during november 2009 I was artist in residence at parkstone grammar school. this was a wonderful opportunity for me to spend a week dedicated to working on a project from start to finish, as well as a great chance for the pupils to see firsthand, artwork created from initial conception to final product.
for the residency I was allotted a relatively large space at the end of one of the art rooms and I was given a free rein as to how the project would progress. when I am given an empty space my reaction is to attempt to fill it. so my first thoughts were how to fill such a large space within the timescale allotted with materials that could easily be found. space and materials then became the restrictions that would direct how this piece should progress. I think that much of my work arises from restrictions and that when contemplating a new work the narrower the brief the more creative I must be to achieve something pleasing.
I am keen to use mundane materials like paper, which can be turned into something more dramatic. paper is usually thought of as being flat and white and is commonly used as a vehicle for other work that is written, painted or drawn upon it. with this work I felt that I would make the paper the art itself.
the structure was built from 208 individually folded paper pyramids of differing sizes, and was inspired by the hidden internal crystal cavities found in geodes. hidden internal spaces interest me and I was drawn to the idea that I could use the space allotted to me to map another separate space within it.
I approached the formation as a pixelated image, like that of a digital photograph, but instead of building the image by varying the colours I would alter the height of the elements. also I wanted to escape the idea of the pixel as a square unit and wondered what would result if the pixel was pyramidal.
the structure was made by organizing half of the pyramids on a base lifted from the floor, and then suspending an exact mirror copy from the ceiling. the internal space was then mapped by the gaps made between the varying sizes of the pyramids.
I thought the residency to be a great success, especially as the structure very closely resembled my initial vision as well as turning up some unforeseen delights, like the optical patterns that each line of pyramids made, and the wonderful shadowplay created when the work was illuminated.
