degree
show
CONTEXTUALIZATION
After Easter break it was time to start planning and preparing everything around the final MFA show. However, a global crisis has arisen and the Corona Virus led to an inevitable change of plans.
I was spending my holidays in Portugal - my home country - when the Pandemic became very serious and, consequently, I was unable to return to London. Unfortunately, UAL was forced to close and there was no other option but to finish the Masters and have the final assessment online, through the webfolio.
This situation was a big challenge for everyone. In Sculptural works, like my case, it was necessary to adapt since it was not possible to use university facilities, workshops, technicians, among others.
For this final stage, it was very important to me to keep developing my work and give life to my final piece. Presenting a 3D model and fictional images was not enough, so I took my proposal to it´s full concretisation. This page is the conclusion of the whole degree, this is my final project.
Joana Passos studio at Lisbon
Click the arrow on the right side to see more pictures of the sketches
PROCESS
As said briefly at the arc section, the process of my body of work has evolved around exploring the combination and manipulation of different materials; how they work together, what are their strengths and weaknesses, and how they behave after human intervention,
In the past year, I’ve been focusing mainly on cement, rubber and metal. The connection of these three materials is the key of my final work. How interesting is it to explore the reaction and behaviour of these materials when mixed? Even though they are so different, when together, the tension between them is intrinsic and they are stronger when connected, complementing each other.
The choice of these materials emerges from their plastic qualities, complementing hardness with softness, resistance with elasticity, and permanence with changeability. Thus, when combining suitable materials, there is a sense of belonging, an attractive force is created trapping one material to another, freezing a moment in time and becoming one whole body. Nevertheless, there is an industrial and modernist strength influencing the appearance of the final piece, as there is no decorative manipulation and the materials are used in its raw condition.
The cement was worked and explored until I could build some shapes of my own, reaching forms with some singularity and authenticity. To achieve this, there was a lot of experimentation, sketches and research. Cement is a material that needs moulds to be fabricated so, because of the lack of resources, I had to readjust and improvise some of my own.
To build the metal structure, a lot of different options were studied through sketches and 3D modelling before achieving the presented final result.
The piece only has meaning when read as whole, and for that it is absolutely essencial to take into consideration the space, the scale of the piece, how the viewer relates to it and how everything is intrinsically connected.
The structure is not only a plinth, but part of the piece itself, connecting all elements. The different height levels not only allow different views and perspectives of the piece, but also give an infinity of options on where and how to position each small piece, bringing a dynamic and lively nature to it.
exploration of cement shapes
Click the arrow on the right side to see more pictures of the cement shapes
3D metal structure drawings
Click the arrow on the right side to see more 3D drawings of the metal structure
all pieces experiments
Click the arrow on the right side to see more pictures of the pieces
piece 1
piece 3
piece 5
piece 7
piece 9
piece 11
piece 11
piece 2
piece 4
piece 6
piece 8
piece 10
piece 11
piece 11
PROPOSAL
The final piece is a floor based sculpture. Composed by a metal structure that supports and embraces pieces made of cement and rubber.
This structure gives different levels to the pieces, allowing a specific relation between the piece and the viewer. In parallel, ables the spectator to move around it, granting observation variations and, essentially, distinct perspectives.
The work has a particularity: the metal structure has the ability to support several pieces at the same time and also to change or replace them for others, giving the sculpture infinite variations and the capacity to be constantly changing.
For this reason, there is not one final piece but several versions of the same piece.
WHEN IN COPELAND
Even though the sculpture was fabricated in Portugal, it was created with the Copeland Gallery space in mind and it is exactly how it would be displayed. Assuming that in the future we will be able to show at that space, I had two options:
Using the same design, fabricate a whole new metal structure using using Wimbledon facilities and workshops;
Or
Ask for a quotation to transport the structure made here, from Lisbon to London.
If this piece is displayed in an exhibition where I could be present, I would present a different version of the piece each day. By adding or removing, changing or replacing the different pieces, everyday the sculpture would be different from the day before, in a constant process of recreation and innovation.
FABRICATION AND INSTALLATION
For the assessment and online final show, the work was made in parts.
The metal Structure was built in collaboration with “Emaço” - Metallurgical workshop focused on sculpting and manufacturing design pieces by Jack Bean Laurence.
After the structure was delivered, the rubber and cement shapes were made at the artist's home studio with homemade moulds to match the structure dimensions - pieces made to measure.
The final installation was made by the artist, positioning the manufactured pieces in the structure as previously planned.
When having a physical show, the perfect scenario would be to redo the structure and the cement/rubber pieces in London, using Wimbledon Collage of arts facilities and workshops. This would require working at the wood workshop to fabricate the perfect moulds, and at the metal workshop for the big metal structure.
TIME LINE
WEEK 1
WEEK 2
WEEK 3
WEEK 4
APRIL
planing final show
organise months that follow
think methods
sketch final piece
Draw moulds and
metal structures
buy cement and rubber
beginning of term
proposal
fabricate homemade moulds
material delivery
start producing work
MAY
experiment several cement shapes
testing moulds for the cement
and apply rubber in the moulds
document work
finalise sketches
3D drawing of structure
Contact “Emaço” - Metallurgical workshop
fabricate structure
and final cement/rubber pieces
Finishing webfolio
JUNE
Install sculpture
Photograph/document
Upload webfolio
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BUDGET OF THE COSTS
QUANTITY
LABOR
PRICE
RUBBER
4 meters
71,56€
CEMENT
2 bags of 25k
15,80€
METAL
32,50€
120€
162,50€
TOTAL PRICE
249.86
FINAL PIECE
Down is the Final Piece represented by 5 versions.
It shows possible variations of the same Sculpture.
Each gallery has several pictures of the version showing different perspectives and some details.
Click the arrow on the right side of galleries to see more pictures of the piece
version 1
version 2
version 3
version 4
version 5