(The final version, in case I get to the studio on the deadline day and realise I printed the wrong version.)
I aim to explore futility, and productivity for the sake of productivity: the perceived importance of “doing things.” The line between “productivity” and neurotic ritual can appear to blur when productivity starts to become something that happens primarily for the purposes of preventing a feeling of futility. Some of my work acknowledges this in an intentionally literal way.
I have created other pieces using dice rolls to make decisions regarding visual aspects. Sometimes the aim of my work is to mirror the compulsive, automatic nature of the “productive” actions that are carried out to ward off feelings of futility. People often aim to fill time “effectively,” but the emphasis is on filling the time, rather than creating an outcome. Sometimes a feeling of being productive is based more on the ratio of time spent “working” to time spent “not working,” and is not related to the amount of time a task could or should take when carried out with efficiency.
I am interested in how inefficiency with time becomes a “positive.” Time invested into an object’s creation adds to its perceived value. Sometimes an object’s worth comes from the time invested, as opposed to aesthetics or function. I explore this idea using cross-stitch, as it is relatively time-consuming.
For someone whose intention is to make art, the perceived importance of “doing things” can go hand in hand with feeling the need to have a point to make. I aim to acknowledge having nothing to say.
I intend to create work that describes a process and the motivation, or lack of motivation, behind it. My installation shows the outcome of time invested, and attempts to question whether it is actually time invested or merely time filled.
