Working Methods: 'This S(c)eptic Isle', 'Childish Things' 6

All Images: Work In Progress: 'Childish Things', Salvaged Trundle Toys, May 2019

I'd really thought I might be done with these crippled toy sculptures last year, not least - because they're pretty labour intensive, and I'm still struggling to find storage room for the first lot.  Plus, I genuinely hoped that the undeniably Brexity subtext behind much of the 'TSI' project might feel old hat by now.  

But, since when has making art (particularly of this kind) been about doing the sensible or practical thing?  And, as far as the second point goes, all I can say is "Fat Chance!"  The fact that what may have started as a petulant act of national self-harming, now feels symptomatic of a much more sinister, and intensifying, far-right zeitgeist - makes it seem all the more vital to take some account of the whole sorry situation.  Ultimately, externalising one's anxieties has to be healthier than internalising them - I think.  Trust me, if this all, one day, seems like so much irrelevant paranoia - and to have thus been a complete waste of time, no one will be more pleased than me.  

But, for now, as the weather gradually improves, and the day-lengths extend, I find myself once more, out in the back yard - with abrasive paper, dust mask, and cans of grey primer.  You just can't tell some people...

Working Methods: 'This S(c)eptic Isle: Childish Things 5'

All Images: 'Childish Things 5' (Work In Progress), Salvaged Trundle Toy & Spray Enamel

To be honest, I hadn't necessarily intended to make any more of these 'Childish Things', toy sculptures.  On purely practical level, they're pretty bulky to store, and the house is already pretty congested with the existing four (amongst a lot of other stuff).  In addition, whilst I've always felt generally positive about the 'Childish Things' pieces - they were, actually, the least commented upon element of my work, when exhibited, last year.

Nevertheless, when this little beauty was abandoned, practically on my doorstep - it just felt too much of a gift to ignore.  Of course one thing leads to another, and what would be the point of collecting such stuff - if not to use it constructively?  It's perhaps typical of my current, slightly unfocussed approach to my work, just now - that this one has reached its current state without excess urgency, and whilst working on other unrelated things. That in itself is quite pleasing - as the fettling and finishing of the toys themselves has always been the most labour intensive part of the 'Childish Things'.  The trike, as I found it, was actually even more complete than you see it here - allowing plenty of scope for some creative surgery, prior to the normally tedious prepping, priming and inevitable addressing of drips in my ham-fisted spray-job.

Another hunch was that the initial Brexity vibe of the 'TSI' project might be limiting its currency by now.  Would that were the case.  Even whilst working on the first flush of associated pieces - my instinct was to expand the scope of the project into a more open-ended 'how we live now' kind of enterprise wherever possible.  Two years ago, who could have honestly predicted that my fears of becoming tripped up by a narrow single issue might be so unfounded - or that the particular issue in question would consume the national debate in quite such a dispiriting manner.

If, as now seems inevitable, the ramifications of our current political crisis continue to ripple outwards for the foreseeable future - then adding to the existing 'TSI' work may not feel  quite so irrelevant after all.  There was always more that could have been done, and there is clearly still no shortage of raw material, or indeed national absurdity, to fuel it all.  And, if there is going to be more, I guess I should be looking for further opportunities to exhibit it all again, in the not too distant - assuming anyone can still afford to keep a gallery space open after March, of course...   

Completed Sculpture: 'This S(c)eptic Isle': 'Childish Things 4 (Mistaken)'

'Childish Things 4 (Mistaken)', Salvaged Trundle Toy, Salvaged Cardboard Boxes,  Spray Enamel,
Acrylics, Paper Collage, Official Notifications, Gas Capsules, Adhesive Tape & French Polish,
90 cm X 81 cm X 57 cm, 2018

Amongst all the stacking of cardboard boxes to create my ‘Sentinel’ sculptures, over summer – I also found time to put together the fourth of my ‘Childish Things’.

‘Childish Things 4 (Mistaken)’ had lagged a bit behind its fellows, largely because of the time it took to prep. and achieve anything like a presentable paint finish on its scuffed plastic bodywork.  Anyway, I got there in the end, and it was indicative of the serendipity characterising this whole phase of work, that - just when I needed it, I found a sturdy box large enough to support that white lump, whilst also balancing it well, visually.  In fact, there were actually two of them – the other providing a plinth for ‘Childish Things 3’.

I don’t buy the idea of a sentient ‘Universe’, but if such a thing were presiding over our affairs, it would seem to have mostly smiled on this first concerted foray into sculpture over recent months.  As a mostly two-dimensional artist (to date), it’s easy to overlook how much of a sculptor’s [1.] time is spent sourcing materials, solving constructional/technical issues, fighting the laws of physics, and just plain laboring.  I think I can regard myself as fortunate that, while making these pieces, most things fell into place fairly easily, without too many practical frustrations.  I actually got some kind of result with each of the sculptures I set out to make this year - which definitely feels like a reason to be cheerful.  I’ll let others decide how artistically successful I’ve been (or if indeed, it was at all worth it).

