"Looking Through"
Material:
Balsa Wood
Photos
Stage Light

Rationale:
My body of work uses light, shadows and wooden sculptures. I gain satisfaction from looking through the negative spacing of the sculpture. By projecting light onto different surfaces, I created another form of art by using the sculpture its self.
I came across shadow sculpturing through the exploration of different types of sculptures which fit with my style of artwork. I was planning to do a sculpture with shaped objects as the main style with a painting of shapes in the background. Through discussion and demonstrations by my teacher, I was encouraged to use light as 'paint' instead, and my canvas became the different surfaces the light fell on.
I planned to do a display for my body of work and would have a wall filled with photographs showing certain angles of my sculpture and its shadow in or on the background.
I wanted to display my Body of Work with the photographs in the background and my sculptures placed in order from tallest/biggest (at the back) to the smallest (in the front). There would be a light at the bottom shining to create shadows on to the photos at the background wall.
The techniques and materials I used for the solid sculpture were Balsa wood, craft knives, sandpaper and wood glue. These materials helped me create an assemblage of negative and positive space. The smaller sculptures were easier to project through and move to the different locations I photographed them in. These photographs created the documentation of my site-specific images. The photographic prints were edited and printed on glossy photographic paper.
The concept behind my Body of Work was to show the activeness of the space in relationship to the positive area, created by the wooden sculpture. As the sculpture rotates around, it shows each angle and its shadows. The activeness of the space is also seen in the overlapping of positive shapes, as you look through the sculpture as it rotates.
Inspiration for my Body of Work is from the artist Antony Gormley. Antony Gormley expresses his view on his surrounding spacing and negative spacing in many of his artworks using materials such as concrete, iron and clay. Antony Gormley also cast himself in his artworks to experience the feeling of form and space for himself being an active part of his work. For example, shown below is one of his works "Lost Horizon 1" is 24 cast iron body forms of himself which fill the space in the room.
My sculpture imitates how I can be surrounded by the emptiness in my room or other closed space.
I decided to create a sculpture and series of photographs for my Body of Work so that I could use my hands and be very creative while also expressing the connection between space and form.
VODEL SHAMOON