Drawing out (Melbourne) Concrete geometries: spatial form in social and aesthetic processes (London)

Abstract

'Lift’ – a model for drawing and thinking about exchange. contact Trish Bould tab3@soton.ac.uk

Background: through a series of projects we have explored drawing as a means of construction and deconstruction; 'Through our work we recognise the relationship between processes of collaboration and the state of drawing – where an idea is in flux, involving rubbing out and reforming, a space of experiment and change which is subject to failure, recognition that you need to put something down in order to make adaptations, alterations and/or something new. That you can reform, begin again, synthesise, find common ground, alter and amend.' Focussing on investigating the complex dynamics of interpretation and experience within collaborative exchange, most recently our research has explored the interference or influence exercised by particular spaces.

This paper uses ‘Lift' as a spatial metaphor to re-present and re-tell the construction of art works that have been made through collaborative engagement. In re-telling, we reflect on how ‘Lift’ might help us interpret processes of construction evident in drawing and in collaborative method. We reflect on how relationships of exchange have been pivotal in the production of understanding, often arrived at through difficulties and frustrations. We discuss how different time frames and experiences affect participation.

Methods: the lift is a space of transition, moving both vertically between levels (elevation) and as an opening between separate spaces (revelation). 'Lift' is a way of drawing and thinking collaboratively that is opportunistic and fractured in terms of time, experience and action. 'Lift ' incorporates the negotiation of aims and objectives in shared processes of continual shift and selection, as well as an understanding of the value of operating within a system of partial and incomplete knowledge. Transfer takes place here through difference, bringing about transformative processes of re-viewing, backtracking and re-framing. Moving between public and private spaces, continually departing and arriving, it accesses the difficulty and transience of collaboration. Within collaborative practice interruptions and disagreements can be valuable; strategic planning and overview as well as opportunism and contingency become vital components. The private space inside the lift, an established territory of enclosed practice, is interrupted and this interjection from the outside reinvigorates difference.

Expected outcomes: we will draw/re-present ‘lift’ in the conference space through documentation of specific art works. Our presentation will be a choreographed juxtaposition of drawing, film and the re-telling of different narratives. In our presentation we will offer access to the inner workings/construction of collaboration.

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