I suppose a show box is a type of 3d photograph. It could certainly be considered as a sculpture.

I love this idea or curating a random assortment of objects. You could use it to speak about personal experiences or someone else’s interests throughout their lifetime. Making the decision whether to add order to the objects or arrange them ‘randomly’ add another level of interest to the piece. Even deciding to arrange the objects ‘randomly’ is a logical thought pattern. Playing with size, shape, colour, texture, context are all factors that can influence the direction of the piece.

the building of elaborate still lives, inspired by existing stories

Rego considers her work to be ‘personal, but not completely personal. It’s political, too, and funny—taking the piss

If things are attractive, they can still be disturbing

‘Stories correspond to what’s in you,’ she says. And stories—strange, oft-told, half-remembered tales, with secret double meanings and endless private resonances—also shape the space in which she works.

Is there any element of this that I can relate to with my own practice? Could animals be used as a method of expressing the concept rather than THE concept?

This piece particularly stands out to me- the scale of the sheep looming over the woman. It’s what first interested me in rego’s work. Maybe using personification of animals could help me share the nostalgic feeling i have about stories from childhood with a wider audience. How could I replicate this without making a literal sculptural version of this painting? How could I replicate the themes.

Rego uses animals to make a comment on society. Personifying them and giving them clothes let’s us understand what she thinking about certain personalities.

Although what I find intriguing about the work is the cabbages painted in the foreground of the image

cabbages tumble across the table like the one that stood in for the head of her mother in an early painting, and the crinkly leaves of which lend their form to Portuguese crockery. There are bipedal cats and mice from her beastly stories, a forceful looking maid, and a fairy tale Cinderella sweeping behind them.

The way Rego successfully incorporates elements from all areas of her interests into singular works is admirable. I love the way as a viewer you can look for similarities between works as it feels playful and game like- linking back to childhood (where’s wally ect)

“I do love the surreal nonsense element of the rhymes which again is again a very Victorian theme as with the writing of Lewis Carroll , Edward Lear, etc. The rhymes often reflect moments in history but difficult to interpret as buried under totally weird imagery….”

“darker” stories often have this effect on us: they unsettle our minds, but also attract and give us access to a mysterious and even, at times, prohibited quality we don’t always get to experience in real life.”

The way Dyson talks about darker stories probably explains why I’m interested in further exploring the more creepy unsettling side of nursery rhymes as they’re engrained in all of our childhoods. Unpicking this darker side could explain why I’m attracted to particular things so maybe this is more of a personal project…

This article is interesting to me as I am intrigued by play and the history of playgrounds. How this affects a child’s cognitive development and engagement. Has the increase in council funded playgrounds reduced the imagination of play? are games simplified? Are traditional rhymes still present. Did the original playground with harsh dangerous conditions encourage ‘better play’? How can I bring play to the gallery space whilst also igniting a nostalgia within the audience?

This exhibition is interesting to me as it stems from a very architectural inspiration. - the work of Aldo van Eyck. The project explores themes of non-gendered and non-prescriptive play, specifically considering the role of men in childcare in relation to feminism.

Essentially creating a sculpture that encourages play is what I want to create in my own work. What the quote at the top of this text says is true. Play cannot be contained to a single gallery. Play is everywhere. So I suppose to encourage play is what I need to do. Bringing in memory and nostalgia could encourage people to play. It could make people feel like they understand what is going on. However equally people could just see it as a kinetic sculpture. I believe Potrony’s work is successful in some ways. The colours appeal to children. However as the article notes. ‘None of the equipment was sufficiently anything’ . Different objects of different textures and sizes. Play will evolve regardless of the equipment provided. Play has been happening in streets for years. The imagination is stronger than any equipment money can buy.

This makes me think about how I want to represent my work and visually how I want it to appear. I want to use metal to make a direct comparison between the demise of ‘fun’ playgrounds. I want it to be hard rough iron. With type gauged put of the middle. Un-sanded and rough. I want to see if people get involved no matter how it looks. I want the hoops to be large. Big enough dor multiple people to go inside . Playgrounds and play equipment probably changed us into the people we are today. I want people to think back about this