Current Work, Direction of Practice, Human Figure, Removal of Personality, Performance, Forgetting Cameras, Collaboration

Current work
Currently I am making a series of performances. Each contain ideas that relate to dreams and thoughts that come into ones mind when sleeping or daydreaming. I have also given my self a structure and frame to evolve these works within a high productivity rate. Previously I have collaborated a lot with individuals and peers from the course and also was encouraged to work in a very collaborative way while undertaking the European Exchange Academy. During this time I experimented a lot in a performance, sculptural and installation context.
During the second year I made one piece in particular called "I'm fed up. The concept for which was a basic play on words where by I was hung upside down and fed by "Danny McGuiness", as we talked about the experience and appearance of the activity. Looking back on this work I see that I am critical of its appearance but at the same time that began my interest in quick simple collaborations.
This year through a lot of conversation with Danny, we have come to realize that we can share and collaborate and by doing so have made three films/performances together. By doing so I feel that the work we are making has a more interesting edge and a certain amount of unknown. I have featured in films that the concept for which was originally thought up by me whereas some of the concepts where originally his. With out the active position of both Danny and me they could not work.

Direction of practice
The Direction of my practice has taken a structure based around the creation of space/sets that create a frame for performances or actions to take place. In the same way the "Joseph Beuys", locked him self inside a room with a coyote and then exhibited the objects left behind as sculptures. I have taken a space and evolved it as a place where performances and ideas can be created. The by-product of this leaves objects and materials that are then recycled into the next Idea or work. The nature of this came from thought about how when we dream. It has been estimated that on average we dream two hours every night and this totals at six years of our life. But we can�t remember these six years and only really remember sections of certain dreams. These performances take this theme and so everything contained in the space has a story or connections with what has happened before or what will happen next.

Human Figure
During my Exchange in Germany I created the most daring and audience involving performance piece that I have ever made. "The work involved a fake wall", "built to hide a chamber without any light. There was actually another chamber behind this one, which allowed me to go through and lie down above a body shaped hole in the ceiling. Before the Exhibition started the performance began whereby I would take all my clothes off and lie above the chamber naked and chest down. From my neck to my knees where touchable. The work encouraged the viewer�s curiosity to enter on their hands and knees to the chamber. Unable to see they would explore the chamber. Most reached to find the roof, but on contact with a human body reaction where mixed. Screams and Embarrassment where common but also feeling of intimacy and humor and amazement with how the heat and feeling of a human body was heightened by the pitch black darkness of the chamber.� This piece involved the human body as the key component to the work. My body, a natural thing, was subverted by primal fear of the dark into something that created a sense of fear and embarrassment and also arousal. For me this was break through as I found I was able to use my body as a tool or sculpture to communicate an idea without language and communication.


Removal of personality
This removal of personality is also apparent in recent films and performances as a way of distinguishing between me and the aspects of my personality. I think it also allows the viewer to position them selves in the same position as the personality in the film. This means that they can identify with the action that is taken place in there own dreams.

Performance
More Recently the performances made have been able to move and communicate this in other ways. I have been able to remove my self for the brief time and get into a state of mind

Forgetting cameras
This allows you to forget the cameras and really get into what you are doing. This creates more of an impact as the audience or viewer can sense that what they are seeing is genuine.

Collaboration
Whenever collaborating there is always the question of owner ship that enters people�s thoughts. While talking to the visiting artist, "William Hunt", he said that it was important at this stage to allow collaboration with out the issue of ownership getting in the way. Combining the ideas of two artists is always going to create something different because it is a democratic method rather than decisions made by an individual. Choices that are made are taken up in an externally discussed method rather that an internal thought.

The feeling created by collaboration
The feelings that where created during collaboration where far more unplanned than when working by ones self. For example, when you have an idea and you write that idea by your self you have a control other what will happen. But when you collaborate and create an environment in which to perform you cant script what will happen and you cant control how the other person will react. This to me is where the important aspect of how the issue of the unknown is created. When make "Paint Brush Head Man", one thing we discussed after was that it was more interesting to have Eoghan as an audience there. We discussed how Danny and I, where acting a certain way, which outside of that space would be bizarre. However There where two of us acting a certain way and one acting another. The question arose, who was the one acting the strangest and in my view it was the observer.