Unit X: A Day at the Museum

Today, I spent the afternoon being an absolute menace to tourists and children alike by blocking the view of exhibits that I insisted on taking ages to sketch!

In search of some primary research, I set of to Manchester Museum where I looked at skulls and ancient artifacts for inspiration. This is because my research into voodoo culture so far has pointed towards inanimate objects that hold value for the owner.  The reasoning behind the animal skeletons took inspiration from an image of a Voodoo Market in Benin that I found on Pinterest.  Again, we see that inanimate objects are capable of holding deep meanings and serve a greater purpose.

I also found authentic dolls from West Africa and was particularly interested in the ‘Ibeji’ figurines from the Yoruba people of Southern Nigeria. Ibeji, literally meaning twins in the Yoruba language, are wooden dolls whose care and protection ensures the survival of either twin. It is thought that if one twin dies, the other must carry both Ibeji that will then house the soul of the deceased twin.

While at the museum I also came across axe and spear heads. I think this fits in with my concept of ‘protection’ and ‘evil reflected’ as essentially weapons are there to protect but needless to say cause destruction in the process.

Finally, I spent an inordinate amount of time drawing broken bits of ceramics. I guess what I was interested in here was the idea that the broken bits and pieces are almost as important to the museum as other whole objects for the historic value they hold. In a very round-about way, I suppose this echoes the idea of valued objects. Or maybe at this point I was getting a bit desperate!

After this, I continued my wander down Oxford Road to the Whitworth Art Gallery. I didn’t find much that could relate to my research as such but as it’s a contemporary gallery I saw some very interesting installations that might help us a group in terms of how to curate our final outcome.

I was immediately drawn to the video installation by Micheal Landy as it’s pretty much in direct eye-line of the main entrance of the gallery. The main feature of Landy’s very personal work about his father was a video of still images that were projected to a screen suspended in the middle of a large room. This is particularly striking because of the overlay of the artist’s father whistling his favourite tunes as the soundtrack. The overall effect is a little eerie due to the stark feel of the room but oddly familiar and comforting at the same time.

Similarly, the artist Beryl Korot’s installation featured linen and wool weave that were again suspended in the middle of the space. Directly facing this were a row of five television screens embedded into the wall that played a looped documentation of the weaving process. The rhythmic sound and movement of the looms really compliments the repeat geometric patterns of the weave in documenting the meticulous process.

From this, I am interested in how various components can work in harmony with each other to form a cohesive installation and create an overall narrative. I am also interested in how space is used in these installations as both exhibits were quite stark but this only added to their impact. I think this is something we can look towards for inspiration in the later stages of our project.

Overall, I am now rather overwhelmed with ideas indeed. However, it was nice to briefly step away from my own research and look at some more contemporary works of art at the Whitworth, which are all definitely worth a visit!