Concept
Most warning signs are designed to be eye-catching and aim to clearly convey the message of ‘danger’; however, sometimes the most harmful situations come with no preemptive signals at all.
This piece was made in the aftermath of difficulties I had with one particular housemate1 who brought many issues to my home.
The colour palette of the offender’s wardrobe was exclusively navy blue; from coats to shoes and everything worn in between (I was witness to their literal washing hung out to dry, remember).
Blue is often used to represent or stimulate feelings of calm and ease, but this darker shade suggests, to me, a particular desire to blend in and go unnoticed.
- When the housemate moved out they left behind dozens of empty egg boxes which I recycled and used for this project. ↩︎
Process
- Beginning with ten cardboard egg boxes, I cut them up and left them to soak in a bowl of water for one week. During the process of cutting them apart with scissors, I noted that the boxes were easier torn by hand to break down the material quicker, as each layer became more exposed when roughly torn rather than precisely cut through.
- Whilst I waited for the cardboard to soften, I sourced a frame for the piece. Its backing was loose, and so I used sticky tape to secure it. I chose black Gorilla Tape for its strength as I knew the frame would become much heavier through the process of applying wet papier-mâché.
- After the week-long soak, I drained most of the water from the bowl and mashed/tore the wet cardboard pieces by hand some more.
- I then added PVA glue and plain flour bit by bit, as I continued to work the mix by hand until it reached a consistency that was tacky and pliable. It actually felt a lot like tuna mayonnaise to touch and look at, as the cardboard pieces had broken down into flakes.
- The backing for the frame was a woven material, and wanting to ensure the mixture stuck to it, I poured PVA glue over the backing.
- By hand, I then smeared clumps of the mixture out onto the glue-covered backing to every edge of the frame. I smoothed it down using a pallet knife so the surface would be mostly even and left it lying flat to dry and harden.
- After two days of drying time, whilst the mix was still a bit tacky but no longer soggy, I carved out the lettering within the piece. For this process, I first wrote out the letters onto a piece of A3 tracing paper, to ensure I’d be leaving enough room as I carved free-handed from the papier-mâché clay.
- I then left the clay to dry for one whole week. When I returned to the piece, I noticed black mould had started to form over sections. Being unsure what I should do next (and feeling slightly grossed out/panicked), I used cleaning wipes to scrub the clay down, removing a lot of the mould. I then waited another day to ensure the exterior of the clay had dried before painting it.
- I decided on a dark, ‘Prussian Blue’ for the colour of the piece and used acrylic paint, for a quick drying time.
- After covering the piece in two coats of paint and leaving it for a few more days to dry, I noticed some mould was starting to form in crystals on the outside of the paint. I decided to spray the whole piece with mould and mildew spray and leave it to dry again.
- As one of the active ingredients in the mould and mildew spray was bleach, it was then necessary for me to repaint the piece; as various patches had lightened through the treatment, however, as I left it to dry out further it began to shrink inside the frame and cracks formed around the edge of the clay.
- To seal the crack I used Polycell Advanced Polyfilla. Once this had dried I painted the whole piece with another two coats of acrylic Prussian Blue paint.
- Once the paint had dried I found a suitable place on a plain white wall to position the piece for photographing, before then experimenting with different settings/backdrops for display.
The Finished Piece
Reflection
I am very pleased with the aesthetic of the finished piece. The dark shade of blue is subtle and in some lights appears black.
If I were to create this piece again, I would change a few things, such as the amount of flour used in the mixture; I would try to decrease it so as to reduce the mould that formed. I would then spray the piece with mould spray at the first sign of mould appearing, instead of having waited until the piece was painted.
I would have waited longer before painting the piece; had I known I would have to use a bleach spray on the mould, and that the clay would shrink as it dried, I would have painted the piece last to ensure I was using as few resources and time as possible.
To summarise, I feel a release to finish this piece and look back on how I felt when I first thought of the idea – a great deal has changed for me, not least my outlook. I have gained closure through exploration and expression of my emotions regarding a previously difficult situation.
The time dedicated to completing the project, although could have been reduced by taking more mould-prevention steps in the early stages, showcases my determination to see ideas through.
The visual aspect of the piece I am very happy with; it appears as I imagined it, even though creating cardboard-clay was a completely new experience for me. It is a process I have learnt from and would definitely embark on again. As it is – I’m already thinking of more ‘sculpted signs’ the world might need to almost see.