What expectations do you have before seeing the object? Slightly nervous that my object(s) would represent how you view me, but am holding in my mind that the object might be more about how I would react to it. What is your immediate response when opening it? Initially, disappointment. The unusable double ended spoon, the large flat stone, the overlarge gum stuck with too many teeth; knowing that these things were made for me specifically suggests that they all contain a subtext of how I am perceived, and that fact confirms my thoughts about the things I don't like about myself. The stone with the white shapes (they could be screwed up pieces of paper from a distance, or discarded chewing gum collected in a huddle, like the spot on the underside of a school desk where now flavourless gum is hidden), hold less fascination for me than the stone/spoon. Both elements seem made from the same material, there's less to explore, less conversation, except I wonder if it has a purpose - is it a functional tool? - a primitive representation of a molar used for grinding and separating husks of corn perhaps. I want to dip it in ink and draw with it, long arcs of decaying parallel lines, multiple writing. The stone/spoon feels built to confound but the juxtaposition of textures, the rough and the smooth - is really tactile and pleasing to hold. It only really sits large spoon down so that the small end of the spoon projects upwards like a neck, the other way up is really unnatural, it won't sit 'flat'. Also, holding it the right way up by the small end spoon is very satisfying - I'm not sure if the spoon has been crushed smooth by the stone or is the spoon cradling the stone. What would I use it for? - a base for a candle, I can visualise the flatter side of the stone pooling and spilling threads of wax - perhaps it's a perch for a finch in the garden, an abstract platform for an brief avian conversation, but picking up the stone and holding the flat side face down in my palm, it could be a tool for picking stones out of boot tread, or realigning a bicycle tyre, or even a weapon - a horrible brass gouger with an end that's been melted, folded and hardened by heat. How do you feel about this object being made for you? Honoured.
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Kimberley FosterKimberley's practice as an artist is pedagogical, it doesn’t just reference learning, it plays with, embodies and encourages learning at its core. The objects consider ideas of collaboration and authorship, discussions about touch and encounter, and bring into active consideration issues of learning within social and participatory practices. Archives
October 2018
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