Colossus
The final sculptural outcome for my masters, Colossus (2017) embodies what I would define as the qualities of the monumental body through facilitating its own particular spectacle. The bodies I present within my sculptural practice exists within a diverse range of theoretical constructs; positioning my work in relation to such concepts as Debord’s ‘spectacle’, Wodiczko’s ‘monument’ embodiment, Foucault’s ‘panopticon’ and Duchamp’s conceptual chaos. Through my own sculptural and theoretical investigations I wish to delve into the specifics of the ‘spectacle’ as a phenomena, my use of the body and the contexts that surround the sculptures I create: What is my works ‘spectacle’?
As my work has refined itself the question of what lies behind my work continues to persist. Upon reflecting on my own practice I began to see a pattern, my work is very outwards facing. The sculptures you see within my wider body of work focus on surface, texture, form and structure. While depicting and representing living entities the bodies I produce curiously never become autobiographical. They never contain self, they are always depicting another body, an inhuman body, a body, without the possessive pronoun.
Colossus (2017) consists of an internal framework made of a repeating central pattern of carefully constructed rings. These rings join together to form a flowing free standing representation of a fallen body. The overall form is very heavily abstracted, evoking forms rather than directly depicting them, this re-enforces my assertion in creating specific ‘bodies’ devoid from identity becoming purely ‘bodies in space’.
Colossus exists as a body within the heart space of CSAD, a physical statement, filling the space with my proposal for a monumental body. My spectacle of my creation. I would suggest that by creating a new monumental body I am claiming the spectacle within my work achieved through sculptural embodiment and by way of creating a ‘second-hand’ body, a spectacle of a body. This research is still ongoing however, incrementally, I believe it has taken its first significant steps in regards to defining its spectacle.
This project is sponsored by GM Polystyrene, without their generous support this project would not have been possible.
