Presenting Contexts

Magazine Shelves in Ruskin Library

The way in which I present my work is always uppermost in my thoughts from the very beginning, and I researched a variety of ways in which I could achieve this for my `magazine` pieces.  It was always an ambition to `come off the wall`, and though I had altered magazines, and transformed them into art objects, I did not want to display them in the traditional context of wall-based artwork, and to reflect the fact that the work is a confrontation between image and object.  A lot of textile work is usually wall based, and I looked at traditional and non-traditional magazine display.  The shelving arrangement above is found in Ruskin Hall Library, and I liked it for its simplicity and contemporary design, I also felt that I could recreate it in the 3D workshop substituting the metal shelves with perspex.  Finally I opted for a traditional style magazine rack consisting of four shelves, each of which would hold three magazines.  I was forced to reconsider my thinking, however when I had scanned one of the magazines, and it was printed as an A1 size poster to be displayed behind the magazine rack.  As soon as I saw the image alongside the original work, I could see immediately that in the confrontation between the image and the object, it seemed as if the image was winning, and I found this disconcerting at the time but then interesting because of the dilemma it seemed to pose.