15/12/2017 - TISSUE COLLAGE STREET TEST

As tissue paper was an entirely new material for me, I was mistrustful of its ability to survive on a street setting. I felt like before I developed these ideas much further I wanted to give them a really solid test run focussing on a few key queries I had with the medium. Firstly, the ability of the tissue paper to adhere to the wall, and to other pieces of tissue paper. Next my concern was the extent to which tissue paper would stand up to the weather. Finally my mind wondered the practicalities of installing tissue paper, and how much it would stand out against a wall surface. These were all things I definitely needed to explore further.

As a simple prototype I cut out an orca silhoutte from black tissue, as I knew this would stand out initially against any light coloured wall, and was also a highly characteristic and recognisable silhoutte. Working to a slightly larger scale than my previous experimentation, it was a little easier to cut the shape, however the fragility of the material was still a hinderance and meant careful, slow handling was essential.

A prominent dialogue surrounding orcas is that of their captivity in institutions such as Seaworld, and their part in performances for entertainment, much to the detriment of their mental health. I thought this was an obvious context to suggest within this piece, so added a small blue square behind the main orca form. Although it was only subtle, this allowed me to give a suggestive didactic nature to the work which could be interpreted in a variety of ways. The nature of the orca's freely curving form spanning widely over the small blue box suggested behind it, hinting towards the inadequacy of such a tank to provide for such a large, complex and diverse beast.

I then went out and stuck the piece up in an alley on the way to a supermarket near my home, as I thought this would make it easy for me to regularly survey the piece for any wear or damage. When placing the work in the street the only technicality with tissue paper was it's flimsy quality. It had no strength against the elements before being stuck to the wall, and flapped wildly in the slightest breeze. For a larger, more intricate piece, getting the work stuck down correctly without bubbles or folds and tears would definitely be a job for multiple people. However even in the middle of night when I installed the work, there felt something inherently different about the act itself. Because of the transience and obvious impermanent nature of the work, it felt almost like a craft based activity instead of an act of graffiti, or even art. Akin to drawing on the sidewalk with chalk, or placing a sticker. It may very well just be myself hardening to the risks of the activity over time, however particularly on a small scale like this, this felt like an activity which could almost be carried out in daylight!

Day or night aside, the real test would come in the following weeks to see how well it stands up on a longer term!