The installation had an element of interactivity - a means for visitors to write their own thoughts down about what they would like to protest. I felt that they needed to be compiled, and provided prominence, and this wee task also helped provide closure for me with this project, and Foundation year as a whole.
What would you like to protest?
It was good to see folks again.
We took down the exhibition yesterday, and started to transform it back into the studio. As per intentions going into the project, I managed to salvage all bar 2 of the bamboo poles, and all the MDF anchors. We did have to use the bandsaw to cut off the anchors for about 2/3 of them though, which was unfortunate, but I’ll figure out a use for them. The banners/wall segments were also salvaged.
One thing that I was very happy about was that people did interact with the exhibit - I had left ink, brushes, pens & paper for people to write down what they would protest, and I received several responses. I’ll collate & collage them, and post them here.
Results for the course were also posted - I got a distinction \o/.
Next: Architecture, RIBA Part 1.
So, that is it. The end of the Final Major Project. Next week we’ll continue setting up the studio for exhibition, and then come Friday 6th @ 16:00, we’ll be done.
Doesn’t mean more problems will not be encountered though. That old chestnut of a lack of space in the studio is rearing its head again, combined with good old Health & Safety regs, my planned installation may need to be altered at the last minute.
Of course, that will be a moot point if the bamboo doesn’t survive. One thing that completely passed me by was the necessity for climate control. Bamboo, like any wood, expands and contracts depending on the temperature and humidity of its surroundings. The studio has central heating, unlike the workshop where the bamboo had been stored for 2-3 weeks, and combine that with the fact that the bamboo is now trapped in the anchors, giving little room for expansion, the tension is causing the bamboo to rupture along their lengths. Classmates of mine have been saying that when these ruptures happen, it sounds like a firecracker going off.
The other problem is one where I only have myself to blame: Book binding. I left it to the last minute to go 3 of the 4, started to bind one book incorrectly on a previous day, ruining the cover. So I had to bin it, and I didn’t have time to etch another so I’ve just got a crappy print-out of the cover for the presentation booklet. Yay. The journal was a bit of a struggle to bind, and doesn’t look brilliant, but at least it looks better than the sketchbook - where the cover is just attached using double-backed wall stickers.
Lets hope no more problems arise next week.
So, today is the final day of work. Next week is reserved for clearing & cleaning the studio, and setting up the exhibition space.
Yesterday was spent painting the anchors - which took all day. I am glad that I decided to paint them black. Whilst it certainly is a different aesthetic to leaving them unpainted, I think it is potentially a more useful one. Especially if I can paint the floor space black as well. One thing I will probably need to do first thing though is take a scraper and small brush to the bases to tidy up the join between the bamboo and base.
Wednesday saw the addition of slits to the banners, and the only thing left to do there is get a hole punch and punch some holes in a few of the banners to allow for scrolls.
One of the primary tasks for today will be to bind the 3 remaining books, and attach the banners to the bamboo. I won’t fix them into place just yet though, as I need to be able to rotate the banners into position during set-up next week.
Starting work on the presentation booklet, using InDesign. Not got very far yet, just working on the master atm. Got an A6 mockup of the contents of the booklet though. All I can say now is “meep!”.
Why aren’t I panicking?
Also, as of typing, my body has suffered no further injuries sustained due to poorly thought out man-machine interfacing.
[midweekupdate]
I created some small maquettes at the weekend, and I’ll be using those to help inform the final configuration of the installation tomorrow - having now created all bar 4 pieces for the ¼ scale set. Pieces missing include: representative human, projector, speakers & plinth. Four of my covers have also been done through the laser cutter, and they are shiny.
I’ve also cut out all bar 3 1:1 anchors - the 3 missing are the test anchor (forgot it existed), the bloody anchor (definitely keeping as a souvenir), and 1 missing. Need to glue all these anchors onto their baseplates, and then sand the edges so they don’t look too ugly.
Lastly, I’m leaning more towards buckram sandwiched between crepe paper, pressed through the heat presses. However, I’ll need to be extra careful when it comes to cutting, as the crepe paper tears easily.
[/midweekupdate]
Well, that was quite a week.
Monday brought sweat, come Wednesday it was blood; and now I’m wondering when the tears will arrive. Anyway, enough with the dramatics.
I managed to get some tests in of my book covers at the beginning of the week, although the actual covers have yet to be etched. The screen-grabs show the designs (done in Illustrator).
Monday & Tuesday were incredibly productive construction days, and I managed to get all the MDF cut down, as well as made a start on gluing & drilling. One thing that was quickly apparent was that the diameters of the bamboo varied (of course), so adjustments to the approach were needed. Multiple drill bits of different diameters for one, along with the necessity for sanding potentially (hence Wednesday’s incident).
