, clothes and hairstyles. This prompts the viewer to focus purely on the face and the expression for any clues as to the character of the individuals. I also noted down the things people said about their treasured objects.
Alongside these portraits, I collected images and quotes about the prized possessions of a different set of people. In the exhibition the portraits, possessions and text were displayed separately. The aim of this was to provoke the viewer to think about the instinctive response to look for material clues, by presenting things that look like clues but which on closer inspection are incoherent. The act of guessing the text that relates to the portraits also highlights the thought process deployed in order to achieve this.
Below are excerpts from the exhibition.
This encapsulated themes such as: The change of man-made objects over time, the relationship between convenience and necessity, the functionality of objects, the human desire to preserve and document, the nature of consumerism, emotional attachment to possessions, our motives for forming these attachments and our tendency to judge others depending on the things they own.
For my 'Possessions' exhibition in 2014, I talked to a range of people about their most prized possessions. I then produced portraits of these people, depicted with no material 'clues' such as setting, clothes and hairstyles. This prompts the viewer to focus purely on the face and the expression for any clues as to the character of the individuals. I also noted down the things people said about their treasured objects.
Alongside these portraits, I collected images and quotes about the prized possessions of a different set of people. In the exhibition the portraits, possessions and text were displayed separately. The aim of this was to provoke the viewer to think about the instinctive response to look for material clues, by presenting things that look like clues but which on closer inspection are incoherent. The act of guessing the text that relates to the portraits also highlights the thought process deployed in order to achieve this.
Below are excerpts from the exhibition.
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It was evident that people will reveal many aspects of their lives through the initiation of discussing their possessions
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Can we be weighed down by our possessions? How long before we run out of space?
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Often possessions become a symbol for emotions such as nostalgia, regret, happiness or intimacy. Many of the objects encapsulated a memory: usually of a person, time or place. We find it very hard to part with these objects. Are we afraid to forget what they represent?
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Preparation Work
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The Exhibition of Treasures
The Exhibition of Treasures is an installation I created at Larmer Tree Festival as an extension of this Possessions project. More details HERE |