Mid Year Exhibition

"My idea was to choose an object that wouldn’t attract me either by its beauty or by its ugliness. To find a point of indifference in my looking at it. Of course you might say that I found any number of those, but at the same time not so much because its rather difficult after a while when you look at something it becomes very interesting, you can even like it. And the minute I liked it, I would discard it" (Duchamp as cited in Banchum, 2008).

When Duchamp turned the ordinary object into art, the possibilities for what could be deemed art became endless. In the present, everything has the potential to be art and it is seemingly impossible to find an object or idea that couldn’t be. I now find it very difficult to find an object that doesn’t interest me in some way, and I find that all of the objects in this body of work have interesting qualities. I have chosen a collection of rather mundane, household objects which showcase this contemporary subject matter and I am representing them in a two dimensional realm that was practiced in pre-Duchampian times.

My investigation of the readymade is an exploration of analogue media that is now perhaps considered rather conservative. I am exploring traditional media and approaches to art while using subject matter that is more associated with contemporary art practice. Rather than displaying the objects themselves, or using digital and contemporary media to portray them I find the materiality of paint, ink and pencil to be a more interesting display for these subjects. I enjoy the flaws that painting and sketching hold. The scale, proportion, shape and colour altered by my hand bring an interesting portrayal of otherwise slightly dull subjects.

Banchum. (2008, March 05). Duchamp Interviews; BBC TV 1966. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CFQY0Yf1iI