The exhibition work ‘Drip’ is a dichotomy between an urban environment and nature. In assignment three we explored how an individual moves within a city. This time we wanted to put our focus on nature but in doing so, found that a comparison with an urban environment meant we could strengthen our depiction of nature. This depiction being that nature provides tranquility and is often forgotten as we are consumed with our urban lives. Subsequently, we found that for the exhibition we were passionate about entangling these two concepts but also entangling media which would correlate with ‘Drip’. Entanglement served as a tool which enabled us to explore our individual connections to this dichotomy whilst keeping in mind anyone who interacts with our work. Therefore, we discovered various things about our chosen affordances of media. For example, that sound could be used to draw people to our work but also be used to immerse someone in a moment of solidarity which in turn echoes the concept of tranquility. Furthermore, through production of ‘Drip’ we found that presenting a dichotomy not only allowed us to exhibit more, but led viewers to extract their own connection to it. In saying this, identifying other dichotomies could serve as an interesting concept to develop further. This however had its challenges such as ensuring that the dichotomy is clear. Whilst abstract presentation allows the viewer to be independent, guidance is needed to facilitate discussion and so, in the future a possible solution could be to pose a question to the viewer such as, ‘Do you feel more connected to an urban or natural environment?’. In turn, this would create a point of clarity and reflection in which viewers can voice their opinion and read other opinions too.

During and after production for ‘Drip’, there were many questions that arose. These questions were focused around the concept, what inspired us, how the work could be put into an exhibition as well as where this leaves us for future work. To begin, the concept was a necessary component which we needed to decide on as it would be central to the media we would produce. Therefore, we wondered if we should stick with the city concept or entangle it with something else. We then decided to put our initial focus on nature. This led to us discovering the Japanese garden ornament suikinkutsu (water koto cave). Then, not only nature but specifically water, became an element which we wanted to investigate further. Water is entangled with so many things such as physically travelling via streams and oceans, the way rain functions as well as the age of water and its ability to be reused indefinitely in many forms. The idea of water and how it is entangled with Earth brings up a concept which I would like to explore in the future. The concept being, different states of an object. So for example, water can be a liquid or a solid. They each have different functions and so, an interesting concept could be to present the many states of an object to highlight how something is never only one thing. This could be used as a metaphor to explain the perceptions someone has about someone else. That someone may be labelled as one thing whereas in fact, they are so much more than that. That everyone is able to be more than what society labels them as. In saying this, we questioned if bringing in the city would be suitable. We decided on doing so as it allowed us to present two sides of this world. One being urban living and the other being time in nature. Claire (2017) suggests that the city is rapidly ageing bird populations and so, this could be the case for all other living organisms, including humans. This stresses the importance of nature and that we are losing connection to it as the cities are so densely populated with buildings rather than nature. We then questioned how this would be best represented in an exhibition space. Using an exhibition space came with certain challenges. Such as that it needed to draw in a viewer, adequately explain what the work was about, provide an immersive experience as well as provide enough material to ensure a viewer isn’t bored. Seeing the ‘Eavesdropping’ exhibition enabled us to answer these questions.

