unknown land - long overdue post!

So this project has been on going for some time now, and due to all the hard work I've been doing, this blog has been some what neglected ...

We're basically designing a country, and our group's is made of plastic, literally.

There's a mass of floating plastic shards, bits, shrapnel that has collected in the Pacific (twice the size of Texas and growing) due to currents that have basically created some sort of vortex. So the plastic stays relatively stationary, collecting and clumping in some areas and floating in pieces in others:

Our land is based on the idea that the plastic has been collected, processed and formed into an island, effectively creating a desirable plastic tacky utopia out of waste, inspired by imagery of coral reef, shells etc in combination with the idea of a plastic land.

We all went off to play with materials, structures etc keeping in theme with imagery of the coral reef, plastic waste etc.

Initial research began with actually getting a feel for plastic, so the 99p shop made more than a pound that day. After failing to melt the items (plastic mermaids, rope, animals) together with a lighter, Kate purchased some plastic beads and melted them in her oven (not reccomended as fumes are toxic!) into a beautiful pattern much like a smarties stained glass.

This fragmented, colourful pattern has actually become the island logo, but I'll post that later.

 Melting plastic, pens work especially well and we were toying with the idea of making them into the island's underwater pipe system.

Ideas were stalling until an impromptu trip to the fourth floor (fine art department) immdiately the big structures and models and sculptures were exciting as graphics can some times feel quite contained, whether that be to graph paper, a moleskin or a computer screen. Suddenly there were towering ploystyrene blocks and paint splattered on walls and cans of spray paint and we were inspired.

This wasn't actually on the fourth floor but the basement outside the workshop, I really liked the almost conicle shell shape.

This piece that looks like an inside out marshmallow was what was really inspiring, we had been toying with the idea of possibly vacuum forming something and this bulbous shape made of expanding foam reminded me of some sort of sponge or coral.

Playing with balloon structures, I've since paper mached (spelling?) this but it's not that incredible really.

This 'pink palace' is what sent us on our vaccuum forming journey! The structure was made of piled lids and bottles and hairbrush bristles and glue bottles.

We also made a 'bottom' using the expanding foam and balloons, and vaccuum forming it in cream.

We then re-carved the salvaged foam and added more bits and pieces like shells and plastic odds and ends  and vaccuum formed it in yellow:

I really love the mix of organic and man-made, that it resembles a reef but also has obvious nods towards something manufactured and designed both in it's appearance and making.



The final piece (though that could change) is red. I've yet to photograph it but it looks quite cool.

Anyways more to come, just been mega busy! Excuses right?