Brief:
The Collaborations were introduced into the Visual Arts curriculum in an attempt to illustrate through practice, that the ‘real’ world, creative projects are frequently hybrids where multiple voices contribute to a unified output or product. The outcome of this process was to be a hybrid product/ arte fact that was created by a group.
Collab Pattern . 2020 . Collaboration . Digital .
Write up:
Digital Pattern, Cardboard, Wooden Pallet, Hoops, Air Humidifier, Cellophane, Mesh, Fishing Line Crystal Leonard, Pule Liholo, Abongile Magidimesi, Vuyiseka Mntunu The theme of this year’s Design Indaba event was “Imagining a better world through creativity”. It is astonishing to see the things humans can accomplish, in all spheres of life, by using their own creativity. We responded to this with the idea of designing an environment to best facilitate or encourage such ways of thinking.
For our work, we created a pod-like, circular structure to surround the viewer and create a sense of involvement. Entering the pod, the viewer has to step onto a rough, wooden pallet. This is a symbolic experience of the viewer physically taking action to start their creative journey. The pallet was chosen because of its roughness, to comment on the starting point not always being perfect and the journey not always smooth, but creativity and beauty can come from anywhere. On the inner surface, a pattern was designed using specific colours and shapes, chosen based on their psychological effects and implications. These all include a sense of creativity, motivation and/or positivity. Randomly positioned holes covered in varying transparent materials were included in the surface to challenge the viewer to look to the outside world through different ‘lenses’. This pays homage to the fact that a person cannot change where they are at this moment, but they can change how they look at things. Yellow cellophane was hung in a chandelier-like formation above the pod so that light may shine through onto the viewer to create a sense of interest and ethereality, while also consuming the viewer in the colour, making them become part of the artwork and part of the creative process. An air humidifier incorporates the sense of smell, touch and sound, to help the experience become more than just visual. The calming effect of the subtle scent, gentle breeze and the hum, paired with the sound-muffling quality of cardboard, make the pod seem like a step away from reality, into the creative space. The instillation piece was designed to be suspended in the centre of a room filled with other art, so that the viewer can be challenged to view even other creative objects in a different light.
Through this artwork, we created a space that is meant to be interpreted differently by each viewer and to encourage them to think creatively.
Catalyst for Creativity . 2020 . Collaboration . Multimedia . Sculptural . Photographic .
