Unit X: And so it ends!

So today it was mine and Lizzie’s turn to invigilate the exhibition. As a group we had taken it in shifts and the purpose of us being present at the installation site was so that we could explain the piece to the audience and generally guard it in case anyone tried to touch the installation. There was no chance of that happening as myself and Lizzie, as the chief-installation people, would most likely cause grievous harm to anyone that dared lay hands on our precious knit!

I hadn’t seen the installation since this Tuesday so I was a little taken aback when I saw it again. It sounds a bit odd but I honestly liked it much more than I remembered. Of course the film was brilliant; Rachael and Alex have done a great job in editing it! I felt that as a whole, the installation with its various components worked really well together. As one person remarked today, it was an altogether engaging experience for the viewer to be standing within the sinister surroundings portrayed within the film. Some people even went as far as to say that they felt very uncomfortable watching the film in amongst the knit, as though there could be something lurking within it! We set out to evoke a sense of fear and anxiety, and clearly we've been pretty successful! It was just really satisfying to see audiences engaging with the installation as a whole.

The road to our Unit X exhibition has not been an easy one. There have been many disagreements and moments of absolute panic! As creative individuals we have had to learn to let go of creative control, which I must stress is NOT an easy thing to do,  and work collaboratively with students we might never have much interaction with. My only qualm with Unit X in regards to this is that it wasn't as much of a collaboration between courses as I had hoped. I had hoped that Unit X would be a good networking opportunity where we would see the work of students on courses completely opposite to my own, but this was not so. My group was very much Fashion heavy and I think that might have alienated the two Film and Media students at times.

However, There is definitely much to be gained from working with a group. For one thing, I don't think I could have achieved anything quite so ambitious all on my own.  This process has benefited me particularly because, having received positive feedback about my work, I feel more confident when putting my ideas across to a group of people. Also, once we got down to it, there were moments where there was a great creative atmosphere where we could bounce ideas off each other and really push the possibilities of the project. I was working with students who have a really great sense of aesthetic and it was exciting to see how they worked. At times we didn't think we would make it but I think as a group we have really pulled together for a successful outcome. I am thrilled with the final exhibition and am really very proud of our group!

Would I do it again?
....I'll have to get back to you on that one, I think I need some time to recuperate!

Unit X: All set up and ready to go (Almost!)

Yesterday was a trying day! Since we didn't have much of a chance to finish setting up the knit installation on Monday, luckily we had Tuesday morning as our fallback day. Just one problem. We are a group of 9 in total and even when that was reduced to 6 on Monday afternoon, there were still far too many of us in the small exhibition space, all trying to be helpful. I appreciate that they all came with the best of intentions but in some ways I think this may have been a bit of a hindrance. For the majority of the time that we were setting up, half the group had little else to do but to sit around waiting for their turn to be of help! I think this caused a lot of distraction for those of us that were actively engaged in installing the knit and perhaps the whole thing would have been a little less stressful (and me and Lizzie might have been a little less snappy!) if the task had been left just to the installation sub-group.

Nevertheless, it is done! We finished setting up around lunchtime, ready for Robin and Eleanor on their Unit X inspection rounds. I think they were happy with the final outcome but one thing they disagreed on was the use of lighting. A main focus of ours was to direct lighting towards the knit so that it would cast shadows around the space. This was something that Eleanor seemed to like. But because nothing we do can ever go smoothly and without disagreement, Robin felt that the room looked better with only the television screen in the centre of the room. And just when we thought it was all over, nice one Robin!

 I see where he was coming from, because the dark room did make the knit look more menacing as it became a little more difficult to distinguish from the background. But I can’t help but feel that there was something quite beautiful about the intricate shadows that were cast by the knit and it would be such a shame to lose this. Also I fear, though a little selfishly I might add, that if the installation is less visible it becomes secondary to the film when they are both of equal importance. Far too many hours have gone into knitting those pieces and frankly I will not be pleased if it can’t be seen!

