Experiments With Light & Space

Elizabeth Croft
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Experiments With Light & Space Stavanger Kunstforeningen 03.03.11 - 17.04.11
The subject of the work is the space itself, which acts as both the source of inspiration for the work and the backdrop for its presentation. Architectural archaelogy The work is a continuation of my investigations into architecture. I am interested in the power of architecture to change the way we move and think. I am also interested in the change in use of buildings over time: the traces left by previous users of a space, layers applied or removed. There is a relationship between the architect’s vision, his plans, the manifestation of his vision in the building and then the alterations to this building by users of it over time. I began by mapping, measuring and photographing the space in order to get to know it. In my studio I edited photographs, interpreted drawings made on site and built a scale model. Work continued with me alternating between visiting the space and working on models and photgraphs away from the space in my studio.
Reflections The work or results presented in the Project Room at Stavanger Kunstforening are a selection of the many images and ideas created in January and February 2011. Here I have had the opportunity to explore some of the potential for trompe l’oeil effects created with photography. The large photograph is a 1:1 scale copy of the wall opposite, printed onto wallpaper. The image is a double reflection: a reflection of the space and forms present and an inversion of the colours in the image. The image is presented as a negative, where each original colour is represented by its opposite. The wall-drawing is a representation of its opposite wall in a scale 1:2. It has been created using carpenters chalk line, which when stretched between two nails is plucked to leave a chalk-line on the wall. This way of working restricts the production of the drawing to straight lines that can be plotted between two points. The model of the space is made in a scale 1:20 and reflects the whole space upside down, as if a mirror rests facing upwards on the surface of the table. With the all of these different reflections, the doors and windows act as keys. Doors and windows provide access to a space, they are the keys to the world outside, but I have used them as keys to reflect the space on itself.	Experiments With Light & Space, (installation view) scale model, chalk line wall drawing, photgraphic wallpaper, electrical tape, inkjet prints, punched paper, household paint, Stavanger Kunstforening.
Performance In front of the door that offers access to the back-room, I have traced the arc of the door on the floor, using electrical tape. This is a reference to architects’ plans and the way that doors are represented on architectural floor-plans. It also refers to the action of opening the door and points to the other actions or performances that I have made in the space. I am present in the large photograph, reflected in the glass doors. I have taken a photograph of myself photographing the space (another reflection), using a camera cable-release. I performed this action many times in the space, before striking the “right” pose. The pose or stance is a reference to a work by Warhol of Elvis, shooting a gun from the hip. This image has been more recently referred to in other works of art (Gavin Turk). The making of the line-drawing is also a kind of performance, since it is a difficult way to work and I could be said to be taking on the role of a builder/carpenter whilst using a tool of the trade. The scale model is the final performance element, since it invites the viewer to study his/her surroundings and look up at the ceiling.	Experiments With Light & Space, (installation view detail) electrical tape on floor, Stavanger Kunstforening.
New methods and materials I have used materials and methods that are totally new to me - most of which are borrowed from the building trades: electrical tape, carpenters chalk line, wallpaper, furniture, wood and household paint. The colour blue recurrs, partly coincidentally and partly because I have chosen it. The carpenters chalk comes in either red or blue but I chose blue since it refers to blueprints previously used by architects. When you take a photograph under normal light-bulbs the camera sees this as yellow and the opposite of yellow is blue, hence the dominant blue in the life-size photograph.	Experiments With Light & Space, (installation view detail) scale model. Stavanger Kunstforening.
Working in the Project Room has given me the opportunity to test out new ways of working and has widened my artistic practice immensely. It has freed-up my approach to creating and presenting artwork. I have tried new materials, have focused on process instead of end-result, have worked hands-on in a tactile way. I have been increasingly interested in working site-specifically and the Project Room has given me the time and space to explore this. I will continue to work in the Project Space, developing the interventions and experimenting with new methods of working. Further images will be posted here as I continue up until the middle of April.	Experiments With Light & Space, (installation view detail) inkjet prints, punched paper, household paint, Stavanger Kunstforening.
The project is supported by: