Once Upon a Time is a large scale, cold air or helium filled, fairy-tale inspired sculpture that will be suspended above the viewer, deliberately sited to enable the observer to engage with the work as an active and intimate participator.
The aim is to capture and reveal in large scale the ‘essence of the childhood narrative’. This will be achieved through the utilisation of commonly drawn fairy tale motifs typically revealed within a woodland setting, such as the house, the tree and the talking animal.
This work will originate from the creation of a three dimensional hand-modelled prototype, achieved by exploiting the immediately responsive materiality of clay, and applying it to digital technology via a three dimensional scanning process and CAD cam software. From this digitally captured image the data will be re-scaled, deconstructed and programmed to design and create panel layouts. These fabric panels will then be employed to construct an up-scaled, light-weight; air filled three dimensional version of the original proto-type.
As with all fairy tale narratives, this work will also suggest the existence of perhaps a darker side, achieved through the employment of a ‘signal’ colouration or placement within a challenging setting, thus revealing a cautionary note to the viewer.
There is a deliberate intention with this new work to prompt forgotten memories of childhood, and question the way we perceive ourselves in the adult world, providing a new pathway for understanding how our childhood has impacted on and influences the way we behave as adults.
The work will be on a scale that competes with the world.
