Gift Assignment Research

After the first class and with the information I have, I started researching on works that could inspire me.

MATTHEW SIMMONDS

fc539be484b1bbd9ce3dcb1a8fc25c0a

When we hear of marble sculptures, we tend to think of the human forms belonging to timeless examples from Greece, Italy and elsewhere. A form is not necessarily a solid, as sculptor Matthew Simmonds points out through his work, which consists of sculptures not of full and defined human bodies, but of empty architectural interiors.

– Yatzner

Simmonds has worked on restoration of monuments such as Westminister Abbey or Salisbury cathedrals which has inspired him for his works of sacred and ancient buildings.

Every work of architecture is a victory over Nature and a celebration of Man’s skill and ingenuity. In the sculpture of Matthew Simmonds however, this principle is reversed: Nature overpowers architecture, as if it encases or envelops it: the pristine and elaborate interiors seen in Simmonds’ work are like fossils of buildings, trapped inside the rock into which they have been carved, thus diminishing their otherwise grand and humbling character.

2d42ca79dd23185ecb4794b791c464d9

I relate to his sculptures as they were not only interesting but they were out-of-the-box ideas which is similar to Justinne’s personality. Furthermore, Simmonds’ inspiration of ancient architecture and his ability to combine both nature and man-made to create a sort of freeform sculpture alludes to Justinne’s desire to travel, her carefree attitude and love for nature.

BEN YOUNG

ben-young-translucent-ocean-sculpture-17

Lighting plays a large part in the presentation of my pieces. When lit from beneath, the light reflects and gives off the illusion of the piece being brought to life. I hope viewers might imagine the work as something ‘living’ that creates the illusion of space, movement, depth and sense of spatial being. I like to play with the irony between the glass being a solid material and how I can form such natural and organic shapes.

ben-young-translucent-ocean-sculpture-19

I am fascinated with Young’s ability to combine his materials into organic shapes similar to that of Simmonds and the juxtaposition of the materials used to create the illusion of depth and solidity to his works. Furthermore, there is a sort of innocent narrative and serenity to the sculpture which could possibly be the illumination of his work using glass.

ben-young-translucent-ocean-sculpture-8

Alexandre Chapelin

2n-57af7447cd505__880

These are Lagoon Tables created by Chapelin which was inspired by his immediate surroundings on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin where his studio is based. The resin adheres to a travertine slab (a form of limestone) to mimic water alluding to the sea surrounding the island.

I refuse on making a manufactured product simply because each model is unique and I cannot produce two identical tables, so neither will 2 people own the same table of my creation.

I’ve always respected the difference between people, their personalities and characters and I believe this should reflect in the interior design of their homes.

– Alexandre Chapelin

This resounded with me as my client Justinne is unique on her own and the allusion of water reminded me of her as she loves the sea. Also, the nature-inspired table has a calmness to it and it’s own character which suits Justinne.

My artist inspirations are rather organic and nature based as not only does Justinne enjoy the nature but I do too and all these artist’s ability to fuse their works with organic and man-made materials creates an interesting take on their works. Moreover, they all have a narrative to tell which I intend to portray in my design too. 

Gift Assignment

This project is sort of an ice breaker created by Peter as my current class is made up of 70% from my Sem 1 class and 30% from other classes.  

We were randomly given partners (Peter tried his best to partner us from different classes) and I was partnered with Justinne! I realised Justinne came from my 4D class too and we are both majoring in Product Design as I later discovered. 

For the first task, we were supposed to gather as much information as we could from our partners. I think this part came relatively easy to me because I’m quite inquisitive (or maybe because I like talking) so in the end I helped generate some questions for Kai and Justinne to use. 

This helped with easing the nervousness and awkwardness we all felt and we all eventually opened up about ourselves. So this is what I managed to find out about Justinne (please do not mind the messiness).

img_2888 img_2889

To summarize, Justinne is an ENFP/ENFJ and likes doing things that are unique. She’s also an adventurer and grew up travelling but she prefers to travel to Europe or Canada. She likes personal/vintage works and things that are organic/natural as she told me that it is soothing to her. Also, she likes cooler colours even though she wears monotone colours and she likes the sea but prefers land as she is unable to swim. There is more information about her but I think these are the main ones that describe her.