Research Artists Working With Casting and Multiples
Yuki Nakamura- Drifting Bottles
http://yukinakamura.com/drifting-bottles/
I was really moved by Yuki Nakamura’s installation- Drifting Bottles- as it had multiple layers of meaning. On the surface it is a beautiful collection of elegant bottles and looking beyond we are asked to imagine the bottles drifting in the Pacific Ocean. The art work invites us to picture the waves coming in and out with the bottles floating with the tides. I felt a close connection as a person who lives on the other side of the Pacific from Japan and who witnessed degris washing up on the west coast of Vancouver Island after the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan. Yuki Nukumura speaks of the great loss of life and the tragedy of the event. The multiple bottles might also suggest some of the many lives lost in that time- lives at the mercy of the ocean. It amazes me how an installation of multiples can have such far reaching impact.
Wolfgang Stiller
Wolfgang Stiller describes how he had multiple head moulds in his studio following a film project. He also had multiple bamboo sticks. When he combined the two he realised they resembled matchsticks. It’s beautiful to hear of someone’s creative process and how they arrive at a creation. The matchsticks are burnt and displayed at different angles- some in match boxes. When I see the images, I think of the demands of our current society that lead so easily to burnout and how this affects most people. Rather than address the disfuntion of society, recgarding the demands on individuals, the individual is targeted with advice and/ or criticism of how to cope, how to be more efficient, how to provide ‘self care’. This speaks strongly to me as someone who was diagnosed with mental health challenges late in life- I previously spent so much time and energy trying to adapt to an unhealthy situation and feeling like I was failing. It’s a relief to now know that it wasn’t/ isn’t a failing in me and that I am now able to receive some appropriate support. It’s a long road to rebuilding self esteem after having been told I’m/we’re at fault.
Wolfgang is clear in his message that we can read his installation in whatever way it strikes us (match pun, get it ?). So it could be a playground of matches or a cemetary of matches or something else. I love this free and open approach to art and respect that Wolfgang may have had his own odeas and interpretation but is most interested in everyone experiencing it in their own way. It’s very fitting as burnout often comes from people being forced or coerced into doing something a certain way regardless of their strengths and personality.
Again, I was impressed with how an installation of multiples could be so powerful. Like the bottles, they look similar but are not identical, which enriches and elevates the experience.