As before, there are various questions one might ask, in an attempt to interrogate ‘4’ for possible meanings or interpretations.  Of course, they are really for the viewer to ask, but some that occur to me might include…

• As with the other ‘Childish Things’, this vehicle is clearly going nowhere fast.  Does its parlous state indicate that the wheels really are dropping off?

• And, if that is true – might it be the fault of rough terrain and treacherous conditions, or is it down to neglect or faulty manufacture?

• Perhaps even more dispiritingly – could it have been deliberately sabotaged?

• The jolly yellow triangles and plasticised notifications, borne by untaxed vehicles are a common sight in many streets nowadays.  Must we assume this is another?  If so – was it laid-up as a result, or penalised for a SORN infringement?  At what stage in that process was the missing wheel removed?

• What might this say about our nation’s ability and willingness to fund its public services and infrastructure through tax-raising?  Is there a correlation between the rutted, pot-holed tarmac that threatens everyone’s suspension, and the number of untaxed vehicles beside the pavement?

• Are those tax-averse motorists waging some misguided, Clarksonite fight for personal ‘freedom’, on political/philosophical grounds, or just selfishly trying to duck out of paying their communal dues?  Alternatively – are they simply reliant on a vehicle to commute to a job that doesn’t pay enough to cover the running costs?

• If it’s an offence to remove an Untaxed Vehicle notification – is there a penalty for salvaging already-detached ones from the gutter, to apply to a sculpture?

As I post this, ‘Childish Things 4’ (along with its fellows, and accompanying ‘Sentinels’), is already wrapped, in advance of exhibition.  Shaun Morris, Andrew Smith and I will be installing our show, ‘Visions Of A Free-Floating Island’, at Surface Gallery, Nottingham in a week’s time - ready for our Opening Event on Friday 14 September.  We’ll be up for two weeks, including three Saturdays, so, if you’re in the Nottingham area, and want to see what all the fuss is about or yourself – you know what to do… 

[1.]:  Let's face it - 'Sculpture' is a bit grand a descriptor for what I'm doing here, really - isn't it?  I guess, if anything - I'm acting as an assembler ('Assemblist'?) really.  Do any of these distinctions even matter any more?

Completed Sculpture: 'This S(c)eptic Isle' 'Childish Things 2 (Mistreated)'

All Images: 'Childish Things 2 (Mistreated)', Salvaged Toy, Spray Enamel, Salvaged
Cardboard Boxes, MDF, Acrylics, Paper Collage, Adhesive Tape, French Polish,
Salvaged Junk Mail, 58 cm x 91 cm x 61 cm, 2018

The summer recess is finally here, and with the long, uninterrupted days opening up before me (not to mention the spectacularly clement outdoor working conditions) – stuff’s suddenly starting to come together.

Here then, is the second of my newly completed ‘Childish Things’ sculptures (subtitled, ‘Mistreated’).  It follows the basic blueprint of the first, by combining a discarded sit-on toy with a supporting platform of cardboard boxes - the essential rationale of which is unchanged. However, this one’s designed as a floor-based piece, and intended to be looked down upon from above.

It will also be the slightly odd one out (of the four currently in production), in that the toy itself, being a rocking horse, is only nominally a vehicle - whilst the others all have (or had) wheels.  Indeed, whilst unmistakenly a resonant object, the lack of mechanical structure made any intervention suggestive of its practical dysfunction harder to envisage.  I considered various ways to tamper with what is essentially just a moulded plastic lump, until I realised that simply setting it at an angle was sufficient to suggest its expiry, and make it more formally satisfying to boot.  Recourse to an old cartoon shorthand  - in the form of painted crosses on the eyes, was sufficient to underline the idea that this horse has simply reached the end of the road and keeled over.

There’s little extra to tell from a formal/constructional point of view, other than to point out that the printed matter augmenting the supporting inclined platform is just a minute portion of the relentless avalanche of junk pushed through my letterbox (and diligently collected) during the few months these pieces have been in gestation.  Any messages, meanings or associations to be found therein are, as ever, for the viewer to decide upon.  For my own part (and bearing in mind my much-vaunted ‘State-of-the-Nation’ malarkey), a few possibly useful questions here might include…

• Just what, exactly is being flogged here (apart from a selection of highly-processed food products, of course)?

• Are we really all knackered, once and for all, this time?

• Has anyone been secretly hoping for a champion to ride in on a white mount, and recue us all in our hour of need?  Anyone got a plan B?

• What (if anything) is the significance of horses in the British psyche?  Is there anything special about the white ones?

• Clearly, this horse is going nowhere – but was it ever?  Signs are - it was only ever really capable of oscillating back and forth in unstable(d) vacillation.

• Was it ridden to death, or simply put out of its misery?

• Has anyone bolted the stable door – even now?

• What would be the chances of sorting out a few of those mixed messages –before shoveling them onto my doormat?

• Who is going to sort out my funeral?  Also – is it really admissible for such a significant but over-generalised theme as ‘Death’ to just emerge, purely by chance, this late in a project or individual work’s development?

• Need cash quick?