Before I get too agitated, I think it just might be possible to reach a compromise. We are looking into sourcing additional lighting. It was suggested that we could just bring in torches and position them around the room so that they still strategically project just enough light onto the knit whilst keeping the room fairly dark as a whole. I guess such are the perils of staging an exhibition, every little detail must be taken into consideration. We’re nearly there though!

Unit X: Promote!

With less than a week until Unit X draws to a close, one of our final tasks was to promote our exhibition. We started looking into this on Thursday last week when Flavia, Hannah, Ryan and Millie created a Facebook group and a poster to advertise the event. I’m quite proud to say that one of my photographs of the installation made it as the background for the poster! As for distribution, we went around the various buildings on campus to put them up so that students who may not be aware of what actually goes on in the art department might take an interest and come along. Meanwhile, Hannah, Alex and Millie also distributed some of the poster around the Norther Quarter so we are really starting to get word out. 

 In addition to this, I have tweeted about the event which I thought would be helpful as I follow a few artist groups in Manchester. This seems to be working as I have already received a retweet from trusty old Manchester School of Art!

I suppose, for us social media has been most crucial in terms of promotion as it’s a great tool to raise awareness and get through to people at short notice and with a lack of resources. Whilst platforms like Facebook are great for reaching your own contacts, Twitter is probably better for events such as this as it allows anonymous groups like ours to feign a greater online presence as we can take advantage of its little black book!

However, alongside all this we were also interested in creating original promotional material as a final collaborative process. This has taken the form of a Zine that combines all our research and processes that we have undertaken to get to the final outcome. I thought this was a nice idea as it was a chance for us to showcase the ideas that may not necessarily have made that final cut.

In regards to the overall look of the Zine, we came to the group decision that it should be printed black and white, for reasons both aesthetic and economic! The idea was that by keeping to a muted colour scheme, the Zine would work in harmony with the sombre mood of the film and we can very conveniently cut down on printing costs! However, to avoid this looking too drab we will be printed on coloured paper that will be inserted randomly so that no two Zines are the same.

 Hannah took the lead on this one while I tried to pitch in as best I could with any ideas of composition and layout of the Zine. This has been a fun process and thanks to Hannah’s expertise I now have knowledge of the InDesign programme and can use it to showcase portfolio work in the future.

Unit X: Countdown to Exhibition Begins

So from all our tutorials last week, it seems that our group is one of the few that are on track. We had a final tutorial with Eleanor on Friday and miraculously it seemed that we pretty much had everything on her checklist! This is to say, we had seen the location, sourced any props, nearly completed the final outcome and had a handle on promotion. If I’m honest, I've never been the one to be running on schedule so close to the deadline, so for once it feels pretty good to not be hyperventilating into a paper bag at this stage! I suppose such is the advantage of working as a group, where tasks can be spread out so that every member is able to consistently work towards a greater collective outcome.

Anyway, everything seems to be coming together now and we have a clear timetable of what to do this week.

Monday: Exhibition Prep

AM  Finish Zine  

PM  Set up installation

Tuesday: Exhibition Prep

AM Complete installation

PM Visit from Eleanor and Robin

Wednesday: Exhibition open to public

 AM Ryan and Sophie invigilate

***VIP Visit- All group members must be present**

 PM Alex, Racheal and Flavia Invigilate

Thusrday: Exhibition open to public

AM Millie and Hannah Invigilate

PM Rimsha and Lizzie Invigilate

So far, we’re on the right track, though we’re starting to slow in pace a little. Today went by at quite a sluggish pace as there was a lot of waiting around. The plan was that we would all pitch in to print and assemble the Zines in the morning and then move on to set up the installation in the afternoon. We were all feeling rather confident that it would all be done by the end of the day and we would be rewarding ourselves with a lie-in for tomorrow. Alas this was no to be, for we underestimated the MMU printing system’s inherent ability to mess up at the most crucial of moments!

What’s more is that it just felt as though there were too many of us trying to help all at once.  Despite our good intentions, I think it is this that slowed us down. Which is why, by 2pm, as we had only just gotten to the stage of cutting down the printed Zines, the general feeling was that we split up so that the majority of us could head off to Incognito to set up the installation. So that is exactly what we did.

