This week I have been making and growing a LIVE sculpture. This living sculpture entitled ‘Grow’ shows the body as being in another state of being, made from a material that is associated with waste, but in this case, it has provided the foundation to grow life. The mosaic mirror plate shows the different perspectives and reflections of the seed’s growth and when the grow lights are shown on the piece the light is reflecting in all directions, expanding the piece out into the space, but I also like the Lo-Fi aesthetic of it.
It is a conversation of growth and birth, as the piece is made from a cast of the stomach and breast area, the seeds grown inside it are exploding from the womb. Exploring further the impact of colour within my work, grow lights for plants are a colour mix of blue and red light, which creates a pink/purple hued light that provide the vital UV rays needed for plant growth.
I have used the toilet paper pulp recently in the creation of the pearls I made, but this Toilet paper was shredded and added into coloured water, instead of being bound with glue or Pepto Bismol. The water was coloured using plant-based inks and a careful experiment was taken to try and match precisely the colour of the Grow Lights. The toilet paper had to be kept extremely damp during the growth period of the seeds, almost like a placenta liquid around a baby, but completely abjected as the water used in this piece to keep it wet and a viable living habitat for the seeds is toilet water.
The process of nurturing the art piece, watering it every day, talking to it, touching it, willing it to grow and live was really different for me. sometimes I felt quite stupid doing it but other times it brought me relaxation and a sense of purpose.
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