My concept for the Signal exhibition, ‘Intimacy’, was formed through the observation of people interacting with each other – both people who were familiar with each other and people who had never met before. My concept initially occurred whilst I was watching people on a tram who, when accidentally brushed hands, locked eyes for a sequence of uninterrupted moments. These moments, although brief, were full of meaning, passion and curiosity – and thus the idea of intimacy was planted and from thereon it began to flourish.
I began to develop this concept over the past 5 weeks, observing the interactions between different people in both public and private settings. I began to explore the concept of intimacy in different forms – displays of accidental intimacy between strangers and new couples and displays of deep passion from long-time lovers. I had attempted to discreetly capture footage of accidental forms of intimacy but I decided not to pursue the idea, as it was difficult to do without people noticing.
I then began to explore the idea of intimacy in a broader perspective, whilst keeping in mind the idea of the space the project would be exhibited in. After visiting Signal, seeing the windows, and understanding the exposure it had to the public, I decided to pursue a more ‘private’ and ‘purposeful’ approach to my concept. I also decided to experiment with different contrasts and complementary elements within my projects – combining different colour schemes and costume to link together my sequences both aesthetically as well as conceptually.
I eventually decided on four different sequences, which were titled ‘mf’ (male female), ‘m’ (male), ‘f’ (female), and ‘e’ (ensemble). The colour schemes and filming style reflected the sentiments I intended to portray within the sequences. Throughout the solo sequences, ‘m and ’, I decided to film using a black and white filter to encapsulate a more serious and personal vision of intimacy. However, during my ‘mf’ and ‘e’ sequence, I decided to use bright colours and bright lighting in order to illustrate the intensity and poignancy between two people, regardless of sex or gender.
I also began to think about my concept in relation to the site specifically, in a public space and generally, the city of Melbourne. The fact that the sequences were to be displayed across a set of windows, I decided to play with ideas in order to give the public eye and insight into forbidden, private, indulgent moments between people and by themselves. I decided to incorporate the different degrees of intimacy that people feel towards others during different periods of their life such as adolescence. During my ‘mf’ sequence, I asked my subjects to wear small-sized, brightly coloured clothes to symbolize the transition from child to adult and the awkwardness and clumsiness of a first intimate experience. Additionally, in order to capture this element, I used two subjects who had never met before in order to fabricate some authenticity.
The aural component of my work was inspired by the multicultural space of Melbourne city, where an abundance of different cultures and races live in congregation. In order to incorporate this idea into my work, I recorded the word ‘intimacy’ being spoken in different languages, all tied together by intimate breathing in the background. I intended to use the site specifically to inspire my work and focussed on the dynamic relations between the site, spectator and flux of sound within the space (Reider, 2015).
As I began filming, I became aware of certain censorship issues that may be enforced at the site of the exhibition, I was told nudity was not allowed so I made sure my subjects were constantly clothed and the content more inferred than explicitly shown. And thus I began researching artists that explored similar ideas – specific to a similar site in both visual and aural facets. My visual inspiration was drawn from an artist named Ben Henson – whose work faced a serious censorship campaign after he showcased naked photos of adolescent people and faced claims that his work was simply perverted and ‘without artistic merit’ (Hunt, 2015) – it was also labelled as paedophilic rather than provocative art (Hunt, 2015). Although my work had similar aspects in terms of content to Henson’s work – I felt my work was censored in a more tactful way – this, however, did not stop the exhibition space from pulling my entire work from the exhibition.
I felt connected to the Henson exhibition, which took place in 2008, and began to question what was wrong with my concept and my content. Angrily, I arranged a new concept titled ‘Censored’ in order to have something premiered. However, I was more disappointed than angry as my work was deemed too inappropriate; perhaps not even because of the ‘nudity’ but rather due to other the homoerotic content that my work contained; and after all this I stand by what I believe in – that ‘art has always been a reflection of the emotions, personal struggle, and the path breaking events of a contemporary society’ (Labekzki, 2015).
// References //
1. Hunt, N. (2015). Bill Henson pulls controversial exhibition at Art Gallery after call from detective to Jay Weatherill. [online] AdelaideNow. Available at: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/entertainment/arts/bill-henson-pulls-controversial-exhibition-at-art-gallery-after-call-from-detective-to-jay-weatherill/story-fni6um7a-1226722039572 [Accessed 1 Nov. 2015].
2. Labedzki, A. (2015). Art is a Reflection on Society – A Perspective. [online] Ezine Articles. Available at: http://ezinearticles.com/?Art-is-a-Reflection-on-Society—A-Perspective&id=2283547 [Accessed 28 Oct. 2015].
3. Reider, C. (2015). Sound Through Barriers. [online] Soundthroughbarriers.com. Available at: http://soundthroughbarriers.com/definition.html [Accessed 20 Oct. 2015].