Working across two projects in the lead up to MJW has got my mind well and truely in two places.

On the one hand, I am thinking about the physical qualities of a material (plastic); contemplating its geological impact – how tiny particles can circulate our oceans, potentially sediment and conglomerate to make new forms – and dealing with the frustrations of manipulating and transforming it. What might a future assemblage of such pieces, somewhere between manmade and natural, look like?

On the other hand, I am thinking about the exchange that has taken place within the Handshake/Dialogue collective project; how objects can hold personal narrative and  people might communicate differently through technology than they can/do in person. What memories do we hold on to, and what will we share with a stranger from the safety of our screen?

Considering the disparate nature of these two projects, I remebered a work I saw a while ago by Attai Chen where he used a single piece of gold which was formed and melted down continuously to make a series of works, documented and presented as a digital brooch. An interesting way to approach the subject of meaning, matter and virtual existence.

Perhaps the connection between my two bodies of work is a bit less distant than I’m inclined to think?

Image sourced: http://www.attaichen.com/jewellery/index.php?/work/redundancy-of-matter/