Chiayi Chu

An exhibition that invites you to immerse yourself in the historical events and reflection on nature. I am interested in the exhibition uses different materials and methods to present the story. Especially the maze display which is about immigration, instead of directly illustrate the story through images or objects, Nelson created 16 rooms that is connected with one another with different theme and props inside to tell immigration stories. It invites the audience to actively explore the stories back in time instead of seeing the history passively like normal museums or galleries do. It can be suggested that the historical event is gradually delivered as more doors are opened by the audience.

My pop-up model aims to present the history of Deptford to people through moving images by projecting them on different screens. I felt inspired from Nelson’s exhibition where the initial idea is displaying different historical event on screens and it will be formed into a labyrinth floor plan. The idea is to display them in a timeline order beginning from sharing the royal dockyard history of Deptford to the Deptford diverse community in the present. To share the development of Deptford from the past to the present. Through delivering the information, I would like to raise attention to Deptford’s historical aspect and engage the local community to build a strong sense of community.

An extraordinary exhibition, which took us back to different historical events or periods through different mediums. Touching but at the same time heartbreaking, as showing some cruel past.

The most popular exhibition room inside is the ‘black box’ without a doubt. I am amazed by Kentridge creating a puppet show using motors and wheels. On top of this, the combination of opera and film has made this puppet show full of surprise. The fact that the puppet show was mostly for children, Kentridge utilised it to present another heartbreaking historical event. To my opinion, this provokes more empathy as well as makes the audience’s position from passive to active to interpret and reflect on the play.

This is also seen in Kentridge’s other work. One of my favourite paintings in the first exhibition room. Kentridge drew the politicians into animals such as coyotes or cheetahs inside the drawing. Furthermore, the painting below shows the coyote wearing a roller skate. I am fond of Kentridge using a humourous approach to present history. Also, allowing the audience again actively engage with the drawing rather than receiving the message directly from the drawing.

Last but none least, throughout the exhibition space, charcoal drawing is seen multiple times. At first, I thought it was a part of the curating process of the exhibition. After I finished the exhibition and look up the information on RA’s website. I realised the drawing is done unpurpose. They are drawn because Kentridge felt bored during the exhibition set-up. We can even see a ladder inside one of the exhibition rooms with a work-in-progress sign. Referring to the interior design aspect, I love the idea of utilising the empty wall space with lighter materials such as hand drawing. I would also like to experiment this further inside my project 5. Usually, when people come to an exhibition space, the work is quite distancing from us as they are rigid and fragile. The hand drawing has successfully solved the problem which makes the viewing experience more friendly.

Finally, a quote from William Kentridge. A quote that I think is useful for everyone.

Forgetting is natural, remembering is the effort one makes’.

William Kentridge

My client collects a series of 1960s vinyl records. Therefore, my material choices is leaning towards the usage of vinyl, plastic and wires. With the previous bathroom design that creates an ear shape of the window, I would also like to integrate the concept into the material choice.

Material 1

The first material is a vinyl record being shaped into different angles using a heat gun. It is directly linked to my theme where I have also bought a cheap second-hand vinyl record for experimentation.

The second material I found interesting is a project about the space between the body and ear. The artist used different weights of wire to symbolise the ear’s unique shapes and widths. Instead of using something soft like strings, I found the use of wire can represent the organic curve as well as the firm feature of the ear.

During week 4, I decided to change my client brief with a desire to design an interior space dedicated to vinyl records. The client brief has been quickly developed with my dance background where my client will be a swing dancer who owns a series of 1960s vinyl records.

Following the window design of the client’s live-work space, the bathroom design has taken the same concept, which is the shape of the ear throughout the whole area. As my client’s collection is vinyl records. I would like to explore shapes that are not only circular but also organic and curved. To symbolise the music flow over the surroundings and my client’s body in order for her to find choreography inspiration.

The bathroom design is more challenging as more functionality needs to be considered. By simplifying the ear shape multiple times through my sketch, I have gained a more straightforward ear shape for my floor plan. The concept of my bathroom design is that each function will be independent from the other while through the curved shape they are connected as a whole. The curved wall will also ensure the privacy that is needed in a bathroom. In response to my client profile, the bathroom will also provide a changing/powder room function for her to dress her dance outfit on.

More research into vinyl records and 1960s design needed to be investigated. With the floor plan provided much free space around the wash basin and toilet area. I will also experiment on the material choice of the bathroom in relation to the rest of the project to create consistency.

Soane’s role as an architect had made consideration into the usage of lighting throughout the whole museum. I am most impressed with the lighting in the basement where a part of the ceiling has been replaced with a steel frame that allows the light from the ground floor to shine through the basement. Also, the audience is able to walk on the frame. This not only ensure the natural light and the air flow but also allows the space to remain the same without being restricted.

