Remnants and Ideals.

At a point I begin to notice, several of the long term shifts in my methods of production. I am aware of two distinct methods of working that contradict and even sabotage each other.

I often work with the remnants of the modern urban environment. But at times I also work much more with the ideals and produce work from materials with no obvious previous uses.



These two methods, one using the remnants and the other the ideals of a period, appear to be some attempt at a comparison whilst also allowing me to attempt the ideals for myself. Now that I am becoming aware of this shift that occurs within the production cycle, will allow me to make some decisions around how to proceed with a work that addresses this, (A comparison between the remnants and the ideal?).

Also this has made me much more aware of how a conceptual frame work to Art production be it of any type is now more prevalent than ever before. Any ideals I am testing are tested in a method which is related to a 60's conceptual rigour, that did not exist previous to this. Therefore the ideals are filtered through this method (self-critque?).

I should say as well that I wouldn't of got to this point without the opportunity to show my work and consider it's purpose, yes showing your work is important.

UNIT Kingsgate show

30.05.2009 – 15.06.2009
Preview: 19th March, 6 -9pm
Kingsgate Gallery presents ‘UNIT’ an exhibition by Dai Roberts.

UNIT started by manufacturing a set of materials in a unitary size1. This size was arrived at in relation to its ease of working within the human scale2 . Three materials were selected, acrylic sheet, particleboard and copper rods, chosen for their visual and constructive qualities. Although these materials appear to be pristine, as with previous works they started life as found materials. A system was devised to work these materials into three-dimensional objects.

UNIT exists in a space between object, artwork and furniture and tests the possibility of cohesion between these different forms. Where the final sculptures take on either a pseudo functional appearance or something more akin to a traditional piece of sculpture; this dichotomy is a key element of the work.

UNIT drawings came after the sculptures and out of a need to find a completion. Each sculpture did not seem to come to a point of completion and many varieties of UNIT sculpture were made before starting the drawings. Each drawing a finished thing in itself was created. One key characteristic of the drawings is their lack of adherence to the rules of gravity. They are not a reference to a possible sculpture but are a work in themselves. They are abstract drawings at the same time as alluding to concrete objects.

Dai Roberts lives and works in London. He completed a Fine Art degree at the Nottingham Trent University (2002) and Masters in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art (2005). He has taken part in the Rojaraku spatial workshop in Latvia and the Braziers international artist workshops. In 2006 Roberts formed the Noonday demons a collaborative drawing project. In 2008 Roberts won the Marmite Painting prize.

1.The unitary size (285x285mm) was arrived at in relation to the ease of working. The single unit being a favorable size for the hand, recently noted its closeness to the foot measurement.

2.The works all adhere to the unit and range from 1/4,1/2,1,2,3 units in scale.

UNIT

These are a few preview images of the work I have been preparing for the show UNIT.



In preparation for this show I have been writing a statement which my fiance (an ex arts administrator) informs me is a dense load of pretentious rubbish that she doesn't even understand, brilliant!
Back to the drawing board with that one.

The more I am involved in the production of art works, the more I think and look at works critically. This may not necessarily be a good thing. I often think why is this here, why have these things made it here and what hasn't made it here? By here I mean the site of contemplation, specifically the gallery. It would appear we all become more skeptical about how things become a work of art worthy of mention, ALL OF US.

Back to the UNIT, some of the drawings or in fact all of them remind of my teenage years of absent doodles with the great glee I had because I can draw 3D. One of the purposes of attempting to draw this drawing 200 times is testing exhaustion of the idea. Alongside the idea of constructing an abstract image that informs a sculpture, it defines a form in a way that the sculpture cannot e.g. ignoring the effect of gravity.

The sculptures are based on working with a unitary size which has been arrived at through a process other than measurement. This is used as the basis for constructing this series of sculptures, testing various natural occurrences for sculptures (objects that exist in space) e.g. volume, height, balance, material tension. From these tests, objects appeared and these objects are then refined to either epitomize these forms or if at a point they equate to another existing object this is highlighted, such objects as a table, stool or shelf .


N.B. I have now measured the UNIT (it is 285mm.)