Thereis no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of
tea.’
I have always been inspired by fabrics, thetexture and the idea that you want to touch and interact with the piece is whatinspires me the most. I came across the fabric tea bags working in John Lewis; I thought they looked so delicate and dainty that I wanted to experiment further with the object. I began with the photographs, the photographs are abstract close ups of the tea bag fabric, I liked the effect the abstract quality the idea that you don’t quite know what it is. From this I began to interact with the teabags more embroidering and sewing making them more personal for anyone that interacts with the object. It’s no longer just a teabag, it’s a message; words that everyone can relate to, words that crop up on everyone’s daily routine, everyone’s daily tea/coffee break.

The words within them and embroidered on to the tea bags comes from my research into the idea of what people discuss over a tea or coffee break. From listening into different conversations and analysing my own, I have heard some funny, ridiculous and quite intense things. From this I began to encase the words within the teabags as a metaphor for conversation or a conversation that has happened. The fabric pieces if the abstract faces represent expressions I have observed for my research, the expressions are from memory which is what makes them somewhat abstract and dreamlike; they represent the conversations that I have listened to and had myself, that are now just a distant memory and a thing of the past, some stick out more than others and some are very vague. But they still happened and are still happening now, as I type this, all around me. We are always surrounded by the presence of Human Beings.

Another visit to the Cafe / Bar = More Pictures.

My Experience

For me exhibiting in a public area that is seen all the time by everyday people was the ultimate goal for this project. I am honored to have the amount of time given to exhibit my work. The idea that my pieces are placed in an environment were they are having an impact on members of the general public is what makes this experience so great for me, I hope that my work is having an impact on somebody, anybody even just for a second then my work has been a success. I would like to think that my work is representing the everyday well and is a metaphor for all the conversations that are taking place within the exhibition space right now. The overall experience has been great and it has definitely inspired me to get involved in more exhibitions or even organise my own with fellow artists.

Opening Night
03/04/2012 - 21/04/2012

Being one of my first exhibitions in a public space I was quite nervous. We used social networking to promote our event also (Groys' theory of autonomy and the idea that social networking is a good aid to artists.) The opening night went great, and our friends and family came to support us which was fantastic. Here are some pictures of my work hung within the space as well as images of the crowd and the space within the bar/cafe.

Quick talk about Boris Groys.
'Self Design and Aesthetic Responsibility'

Boris Groys talks about the idea that the people are only interested in the artist. Therefore raising the question, does the artist just produce what the public want to see? The idea that a description isn't enough they need to know and recognise the artists name.
So what does this mean for up and coming contemporary artists? Does this mean we have to almost sugar coat our ideas and pieces to please the public? Do we then have to realise what the public want and then make that our practice?

The idea of Celeb vs. Artist - the role of the media. The mass media is like a massive artist manipulating the public into what is good and what is bad. Therefore artists that are talked about within the media are the only ones that are known. These types of artists are working toward what the public 'expects' to see for example the work will never go past the aesthetics.

If Artists use cultural debate and Social Politics they indeed grab the attention of the mass media as they are creating a political statement.

Another example is Banksy, he as a graffiti artist is considered to be breaking the law. However everyone knows of him because of his bold statements with aesthetically pleasing images plastered onto the sides of buildings etc. Supporting the idea that any press is good press.

Exhibition Leaflets, Flyers and Posters set up in MelloMello.

The Exhibition.

For our module it is compulsory to exhibit your work within a public place of your choice.

Myself and four other fellow students are exhibiting in MelloMello, Slater Street, Liverpool.

MelloMello is cafe/ bar, a bohemian space with a alternative feel. I have always felt strongly about putting art within a public space. So that people can view, observe and absorb your work take it in and let it influence their views and have an impact on their day. I felt that my pieces and ideas originating from the cafe environment that they would work best within that environment. The environment were my idea originated. With people surrounding the work drinking tea and coffee looking at my work and subconsciously taking in the meaning. The people surrounding the work automatically become the work. After all the pieces are metaphors for human presence, human behaviour and the everyday. The faces are imaginary beings that I have witnessed on my travels so in some ways they become the work.

The exhibition is titled 'Rituals a practice in progress' with the idea being that because we are second years that our practice is not complete and we did not in some ways did not want to label it complete because in our opinion nothing is ever complete.

The dreamlike, abstract fabric pieces.

From the sketched I created these abstract, dreamlike templates for my fabric pieces. The images of the faces are not of anyone in particular but a metaphor for all the people I have observed from my research and from working in the Cafe / Restaurant. The are a representation of a ritual, an everyday occurrence that is simply drinking tea or coffee.

When I was observing conversations and people I began to sketch what I saw, The sketches are based on the expression I have observed doing my research. They are metaphors for conversations that have happened and are happening now. Working with fabrics through this project I wanted to continue and make some textile pieces based on my sketches.

Notes and experiments based on tea, tea stains and why people go for tea.