Furthermore, each collection room’s ceiling can be suggested as distinctive from the others. Some with coloured glass windows, some with multicoloured drawing windows and some with arched ceilings and decorative strips. To some extent, the ceiling reflects the collection in each room. It is like a mystery box where the ceiling cannot be predicted in the next room.

Overall, the museum has inspired me to explore more on the use of lighting in the project. It can be improved on the ceiling as well as the window with different techniques and materials. The atmosphere of an interior space or viewing experience can therefore be integrated.

My collection will showcase my collector’s love of ceramic cups and tea culture. The design approach is to display the cups with an organic, earthy interior as well as provide a space for tea drinking.

The proposed design has taken the inspiration of a traditional kiln room to create a space where the public can walk in and experience how ceramic is made from the kiln room. My proposed design has also achieved the organic feeling of the interior by using mineral concrete painting throughout the whole space. However, the collage above has got different material elements. Therefore, I will need further experiments into selecting the most appropriate one. Although materials are all considered organic, the interior space might look overwhelming for both the collector and the audience. As you can see in the image below, the past examples on the mood board are all relatively simple in terms of selecting materials.

Following on, my proposed design has constructed the space into two levels. This raises an important question of whether the living space should be above the public space or the other way round. The image below showed the two levels of floor plan with the living space on the ground floor. However, the height of the chosen space does not allow an equal division of height for the levels. I will need to improve the space arrangement so that the living space is not cramped while natural light can be provided to both the display area and the private area.

Overall, the design has allowed me to explore the creative way of designing a space. The idea of the kiln room has been complimented from the feedback session where I will carry on this direction. The project has also challenged me in thinking about the arrangement of private and public spaces while taking into consideration of my theme. The division of space with the curved line has not successfully met the needs at the moment and I will spend more time working on this.

If you start off with the found object, that object already has a history draw on.

Cornelia Parker

As I grow older, I find that our thoughts and inspiration are very much influenced by childhood memories, families and surroundings. This is also seen in Cornelia Parker’s exhibition where many of the pieces are influenced by people and the surroundings.

Out of all Parker’s work, I am particularly interested in room 2’s ‘Inhaled Cliffs’ work. Parker got her inspiration from the Customs and Excise officials’ depiction of ways of smuggling drugs. One of the ways is through garments, as seen in the image above on the right, there is a bedsheet folded multiple times. Parker reassembled the idea of replacing drugs with chalk from the White Cliffs of Dover. The outcome is not to show the audience the history but to provide an idea of sleeping between two cliffs. I was amazed by this piece where there is a contradiction between the context of the piece and its outcome. The content is violent whereas Parker turned the story into a beautiful story. Not only the audience can understand the historical background, but also immerse themselves in Parker’s imagination of this work.

The work next to this bedsheet is also an inspiration taken from the Customs. Just like the work above, I am driven by Parker’s description of her work. The introduction of exhibition room 2 suggested the works are related to violence including Parker’s making process. In this piece, she stated that the way authorities destroy illegal contraband is also symbolically like her.

What makes this exhibition different to those I have been to is the text description of Parker’s work. After reading each text, they either reinforce my perspective on the work or completely changed my view. Although most of the work is still, with the description they are as powerful as those moving installations. While they are gentle in a way that tells a historical incident.

Grad Dip ID-Week 1 Project

To me, La Sagrada Familia ‘wow’ me with the moment when the sun shines through its fantastic usage of multicolour glass. The difference in sunlight will generate different lighting and combination with the glasses. Thus, creating a unique experience and atmosphere.

The viewing experience reminded me of the fairytale ‘Hansel and Gretel, where the brother and sister fall into the hands of a witch who lives in a house made of gingerbread, candy and cake. Instead of using real candy as my building material, I decided to focus on recreating the multicolour glass effect on my building wearable. Immediately, I thought of using candy wrapping paper to recreate the multicolour glass effect. The candy wrapping paper has been specially selected with a demi-transparent appearance to enable the light to shine through the material.

The structure material is used with cardboard and leftover corrugated paper from my tableware sets. I believe the genuine appearance of cardboard and corrugated paper can best represents La Sagrada Familia’s exterior wall and columns inside the interior.

To mimic how the public will navigate in the cathedral, my design has changed from making a full circle of coloured glass to a half circle. The candy wrapping paper is then cut into different sizes and stick onto the cut-out glass shaped randomly. The experiment successfully generated the glass effect with both natural sunlight and the use of a torch.

This project not only allowed me to redesign the architecture with my own interpretation but also to make consideration into the audience’s view of the output. Overall, I am very satisfied with my adjustment made on the half circle. It stands out and represents the architecture even further from my point of view.