By the time we got there, we only had a couple of hours until the shop closed at 5, so we really did have to get a move on. The first issue we had was that the lighting fixtures dotted around the room that we intended to direct onto the installation were far too bright if used all together. To remedy this, we decided to take out the bulbs of some of the fixtures as we wanted a dimly lit setting to keep in line with the mood of the film. After waiting for the bulbs to cool, and some trial and error, we concluded that just one bulb in the far corner was enough to light the room and cast shadows alongside the light emitting from the video that is to be played in the centre of the room. After this, all that was left to do was to start putting up the mass of arm knitting we had accumulated over the past few weeks. I would say we were getting into the swing of things by the time we had to pack our things to avoid being unceremoniously kicked out at closing time, but there is still quite a bit to do. Hopefully tomorrow, everything will run according to schedule as this is the last and most crucial component of the project.

Unit X: Film and Knit Combine

With our location sorted and installation trials successful, ton Wednesday Lizzie and I took a final trip to the Northern Quarter to source some yarn. Our first stop was a cute little shop on the fringes of the Northern Quarter called Purl City Yarns. I had never heard of this place before, but thankfully I had bumped into a friend who recommended it to me. Unfortunately, when we got there it wasn't quite what we were looking for. As lovely as the shop was, the yarns in stock were much too expensive for us, especially since we were hoping to buy in bulk. For what we wanted to do, we decided that bog standard cheap yarns would do just fine! So it was off to trusty old Abakhan.

From Abakhan, we bought 3 packs of yarn in Black, Navy Blue and Moss Green. We were a little limited to the choice of colour but from what we had to choose from, we decided to keep to a dark colour scheme. The plan is to knit the colours as separate pieces but interlace them when setting up the installation so that the yarns cross over each other and allow the colours to blend in.

We put this into practice later on that the afternoon as we got knitting immediately in time to film the final scenes of the fashion film. At this stage of filming, the narrative begins to integrate the installation as a collaboration of both elements of our group project. The storyboard runs so that the protagonist (Hannah!) finds herself entangled ‘in a web of her own fears’...  it’s all a bit disturbing but that's always far more fun! To fit the mood, Racheal found a very sinister looking set of stairs somewhere around the back of her old foundation studios. Here we set up some of the arm-knit samples and were able to see for the first time how the colours and varying densities of yarn would work together.

I think we were all pleased with the results as the yarns were pulled taught to create a dense web that looked more intricate that in actually was! It has been a trying couple of days but I think we're getting there!

Unit X: All Under Control

Yesterday I found out that we were expected to make a presentation as part of our routine Tuesday tutorials about our final outcome.  Cue absolute terror! In my brief run-in with Eleanor in the morning, she said that they didn't expect a final outcome but expected us to be pretty far ahead. This is when self doubt kicked in! We all simultaneously had a mini panic attack about everything we had yet to do. The film people freaked out about not having all the footage and a lot to edit. Meanwhile the installation group had yet to source yarns. And to make matters worse we still not sure of where we would eventually exhibit the thing! Over the weekend, Robin had sent out a vague email about ‘provisional locations’ but we were dubious as to whether it was implied that we continue to look for our own.

Miraculously, as it turned out all our fears were in vain as when we finally got to the tutorial, Eleanor and Robin seemed to think we had it all under control! Either we have at last acquired the talent of making things sound less catastrophic than they actually are or at long last this project is actually coming together.

At the tutorial we were also introduced to Adriano, one of the leaders of Unit X, who had kindly organised an exhibition space for us. This came as a missive relief! For the past week, our group has been unsuccessfully trying to organise a location. Most of the credit for this goes to Hannah, who despite our unfortunate timing was still a pretty impressive force to be reckoned with in her pursuit to make a booking. Sadly, her efforts were to no avail as it appears that most spaces are fully booked.  So understandably, the group practically rejoiced when Adriano told us about the basement space we’d be using to set up our installation/ film.

As a follow up to the tutorial, today we visited the location and it’s safe to say we were all very pleased with what we've got. Lizzie and myself came across Incognito earlier that morning on our ‘Yarn Sourcing’ expedition (more about that later) and were immediately taken by the add gadgets and what I can only describe as slightly use-less but highly amusing.....stuff! 