The ‘Eavesdropping’ exhibition was extremely interesting due to not only the concept but the way in which it was presented. The topic was explored through both a modern and historical lens which made for a captivating experience as I could relate to the modern forms of eavesdropping whilst being educated on forms of eavesdropping from the past. In turn, this provided a space for people of all ages to congregate as the many time periods exhibited were a range of people’s reality. In saying this, this made me consider how someone could engage with ‘Drip’. For example, the changing landscape of Melbourne. Older viewers would remember a less dense city, one with less skyscrapers and more natural places. This strengthens the stark difference between the two landscapes and so, the moment of solitude provided by the audio playing through the headphones allows a viewer to spend a moment in their head, reflecting upon what they’ve read, heard or seen prior to putting on the headphones. That different modes of media are able to elicit different responses. In saying this, this stands out as an element which could be improved. A way in which the changing landscape could more explicitly be made mention of could have been through a timeline. Possibly, a series of images of a particular street over decades. The beginning of the timeline would indicate a lush environment but as the timeline progresses, it becomes replaced by buildings therefore indicating a loss of tranquility. Furthermore, other elements of ‘Eavesdropping’ highlighted ways in which a person could engage with an exhibition space. The ‘Eavesdropping’ exhibition combined interactivity such as through being able to pick and the headphones whilst also implementing elements of a traditional exhibition or museum setting through display cabinets and accompanying text. After seeing this, I realised a few things. Firstly, making the interactive elements creative. By being able to participate in eavesdropping it puts the topic in perspective. It made me consider the reasons why people eavesdrop. Therefore, for ‘Drip’ I realised that the interactive elements shouldn’t be interactive just for the sake of it, but instead the chosen type of media should be entangled with the topic. That is what led to the headphones and the water sounds. Furthermore, the audio circles around the head. This was done in order to connect with the writing about the dripline. That the listener could immerse themselves in the world of nature whilst being in the city. The other thing I realised is the importance of traditional forms of media such as text in order to not only give context to the work but provide something for many people to view simultaneously. I realised this was important as only one person would be able to use the headphones at one time. I found this present in the ‘Eavesdropping’ exhibition. Often, I was able to read a blurb or view a film at the same time as someone else due to there being plenty of space. Overall, viewing the exhibition was extremely useful as I learnt of ways to immerse a range of people into ‘Drip’.

Entanglement as a concept has always been intriguing to me. Specifically the entanglement of lives. That depending on so many decisions and chance happenings, lives can change. People can be brought together or separated, we can be lose or be given opportunities and so much more. A quote from the novel Never Let Me Go aligns with this. That “you have to accept that sometimes that’s how things happen in this world. People’s opinions, their feelings, they go one way then the other. It just so happens you grew up at a certain point in this process” (Ishiguro 2005). As we become entangled in someone’s life we get a glimpse of who that person is today. But tomorrow, that person or maybe even you will be someone else. New entanglements form that were unimaginable the day prior but, we must accept that this is how life goes. We are made from tangles. We are a product of our experiences and so, as we progress through life we gather more and more experiences and become someone new indefinitely. Furthermore, this can be likened to a snake shedding its skin. Sometimes we’ve gathered enough for one point in our lives and that leaves us wanting to abandon it in order to start anew. It reminds me of the Ingold (2011) reading in which our being was described as a line with no inside or outside. That acts as the snake, we travel through life open to everything known and unknown. I referenced this same reading in my first reflection. At that time I found the depiction of domains interesting. I still do now but due to the above reasons, it has become so much more to me. Over the semester my views on the conceptual side of entanglement has been elevated. I have been given the opportunity to express my thoughts through media and I find that beautiful. That there can be so much meaning behind something not only on my end but that I can invite others into my mind, allowing them to bring their own minds to the work. Through sharing I am able to entangle more people into my life but also allow others to entangle themselves with more people too. In saying this, my ability to understand and create entangled media has also been elevated. From producing media on my own to then working in a group, I found to be most useful to my development. Once we got to work in groups I was able to see how my interests could entangle with someone else’s. I also learnt that entangling media became more exciting as each person had their strengths such as producing audio or video and that could be used to educate each other on ways of presenting work. Finally, the exhibition was to me the most useful for my development in creating entangled media as I thoroughly enjoyed brainstorming ways to make media immersive. Not only through my work but through seeing what other groups produced for the exhibition made me realise that media comes in many forms, each with their own purpose such as isolating someone or something.

Overall, entangled media opened my eyes to new forms of entanglement both conceptually and practically. Entanglement is extremely immersive and I felt that strengthen through the entirety of the semester.

References:

Claire, A  2017, ‘This is what city living does to birds’, Science, viewed 6 October 2018, <http://www.sciencemag.org.ezproxy.lib.rmit.edu.au/news/2016/06/what-city-living-does-birds>.

Ingold, T 2011, ‘Rethinking the animate, reanimating thought’, Being Alive: Essays on movement, knowledge and description, Routlege: London, New York, pp. 67-75.

Ishiguro, K 2005, Never Let Me Go, Faber and Faber, London, UK.