Teabags based on tea words - embroidery - hand stitching
I made these pieces as a development from the acetate words encased in the teabags. I decided to make these to look more like a teabag, I created five of these with the idea that initially you wouldn't notice a difference but when you look close the words read

Hello There Sorry Love You

These being the most common words I heard or I hear on an everyday basis. The idea that everyone can relate to the words on a personal level.

These are my notes from my observations of people as I sat and observed the everyday and human behaviour over a tea/coffee.

These are scans of the teabag sculptures.

I created these teabags based on the information I had collected when researching into the idea of what people discuss/ talk about over a tea or coffee. I carefully pulled apart the teabag and emptied the tea, I printed the 'tea words' onto acetate and encased them in the teabag, I then hand stitched them back together creating a thread for them to hang. I like the somewhat innocence to these pieces, each of them creating a delicate sculpture but individually creating an emotion and telling a story.

From my experiments with the teabags I started looking at what people talk about over tea using the influences from my tea words and tea quotations.

I have always been intrigued by the idea of human presence and human activity and why we behave in a certain way. Observing the idea of the everyday and human behaviour has always been an odd interest of mine. From this I began to look into the idea of human presence; I decided to use the idea of people going for a tea or coffee as a metaphor for human behaviour and the every day. Having experience working with the general public has inspired me as an artist and influenced my practice greatly. Working in a café restaurant, you start to question the idea of human behaviour and why do we do certain things. What makes us do things and why do we do it? Only humans perform the activity of ‘Going for a Coffee or Tea’ and somewhat thrive off doing so. I have always wondered at times when I’m standing in a queue waiting or serving people at work, why is ‘Going for a coffee’ or ‘Going for a tea’ so important? And why as humans is it such a common occurrence in everyone’s daily routine? As human beings use this method of drinking tea or coffee as an aid to relax and we tend to use tea/coffee to 'fix' things in our lives. I have begun to delve into the concept of what happens during this crucial ‘tea/coffee break’ of us human beings. How does going for a coffee or tea make our day easier? And also what common things would you see, hear or do if you observed different people or even yourself whilst people are having a tea or coffee break? Why is it that this tea or coffee break has become such a routine that it has almost become a ritual?

More teabag photos (superfruits tea.)

Still thinking about human behaviour and the everyday, i decided to manipulate the intricate and delicate teabags into different shapes and colours using photography and adjusting the details of the images. I like how the teabag has almost transformed, they almost look like x-rays or organs. Some of the first images even look like landscapes and mountains. I couldn't help but think about the teabags swimming around in the hot water and is that what they look like when people are chatting away about things in their lives?

These pieces were based on unpredictability of the everyday and human behavior. They were created by throwing tea vigorously in an angry manner to represent the dark side of human presence.

Art After the end of Art - Art After the End of Art suggests the idea that Art has become to similar to the everyday and that it has now become unrecogniseable. How do we as artists and as members of the public determine good or bad art? It becomes a somewhat hyper reality. The Bauhaus - the influence for a lot of buildings, the idea that this can fix the world, with its white wall space. However the Fluxus Art movement attacked the white wall gallery space and labelled it a political space.

The World of Chinese Contemporary Art. - China is very different in terms of what they class as contemporary art, for me contemporary art signifies the issues within society and the political debated within the public domain and can be displayed outside the gallery space in order to grab the attention needed. For example in China most Art is owned by collectors and auctions play a vital role in terms of selling art and making money as an artist. In this case are the Artists just driven by the money? Do they see this as a chore and redeem their motivation from money or is it a true passion? The 798 in Beijing is the Art Community and is the 3rd most visited place. China has been the No1 art market for 8 years! This made me question the idea that China is stuck in a bubble and can't break free and express itself in terms of contemporary art. The Primary markets in China are Galleries and Museums that are owned by the foreign and owned by the rich, with collectors only collecting antiques who will be left to collect the Contemporary Art? How will it survive?

More Lectures...

Relational Aesthetics and Social turn in Art - This turn in the art world opened up the doors to the public and the involvement of the audience with Duchamp quoting 'The Audience completes my work.' The idea that art can change within the public eye depending on how you're feeling, what the weather is like and what environment it is in. With Claire Bishop stating 'For politics to happen there has to be an argument or disagreement.

Its all about the Lectures.

Post Modernism. - In the Post Modernism period the people began to question the time. The idea of Modernity was to provoke thoughts that may be scandalous. Post Modernim wanted to take on the present day, it didn't long for a time in the past. Artists started to delve into interdisciplinary art, sort of like a pix and mix for artists of the time. Allowing for a lot more experimental pieces. Such as the Cindy Sherman - Film Stills -

I love this image personally I feel that this also represents the everyday, its effortless and beautiful. Capturing a moment of human behavior and the everyday. There is a somewhat eerie feel to this piece also, the idea that someone is there watching and observing.

However, after time the Modernism ran out of steam and exhausted the cultural world.