 When we arrived a second time at the quirky little shop on the edge of the Northern Quarter, we were guided behind the counter into the basement gallery space. Currently, this is being used as a store so I assume at some point next week we will all be pitching in to clear things up a bit. The part of the basement we’re actually going to be using resembles a vault with its barred iron door. This is a bit of a happy accident as it only adds to the sombre tones of our exhibition. The space itself is a good size. I didn't think to ask for the exact dimensions of the space so all I can say is that it’s not too big and not too small. So in regards to the installation, we’ll have plenty of room our knitted pieces without having to worry about filling up too big a space. Another added bonus of space was that it had small adjustable light fittings on all four walls that can tilt towards or away from the installation in order to play around with the effects of shadows. Again these fit the mood that we are trying to create as they are not too bright.

 We've decided that we will be setting up the installation on Monday, leaving Tuesday for any adjustments or last minute additions.  The film people have yet to source a T.V and a table/ plinth but have already looked into ‘The Mustard Tree’, a local charity organisation that sells cheap furniture, and will be finalising this soon.  All that is left to do now is to get arm-knitting! 

Unit X: Throup Revisited

Scrolling through my blog, I came across a blog entry that I posted about Aitor Throup a while ago as research for my very first project. The entry consists of a very short paragraph and it’s not difficult to tell that it was hastily written in the run-up to a blog submission deadline! It simply does not do justice to his work or my obsession with this guy! So at long last I will attempt to remedy this.

I probably only came across Throup’s work about a year or so ago whilst flicking through a ‘Fashion Designer’s Now’  book, or some title along those lines, and I was immediately taken by his illustrative style and the futuristic designs that brought those figures to life. The collection that struck me most turned out to be the one for his MA collection at the Royal College of Art entitled ‘When Football Hooligans become Hindu Gods’.  The collection is an experimental take on generic utility garments that have imbedded within them a strong sense of narrative and wit. The narrative was that of a journey of redemption and transformation amongst a group of football hooligans who face remorse after their violent attack of a Hindu boy. The collection; with its transformative hood features and play on utility garments idiosyncratic to the subculture in question documents this journey in a way that is avant-garde in its vision but also retains accessibility as wearable garments. This was perhaps what draws me to his work as with many high profile designers the balance between form and function is often lost.

Since then, I have followed Throup’s career on and off and was very excited to learn that the designer would be revisiting Manchester School of Art in honour of its 175^th anniversary. The event was a conversation between the designer and Manchester Evening News diary editor Dianne Bourne. There was a lot of hype around the event, and rightly so. The talk was recorded as part of the Young Creative Chevrolet Lecture series and ticketed on Eventbrite and everything! It might even be said that as one of Manchester School of Art’s most successful alumni, Aitor Throup is kind of a big deal!

Luckily, to save me from rattling on about the whole conversation, I have found the full video of the event on Youtube (below). But there were some things that I learned about the designer that were particularly inspiring.

What was particularly interesting was his refusal to be classed as a Fashion Designer. Whilst he does not deny that he is interested in his garments being used in the industry, he seems to be very much against the cyclical nature of Fashion. Here, I think he had a very valid point as the advent of seasonal trends demands new products every few months only to make its predecessors redundant. I find myself feeling really rather guilty around about fashion week because I feel that as a fashion student it is probably my duty to keep on top of all the new trends. This is easier said than done and frankly I don’t even know how much I care! There is very little focus on longevity and that is something Aitor Throup hopes to tackle within his work.  What was most resonant about his design philosophy was what he describes as ‘justified design’.

He believes that nothing should exist without a reason, be it justifiable through narrative or function.  He prefers the label of ‘Product Designer’ or ‘Engineer’ to be associated with his practice, claiming that he has become a Fashion Designer only by default! Particularly, he is interested in new methods of construction that serve to solve the existing and as yet undefined problems in everyday garments.  In this way, Throup is probably one of the most exciting designers today and his work shows that it is possible to create something beautiful that is not entirely frivolous.