Better or Worse Solution
For me this piece began back in 1996 with my first visit to New York’s Soho. The iconic fire escapes captured my imagination. The rhythmic, repetitive, geometric shapes appealed to my minimalist sensibilities years before I discovered Donald Judd had a studio on one of those very streets. Since 2005 steps have been a reoccurring theme within my work and as my practice develops it continues to be a fertile ground for exploration.
As with my past instillation's the plains of colour on wooden panels create the structure and the rhythm of ‘Better or Worse Solutions’. These plains act as compositional elements within the wider context of the site. The vast scale of the Old Police Stations fire escape demanded an innovative response to the structure. Removing the plains of colour from the traditional painting supports and fitting them within the frame work of the railings, for the first time allowed the work to be fully integrated in to the site, sitting within the immense structure of the fire escape, essentially becoming part of its environment. Because the railings where hand made many years before, the negative spaces where far from uniform, making the task of fitting the panels a laborious one. Although labour intensive, the task of repeatedly measuring, fitting, refitting was a necessary evil. It was important to the internal logic of the piece that the panels sat neatly within this irregular frame work, as though they had always been there, as though they belonged.
I the colour scheme I developed was site responsive, drawn from the immediate area. The blue and rust paint from the large metal gates that allows access the yard, the deep red of the brickwork, the trickles of blue from a long ago chemical reaction that run over the aged black gloss. Working with colours found in the immediate vicinity, ultimately help to build the desired relationship between the piece and its home.
Following discussions about Esher’s illusionary steps I decided to use colour as a tool to alter the spectator’s perception of space. Within traditional landscape painting, blue tones are used to create the illusion of distance. I however reversed this norm in order to pose questions about our perceptions and the way we read space. Placing the warmest reds at the furthest point in the piece drew the eye up to the highest point in the structure, ensuring the piece is read initially as a whole, not simply as fragmented parts.
From the viewers vantage point in the Operations Yard ‘Better or Worse’ is encountered monumentally, almost as you would view a traditional mural. It was our intention that this would only be one aspect of the work. The hope was that the viewer would then get to encounter the work spatially. By moving up and down the steps, they could physically experience the switch from the monumental to personal. The grass filled boxes suspended under each step where to lead the way. Had we not once again been thwarted by health and safety, individuals could have moved through piece experiencing the visual interaction between the coloured plains and the cityscape beyond, the living back drop and the work changing with each step.
Ruth Caig
As with my past instillation's the plains of colour on wooden panels create the structure and the rhythm of ‘Better or Worse Solutions’. These plains act as compositional elements within the wider context of the site. The vast scale of the Old Police Stations fire escape demanded an innovative response to the structure. Removing the plains of colour from the traditional painting supports and fitting them within the frame work of the railings, for the first time allowed the work to be fully integrated in to the site, sitting within the immense structure of the fire escape, essentially becoming part of its environment. Because the railings where hand made many years before, the negative spaces where far from uniform, making the task of fitting the panels a laborious one. Although labour intensive, the task of repeatedly measuring, fitting, refitting was a necessary evil. It was important to the internal logic of the piece that the panels sat neatly within this irregular frame work, as though they had always been there, as though they belonged.
I the colour scheme I developed was site responsive, drawn from the immediate area. The blue and rust paint from the large metal gates that allows access the yard, the deep red of the brickwork, the trickles of blue from a long ago chemical reaction that run over the aged black gloss. Working with colours found in the immediate vicinity, ultimately help to build the desired relationship between the piece and its home.
Following discussions about Esher’s illusionary steps I decided to use colour as a tool to alter the spectator’s perception of space. Within traditional landscape painting, blue tones are used to create the illusion of distance. I however reversed this norm in order to pose questions about our perceptions and the way we read space. Placing the warmest reds at the furthest point in the piece drew the eye up to the highest point in the structure, ensuring the piece is read initially as a whole, not simply as fragmented parts.
From the viewers vantage point in the Operations Yard ‘Better or Worse’ is encountered monumentally, almost as you would view a traditional mural. It was our intention that this would only be one aspect of the work. The hope was that the viewer would then get to encounter the work spatially. By moving up and down the steps, they could physically experience the switch from the monumental to personal. The grass filled boxes suspended under each step where to lead the way. Had we not once again been thwarted by health and safety, individuals could have moved through piece experiencing the visual interaction between the coloured plains and the cityscape beyond, the living back drop and the work changing with each step.
Ruth Caig