Wednesday, well, that was covered in the prior blog post.
Thursday I managed to get the cartridge paper & tissue paper cut down to size - and I’m very grateful for the help Becky & Niamh provided. These large sheets were hard to handle with two hands, let alone one.
Friday saw the cutting of the buckram down to size, along with a full scale test of the banner/wall segment. It was then that I discovered how ugly the tissue paper/cartridge paper looked - mainly due to the fact that the tissue paper came in sheets, not rolls.
I’m now looking into using other materials - tracing paper, buckram, crepe paper, as they either come on rolls, or large enough sheets that do not require tiling. Both the buckram itself, along with the tracing paper, look rather good just hanging on their own.
Things on my to-do list include: drafting & creating the presentation booklet (A3), doing a detailed sketch of the final design, in-situ if possible (using Photoshop perhaps, or some other method). Also explore different arrangements of the installation for increased accessibility.
I’m an idiot.
I’m not going to apologise for the gruesome photos, as they need to be shown as a reminder of how not to work.
What happened? Well, the MDF anchors which I was creating (follow-up blog post later) have holes in them for the bamboo. Some of the holes hadn’t lined up perfectly - tried to do the holes individually to ease the load on the pillar drill - the anchors are made up of 4x25mm layers, 3 of which are drilled, and thus required gluing. Thus, I turned to the cylindrical sander - easy, stick a smaller (not small enough as it turns out) cylinder into the sander, place the MDF block on top, and sand. What did I forget to do? Secure the MDF brick.
What happened? I created a circular MDF death block-saw. Caught my hand on the corner, and, well, you see the result.
I am incredibly lucky that I still have a functional hand, with all my fingers & thumb still attached. Don’t anyone else ever be as stupid as I was this morning. I’m 27, and should know better not to operate machinery when I even feel a little bit sleepy.
All being well, stitches (yes, I required 2 to secure the bottom of the ring-finger) should hopefully come out next Friday. I think the stitches were actually more painful than the accident.
I’d like to thank Ben & Simon for acting appropriately & providing first aid; the nurses at Canterbury Minor Injuries Unit for patching me up; and Jack for providing gallows humour & good company whilst they did.
I’ve revised down the number of wall segments that I’ll need, mainly to counter costs, and other material constraints. I’ll be getting 25 (24 + 1 spare). As for anchorages, I’ve decided on the MDF blocks approach, rather than one gigantic MDF sheet, for two reasons:
To still potentially adapt the design so that it can be more accessible
Ease of installation and movement.
Sourcing your own materials is really quite useful, as the process allows you to find out certain things - such as industry standard sheet sizes for MDF are 2440mm x 1220mm. So, I’m now looking at getting 2 of them at 50mm thick or 4 at 25mm thick. This MDF sheet size is also limiting the number of blocks I can get (they’re 200 x 100mm), so if I do 12x12, I can fit them in, but I only get 24…
144
Oh fucking hell
*headdesk*
Time to go back to the suppliers and get a re-quote.
Testing a material replacement for the “banners”/”walls” of the installation. Original plan to use 1.2mm plywood has fallen through (would have cost £400 - no thanks). So I’m looking into a combination of fusible buckram sandwiched between tissue paper & 200gsm cartridge paper. Buckram is used in curtain pelmets for structural stability. This combination of material has similar properties to 1.2mm plywood, is about the same thickness, and would only set me back around £100. I don’t mind spending that amount of money if it saves me £300.
Also, I’m beginning to wonder whether I have perhaps taken too much on. Currently, I have the following to build over 4 weeks (+ 1 week dedicated construction time):
30 x 1800mm x 200mm wall sections
each comprised of
1 2000mm x 40mm (d) moso bamboo pole;
1 1800mm x 200mm 200gsm cartridge paper;
1 1800mm x 200mm crinkled tissue paper sheet;
1 1800mm x 200mm fusible buckram sheet;
with slats cut into the fused wall to push the bamboo pole through.
30 x interlocking wall anchors
of a design yet to be finalised
1 x projector cabinet
To house: projector, media box, speakers, electrical wiring
To provide an inclined writing surface on top
To provide storage for pieces of paper (& string?) to roll into scrolls.
Design is currently being worked on, but since I do not have the dimensions of either speakers or projector (the largest items), I am unable to finalise it over the Easter break.
These, along with keeping the sketchbook in order, printing off & binding appendices, journal & finding time to laser etch my sketchbook cover.
Meep.