FLUXUS

One of the major international network of artists, composers and designers noted to bring together a variety of artistic disciplines in the 1960s.

Their freedom in approaching the experimentation of various art forms is very inspiring. FLUXUS has been a great influence within my work, especially within their way of encouraging the 'DO-IT-YOURSELF' aesthetic theory, valuing simplicity over complexity.

MARCEL DUCHAMP

One of the major exponent of Avant-Garde Art. I believe that his work shifted Art to another level, influencing the all development of post WWI Western Art.

His subversive actions changed the world of art for ever, and I strongly believe that if Duchamp did not exist, art today would have been very different.

Humor was also one of his major characteristic, able to change the perception towards a work of art, especially within his 'ready made'.

'The creative act is not performed by the artist alone; the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and interpreting its inner qualifications and thus adds his contribution to the creative act.'

Marcel Duchamp

DUCHAMP, BEUYS AND I

This is a sink found in my work place, and as soon as I saw it I straight away had the image of the 'complete set', considering that a paragraph of my thesis is focused on two of the artists that inspired me all along the course of my BA final year: Marcel Duchamp and Joseph Beuys. Referring to Duchamp's urinal and Beuys' bathtub, I thought it would have been a fantastic idea completing the bathroom set within the world of art of the XX-XXI centuries. It is an idea that follows the importance of the humor present in art, especially emphasised by avant-garde artists such as Duchamp and Beuys.

'Fountain', 1917

No Title, 1960

'Finally we have the whole set!', 2011

INVITATION EXHIBITION

FROM STASIS TO FLUX

MOULDED BELT IN A JAR

MOULDED LEMONS IN A JAR

BEANS SPROUTS IN A JAR

RUSTED BICYCLE CHAIN IN A JAR

From Stasis to Flux

During the personal per course of creating these pieces, my aim has been to explore the ‘relationship of opposites’, through the metamorphosis of the materials in question.

I have been able to investigate different stages throughout the making of this work that finally led me into the shift that my work was waiting for.

‘From Stasis to Flux’ is a room/installation which emphasizes the development of my personal journey within the experimentation and the realization of these pieces, highlighting the shift undertaken within their composition.

‘The relationship of opposites’, in this case expressed by industrial/natural, growth/decay (ex. metal/water, belt/mould...), is a process which involves a development, a movement, a change, therefore, no static object could communicate this interaction.

This room/installation shows this fundamental passage, ‘From Stasis to Flux’, emphasizing the importance of being coherent with the philosophical aspect of the pieces, but mainly highlighting the significant personal growth within the awareness of ‘why and how creating a piece’.

My work has been both visually and intellectually inspired by the ‘dematerialisation of the art object’, a concept very present within the 60s movements of Arte Povera, Pop Art and Fluxus. Nonetheless, a great influence has also been derived within my work from Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus, who believed in ‘the unity of opposites’, understanding the world as a place where nothing remains fixed, where everything is in flux and is constantly being transformed; much like the doctrines of Oriental Philosophy, within the I Ching and the nature of Yin-Yang.

Therefore, after a long period of thinking and tutorials my thoughts finally took the direction that initiated a series of work and experiments that have the coherence to express ‘the harmony of opposites’: ‘constantly interacting, never existing in absolute stasis’. This gives the work a natural per course of ‘self-destruction’, emphasizing the meaning of time through decay.

The realisation of these pieces gave me the confidence and the enthusiasm needed to push myself into this new journey where exploration and experimentation have always been present.