12-13/04/2017 - PASTING SESSION 1

 In my first pasting session on Wednesday for these new pieces I tried to find locations which would regularly be passed by a lot of footfall. It was the first time I had ever used newsprint paper for wheatpaste and I found it was not as effective as I had hoped. The paper was not very absorbant, and did not readily absorb the wallpaper paste, thus weakening the bond between the paper and the wall. I also did not make my paste quite thick enough in this session, as I was having trouble getting the larger images to stick. The bees, because of their size, took to the walls well but the posters were a bit of struggle, quickly weakening when wet and making repositioning or adjusting near impossible.

In total I managed to lay about 15 bees and around 10 posters without any problems, making this a very succesful hit. Even from this moment I felt a more positive reception for my pieces, as it was clear to passersby that my motive was slightly different to most after-dark taggers. I had people walking past on nights out who would nod and smile at me as they read the work I was pasting, a reception which I was not initially used to I must admit. As always however, the biggest part of the excitement for me is watching the social reception to these works, something I am looking forward to in the coming days.

Unfortunately I visited some of these spots the next day and saw that the pieces were already starting to peel away of their own accord (see left) This should not have been happening so soon, and could only have been down to the paste I used lacking strength. Because of this I decided I would need to go back out as soon as possible, not only to replenish any pieces which were already struggling, but also put out some more works with a better, stronger paste.