Womb to Move: the Final Product

Some photos of the completed Womb to Move project. Poor light inside the womb chamber made the photos particularly grainy so some of the colours and exposure have been altered to make the interior elements more visible. In addition to the textural comforts of the chamber, womb visitors were also treated to the aural delights of a quietly trickling water feature and the soothing tones of smooth jazz played from speakers hidden within the sink unit.

Over the coming months, Womb to Move will be presented in a number of venues around Sydney accompanied by the Corporate Comfortizer, specially employed to meet all your comfort needs and daily anxiety issues.

Port-A-Womb in Progress (cont.)

Some photos of the work close to completion...By this stage of the construction my neck and back were constantly aching from craning to hand stitch the fabric bunches to the chamber's ceiling.

I also decided to add a gloriously tacky water feature, referencing the ambience of waiting rooms and hotel/nightclub bathrooms. Bought from Kmart for a steal at $12, I covered the original beige plastic structure with soft pink paint and several coats of glitter paint to finish it off. Truly hideous result.

interior in progress

almost finished

water feature

curtains

curtains detail

Port-A-Womb in Progress

Still more shots of the Womb Room interior in progress.

Housebound: Redux

This video and performance installation built on the Housebound work my sister and I had presented at the Sydney Fringe earlier this year. Wearing the same veiled costumes, we sat motionless in silence across from each other with close-up footage of our hands knitting played on small television screens. The only sound in the room was the rhythmic click click clack of twin knitting needles. The work explored habitual actions and the notion of tactile knowledge. 

Here are some photos taken of the performance. 

Womb Walls

Interior

More progress shots of the ceiling and general interior of the Port-A-Womb. Materials used include various fabrics from Reverse Garbage and Remnant Warehouse, industrial sized-toilet paper roll cylinders, carpet filler, floristry tape and lots of thread.

Womb Improved

Some photos of the Port-A-Womb interior and exterior. Fairy lights, coloured gels and several lamps were added to the interior to provide ambient lighting. The toilet seat was ripped up and replaced with a faux pearl embroidered pale pink stretch sheath with a red light bulb at the base. Thus, when the womb occupant opened the toilet seat to sit down they would be greeted with the splendid vision of a hidden glowing cavity. 

Womb in Progress

More photos of the Port-A-Womb in its gestation period. After scouring the scum off the portaloo shell I spent an age removing battered grills, countless rivets and a very dilapidated front door. To make the loo less disgusting in appearance and association, I painted to outer shell an amicable shade of pink. Then it was time to pad the interior with found lengths of mattress foam.

Womb to Move

Been a long while between posts, but, new laptop (with internet!) means I'm rearing and ready to hop back on the bloghorse.

So, here are some progress shots from a project I originally started for the 2011 TINA festival in Newcastle. The festival's funding crisis meant they had to withdraw support for the work but I decided to make it anyway. Womb to Move was made with support from the Arc@Cofa Design Grant.

Womb to Move was inspired by my enduring fascination with public toilets. Plagued by nervousness and claustrophobia in large and noisy crowds at shopping centres, airports and music festivals, I have come to treasure the privacy afforded by the public toilet cubicle. A recent trip to Japan introduced me to the assorted wonders of the modern public toilet; a magic wonderland of floral scents, tinkling music and cleansing water jets catered to the individual's preference for temperature, force and angle.

With these experiences in mind, I began to consider the public toilet's potential to act as a kind of relaxation chamber, a temporary private sanctuary within a bustling public environment. The necessary ritual of a daily bowel movement in such a space could be viewed as a regenerative process in which the toilet occupant privately sheds a part of themselves and then re-enters the public sphere refreshed and emptied of waste. I decided to capture the regenerative power of the public toilet by transforming a Port-A-Loo into a portable womb chamber. I hoped to install this womb chamber in various public places so that passersby suffering from anxiety or feeling run down in body and mind could rejuvenate themselves in a comfortable and private space.

The following photos depict the Port-A-Loo in its original state. It was purchased from a local loo hire company for a steal at $100! Though it arrived in a rather smelly state, a bucket of discount air fresheners solved that problem within a few days.
       

Notorious D.I.G

Works exhibited as part of our Second Year SPI show at COFA, Notorious D.I.G. Managed to cram a multitude of quality works by our class into a very small space. Performed my new work, Housebound, on opening night, and managed to only spill one beer on the white robes used in the performance. Success all round. 

Balls in motion

What followed suit

Housebound

French knitting project for COFA. Originally intended to be a prop for a chain gang themed performance piece, the chains have become a work in themselves.