Declarations of Doubt
My creative work includes writing, statements on fabric created with spray paint, and photographic documentation. I use thrifted and found cloths and transform them into protest banners, which following are then captured through traditional black and white film in nondescript locations. The banners are presented amongst the photographs in the gallery space. The fabrics are stretched across the space, nailed on walls and some on flagpoles. ‘Declarations of Doubt’ reference the idea of protest and function as remains of non-specific past revolts. Although the banners and photographs indicate to certain moments in history when protest was rampant, the work’s subject and aim are intentionally open. I like to think of the banners and documentations as a composition that prioritises doubt rather than specific issues.
The practice behind these methods of making, initially were to explore and project my feelings into the world. I find that my work is heavily influenced by the aesthetics of language, and the complications and doubts around it. Studying ‘Society of the Spectacle’ I began to define the language in my work as a distraction declared through uncertainty. My goal was to make the work intimate, noticeable ambiguous. My creations have evolved through the practice of free-writing and exploration of spray painting, and my expectations are realised through this combination. Allowing myself to commit without any certainty to such a decisive material has empowered me and the works which have led to this stage. Photography has taught me to think about documentation and the substance it brings to a work, and in the case of ‘Delarations of Doubt’ it validates the artwork .I use photography as a way of expressing and seizing the delicate nature of these cloths, instilling those qualities into a single moment.
By placing these specific statements into a space, it creates a misdirection and allows the work to act as a ‘spectacle’ In this instillation the banners are showcased in their natural state, as occupants of a space, presented with all their flaws. Alongside, I have chosen to represent their documentations in a fragile and decorative manner to further communicate the qualities of a photograph.
