Ernesto Neto; The Edges of the World. Hayward Gallery

Visited 4/09/2010.

http://festivalbrazil.southbankcentre.co.uk/ernesto-neto/about

Stretchy, tactile fun....  I loved the colours, interactivity and translucence of Horizon of events III. Lots of tubes to push your arms down, some narrower for greater resistance, some twisted to prevent you from pushing through to the other side! Spent a long time just watching and listening to other people. One woman, who moved with the elegance and poise of a dancer was photographing herself as she moved through the spaces. Children tangled themselves hysterically in a sea of vertical stretchy tubes, others lay around in womb-like, ventricular tents. The environment seemed to remove a lot of adult inhibition and strangers laughed spontaneously together at the strange playfulness of it all. I went on the second to last day so it was fairly busy, lots of exclamations, chatter and movement everywhere.
The form and construction of the various the layers and chambers were cleverly engineered to create some very beautiful and atmospheric structures; the most intriguing for me were at intersections, and in places where a number of layers and elements were being brought together.
In addition to the less complex stitching used to connect most components, there were joins made with a more visible and complex decorative lacing. This created subtle shifts in scale and detail, and influenced the surface qualities/tension of the mesh. I found this piece fascinating technically, but I'm not completely sure what I think about the installation as a whole.
Going to write this up with reference to interactivity and haptic experience.
Just wanted to pop this on now and get the ball rolling. These photos could be useful as I don't think mine are going to come out very well. They give a really good account of how people were using the installation and of the general mood... and yes, I regressed too!

http://festivalbrazil.southbankcentre.co.uk/ernesto-neto/mms-gallery?page=1

My photos...
People:

Holes & Tubes!

Julie Major; mixed media sculptures.

'Blanch' 2009; plaster polymer, waxed felt.

 60cm x 60cm x 35cm.

Thanks Esmarelda for putting me onto this work; these pieces are fascinating. The way she has combinated metal, ceramic and fabric together is really successful, also the way she balances intense colour with neutral shades and with white. Very organic shapes and structures that suggest all sorts of things! Piercings with emergent elements that could be biological or part of an exotic plant or animal. The contrast between soft, yeilding surfaces and hard, sharp, aggressive forms creates the sort of tention I would like to achieve in my mixed-media pieces. 
It would be interesting to see them made on a larger scale.

http://www.julie-major.com/docs/artworks.html

(Top) 'Cherry Picking' 2009; plaster polymer, waxed felt, glass bead

126cm x 100cm x 24cm.

(Bottom) 'Sweet Spot' 2009; plaster polymer, fabric

42cm x 42cm x 22cm.

'Collar I' 2009 plaster polymer, fabric, gesso 

30cm x 30cm x 12cm. 

Junya Wantanabe: Radical Fashion Exhibition at the V&A (2001)

I thought it would be a good idea to post some of the influences that have impacted on me, my work and visual preoccupations so far.

The Radical Fashion Exhibition at The Victoria and Albert Museum back in 2001 was the start of this particular journey. As always with the V&A Fashion work; the exhibition was brilliantly curated and displayed. Packed with stunning ideas and extraordinary fabric manipulation.
An evening dress made from sweatshirt fabric constructed using a single continuous seam by Vivienne Westwood. Tightly fitting architectural precision in silk jersey and black silk faille by Azzedine Alaia, and a cheeky subversion of materials from Jean Paul Gaultier in both his evening dress fashioned out of Cable knitted grey wool and a beautifully tailored denim coat encrusted with thousands of jet beads. These were all highlights for me.

However, I was really captivated by the Junya Wantanabe installation. Glowing fabric forms engineered out of layers of semi-transparent organza stitched together at strategic points to create these sculptural dresses that enveloped the body of the wearer. Like giant Christmas decorations, each had apparently emerged from a flat box. I can imagine the forms and structures gradually being revealed as gravity did its work, and spent a long time in the exhibition trying to figure out the mechanics of how these garments had been made.
Reminiscent of floating jelly fish, the absence of colour gave these pieces a ghostly, ethereal quality.

The idea of transition/transformation from 2D to 3D explored by Wantanabe in these garments has continued to inform my work. I have used stitching, construction and piercing techniques, exploring possibilities of shape, structure and transparency to create both free standing and hanging forms, some of which are featured above.

I am still in love with the simplicity/purity of the white on white aesthetic; it allows the complexities and textures of the fabric structures to be seen clearly. I also enjoy the way that directional light can be used to explore the visual possibilities of my fabric sculptures.

In short, the impact of seeing these pieces from Junya Wantanabe's Autumn/Winter 2000/2001 collection for Comme des Garcons was very significant and still continues to resonate in my work.
I know that I will want to revisit their structural and material qualities again and again in the future!