The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef

  "Crochet Coral and Anemone Garden" with sea slug by Marianne Midelburg

Twin sisters Christine and Margaret Wertheim have joined forces to create art together, and raise awareness of the impact global warming is having on the Coral Reef.  Although the theme does not relate to my work, I find it very interesting that the sisters have chosen to work together on the project.  The 'arty' twin is able to drive the creative process, where as the 'scientific' sister can bring knowledge and accuracy to the pieces.  This powerful combination has resulted in an amazing result.  The project has branched out to many cities across the globe and the crochet reef has expanded through workshops.  I am really impressed with the result of some of the reefs, with look unrecognisable as crochet.  For more information, check out their website. 

 "Crochet Coral and Anemone Garden"

Midelburg, M (n.d.) Crochet Coral and Anemone Garden [Crochet] Available at: <http://crochetcoralreef.org/about/index.php> [Accessed: 27th October 2011] 

Midelburg, M (n.d.) Crochet Coral and Anemone Garden [Crochet] Available at: <http://crochetcoralreef.org/about/index.php> [Accessed: 27th October 2011] 

Two Sides of the Same Coin

  Hand embroidery into air dry clay

It has taken me about a week to create these two pieces.  Air dry clay is smelly and takes an age to dry.  All the holes had to be made and remade about 6 times.  So much time was put in and to be honest I'm not entirely sure if I even LIKE these samples.  However, I do like the fact that the same embroidery can be so different when it's looked at from both sides.  The expressions are almost opposite to each other and it brings out that idea of two perceptions of one thing.

Candice Breitz: Factum

I came across this video art by Candice Breitz by accident when researching Robert Rauschenberg's Factum I and II.  Rauschenberg inspired Breitz into looking at how something that at first appears to be indentical, often has more differences than you would imagine. 

Factum KangFrom the series Factum
2009
Edition of 5
Dual-channel installation: 2 hard drives
Duration: 69 minutes 10 seconds looped

"Breitz has often shown an interest in the alternating modes of desire and repulsion that shift between lovers, fans and celebrities. 'Factum' looks at the intensity of these forces between identical twins. Each 'Factum' is presented as a diptych (and one triptych), with each twin or triplet beside his or her sibling, dressed almost identically and in the same setting. Breitz interviewed each individual alone for up to seven hours, asking each twin the same set of questions. The artist then transcribed and analyzed each pair of interviews before editing the material into a dynamic conversation between the siblings, with the intertwining forces of documentary and fiction constantly at play. Through candid, often emotional responses, they reveal the strangeness, joys and difficulties of living one's life in parallel to someone who shares your exact genetic code and yet who possesses a distinct identity, with desires and tastes that may differ in subtle or significant ways. While the initial interview allowed each twin or triplet to tell his or her own story unencumbered by the presence of a sibling, Breitz complicates this relationship in the finished work by introducing the other twin as an interlocutor who offers a different perspective, with the artist also implicitly present as a third 'author' to the biographies. Through this format, Breitz underlines how any biography becomes a negotiation between various relationships, circumstances and desires - not to mention one's genetic heritage." (whitecube)

Factum McNamara
From the series Factum
2009
Edition of 5
Dual-channel installation: 2 hard drives
Duration: 49 minutes 29 second looped 

 As she states in the video commentary, Factum I & II are more about their differences than similarties.  They are an imperfect double image.  This doubling, twinning and a-symmetry is a theme route I will be exploring from now on in my twin project.  I will be removing myself from the personal side and focus more on the appearance and patterning in my work, playing on the way in which two 'identical' images catch the eye and force the viewer to look more closely. 

Breitz, C (2009) Factum Kang [Online image: Video Still] Available at: <http://www.whitecube.com/exhibitions/factum/I/> [Accessed 22^nd October 2011]

Breitz, C (2009) Factum McNamara [Online image: Video Still] Available at: <http://www.whitecube.com/exhibitions/factum/I/> [Accessed 22^nd October 2011]

Anon (2010) Candice Breitz: Factum [online] Available at: <http://www.whitecube.com/exhibitions/factum/I/> [Accessed 22^nd October 2011]

Pt. II

As I said, my space will change quite a lot.  I took everything down today and started again!  I made a very quick photojoiner of my area so you can see it in more detail (click the image to enlarge).

Joined

      Machine embroidery on cotton. 150 x 70 cm.

Winter Coats

           Front: A3 embroidery on canvas

                    Back: A3 embroidery on canvas

I can't decide whether I like the front or the back of my embroidery better...

Our DNA Profile

As I've mentioned, Rachael does forensic science at university.  She's now doing her MSci and is working one to one with a tutor doing DNA profiling.  In their little personal lab, she did her own DNA, which is also my DNA.  The chart above shows the results.  Her explanation of the chart is:

"The grey lines represent an allelic ladder. These bars correspond with peaks that are expected to be seen in human DNA profiles. The second blue peak does not fit into a grey area as it is shifted to the right. This is called an Off Ladder (OL) peak, meaning the allele (i.e. gene) is not usually seen in typical human DNA, and therefore a mutation of that allele has occured. This is rare, but does happen."

So, as well as being twins, we have a rare genetic mutation.  Not sure what this mutation means yet, but I don't have any extra fingers or toes so I'm not too worried!

Norma Minkowitz

                            "Sisters", 2004, wood, fibre, paint, resin and wire

I came across this sculpture in a book in the library and was instantly drawn to it.  As an embroiderer I am fascinated by anything outside my specialism and this knitted sculpture is a perfect example.  'Sisters' gives the illusion of conjoined twins and the perfect form of the knitted structure suspended in space is very exciting.

Minkowitz, N (1998) Sisters [wood, fibre, paint, resin, wire ] In: Tatham, R. ed. (2004) Portfolio Collection:Norma Minkowitz. Bristol: Telos Art Publishing

This is Where the Magic Happens...

Thought I'd upload a photo of the current state of my studio space.  I imagine it'll change quite a few times over the next few months.

Hong Chun Zhang

"Twin Spirits"#1 (2002), 4ft x 10ft (each), charcoal on paper

Hong Chun Zhang created large scale charcoal studies of hair.  To begin, she focused on her own and her twin sister's hair, using it to comment on their differences and similarities.

"Twin Spirits are large charcoal hair drawings, self-portraits of my twin sister and me. I use long hair to exaggerate our major characteristic and as a metaphor to reveal something that is beyond the hair. These drawings are presented as scroll paintings in order to accentuate the length of the piece and the flow of long hair. The larger than life-size scale creates a three-dimensional effect that extends the meaning beyond the surface." (H.C. Zhang, 2002)

           "Twin Spirits" #2 (2002), 5ft x 20ft, Charcoal on paper

Zhang, H.C. (2002) Long Hair [online] Available at: <http://www.hongchunzhang.com/index.php?screen=series&series=01_Long Hair> [Accessed 8th October 2011]

Scanned Set 2

  A5 Sketchbook

   A4 Machine Embroidery

                        A3 Sketchbook