In The Window Placement - Exhibition Installation

On Saturday, I finally got to install my exhibition at AirSpace Gallery! I was so happy to be able to move on with my placement after the delay caused by lockdown. I arrived early with everything I had packed the night before, including some other pieces of work just in case! 

Before beginning the install, I had a discussion with Glen at AirSpace to just go over the logistics and plan for the day. At which point, I decided to swap which side of the window the work would be situated as the entrance into the space would have been the same side as the work I planned to suspend by multiple threads. I planned to sew thread through the work and attach that to loop head screws I would screw into the walls of the window space starting with a central loop in the ceiling from which I could then fan out. I would be using the thread to pull the mask into the correct shape but had starched the fabric days before to do help with that. Glen helped by drilling a hole for me in the ceiling and then left me to my own devices. It took approximately two hours, funnily enough threading white cotton through a small needle in a white room is quite difficult as well as having to struggle to navigate between the threads as each one was added suspending the work in the space. As I added the threads I would check how the work looked from outside in the street from every angle before moving onto the next one, each time I thought I was finished there would be another part of the work that needed pulling by a thread but I got there in the end. The front or window facing side of the work was most difficult to finish as I could not attach threads to the window to pull it into shape, Glen suggested I use a small piece of tape but I was worried it could spoil the view. Fortunately I managed it by adding another thread and pulling it out to the side where there were available loop head screws. It was really interesting to use sewing as an installation method with that process being such an important part of the work and it's context and I feel like something more could be done with this in future work and exhibitions.

After suspending the mask in the mask in the space, I started to think about incorporating the other elements from my proposal. I had planned a performance the same day as the installation in which I would repeatedly apply and remove make-up leaving the make-up wipes littering the floor as part of the exhibition. However, as we had been in such a rush to get the risk assessment finished and confirmed by the university I had not had as much time to prepare as I would have liked. Earlier in the week, myself and Glen had discussed this and decided the performances would take place the two following weekends after installation. This meant I had to bring wipes to be placed in the space alongside the mask, I brought some of the wipes I had collected over the last months to be used. I had considered leaving the spool of thread and any loose threads in the space which I positioned and looked at first, but Glen and I both agreed it was  not needed. After this I began to pile the used make-up wipes in the space, it looks like they are randomly placed but it took quite a bit of tweaking to get it right. At one point, Glen suggested the pile of wipes needed to be higher which I had to cheat using unused make-up wipes from my bag. I was so glad I had packed them along with some of the stuff I had brought along in case there were any problems with the proposed exhibition. Swapping sides meant this pile of used make-up wipes sat behind the vinyl text in the window with the exhibition title, dates and my name, I was very glad that we had decided to swap sides earlier on as this looked much better this way round. 

My partner joined me on the day to document the installation and would also give his input throughout! I found that particularly useful when trying to decide the height of the mask as I did not want to tie off the length of thread until this was right, he could check this from outside as I moved the mask up and down the thread. It also meant that I could concentrate on the installation whilst someone else took photographs. I did however take photos throughout the day on my phone to upload to social media so people could watch live updates of the installation as it happened, this also served to promote the exhibition. 

I am happy with the final result although was worried it was too minimal before speaking to Glen who said it looked great. We are both looking forward to the performances which will animate the space. This week I will finalise plans for both performances and gather anything I need as well as figure out how best to document and film those performances inside and looking into the space. My partner has offered to help which is great, as he now has experience documenting this specific space in various light and taking the reflective nature of the window into account, and Glen will also be on hand to capture some of the performances as well. Glen has also asked that I provide some promotional material for each performance which I plan to put together in the studio as soon as possible.

I learned a great deal about the installation process when assisting the installation of Fragile Economies in the window at AirSpace but even more so installing my own. It was good to react to the space and apply necessary changes to the plans, it is great to know that the proposal does not have to be followed rigidly on the day and that the work and the plan can evolve throughout the installation. I was unsure I would have many opportunities to pause and capture the process of my own exhibition installation and so made sure to arrange for someone else to help, I was initially worried about not having control of the camera and the results but I am so happy with the documentation and it is freeing to see and acknowledge that others can document for you with positive results. It was really helpful to have Glen on hand as a sounding board, I really appreciated his insight and feedback and will make sure to seek feedback like this where possible in future. The work being in the window means a wider range of people will see it and I had concerns that it would not be received well or be understood by people passing but a passerby stopped and asked questions about the exhibition and engaging with them was really positive. It helped reduce my fear of what passing viewers might think. She said the work was beautiful, which was lovely, and also that she could not tell if the head or mask was happy or sad. I had not thought about the work in terms of the mood it might convey so that was really interesting! I have made a note of her feedback and have begun planning a survey on Survey Monkey to request feedback from viewers during the exhibition to get more comments for my evaluation. I am now looking forward to seeing what people think!

[Installation Photos by Gary Birch]