Video

I've not updated for a while but I've had inspiration for situation for my hands. I've now made seven in various positions each taking 3 to 4 hours to complete and now I'm posting a draft of a short film I made of them.

Now the narrative for this piece continues from the personal history of my family, in particular of Air Gunner Les. The story behind it is that whilst in the process of replying to a letter, it was known for relatives to learn of the soldiers' death. I have chosen the jewelry box chime because of it's narrative "How I wonder where you are." Which I feel is a significant emotion felt by all wartime civilians. I particularly enjoy the fragility of the paper hands almost falling apart, yet another aspect of life the viewer comes to realise.

I have also began experimenting with location and another body part...

This one above is an experiment with effects...newsprint if you couldn't tell, I'm not sure what to make of it but I do like it.

You can't see it but this is a leaflet handed to me on Church Street about 'Change'. I have arranged it so it can be read though with words missing, hidden or divided. I think this could be a strong religious piece especially with the white acrylic spread on the black surface like split ink or blood though suggesting more of the material it's written on, the paper, therefore the 'evidence' of the preacher.

I may not update for a while again, but these are experiments I am using to study the response, hopefully after the assessment I will present a more finesse piece.

Experimentation.

The following are experiments I've been dabbling in...
First here is my metal hand restraint, I'm not sure on what to do with it but it is very effective on limiting my finger movement. Almost as though it is a torture device, being unable to use that hand as normal is very unsettling and frustrating.
Then I made paper hands casted from my own. These are very delicate in their structure and are very powerful as an image if presented by themselves creating, in my opinion, a sense of decay. This week I have been searching for narrative as mentioned in my previous post, and so I've creating experimental situations for them. Any comments would be appreciated.

The letters are personalised with either 'Dear Les' or 'Dear John'. Dear Les refers to a relative on my father's side, a Halifax gunner and was shot down over Germany. John would be on my mother's side who was in the merchant Navy and was a fatality when the ship was sunk en-route to Singapore. The small copper plane we assume to have been made by John and is a treasured piece of family for my dad. In the photo's there is the MV Eurymedon, and the 158 squad in which Les is in...somewhere...unfortunatly it is the only photo of the squad that can be found so far so that blue sticker has to stay...I would have to raid my grandparents for any more...

The foot made of newspaper is incomplete and will be placed in situation such as one foot in the door and such referring the way newspapers are thrust into our lives...such as the one used here 'The new I' from the Independent 20p from the newsagents or free if you walk by Lime Street on Fridays around about 4.30pm.

The clenched fist is made of a religious hand out once again thrust into my hand as I walked down Church street funnily enough... I cut the hand out and organised it to be able to read chronologically though slightly obscure as words are divided or missing making it not so coherent. I really like this piece because I like the suggestions it makes on religion...determination, anger and confusion are the emotions I feel towards it. I also stuffed it with shredded paper influenced by Sachiko Abe employing discipline to further influence the responses of the viewer.

Navy

National Archives website is rubbish, can't understand it at all, I'd be better off just booking an appointment to go there.

Briefly, what I have discovered so far with only J. Rogers to go on...

John Alfred Rogers, Able Seaman, Merchant Navy, MV Eurymedon, Age 44, died 25/o9/1940, Inscribed on Tower Hill Memorial, Log book found.

Sunk by U-29 torpedo on route from Singapore to Liverpool.

Location of Wreckage; Lat 53'34'OX''N, Long 020'23'OX''W system WGS84 Division 1'=60''

(roughly 300 miles west of Ireland).

Now I'm going to go on a portrait hunt but I know that there weren't many pictures of my family in this era and a majority of photos have been destroyed in a fire when my Mum was little. But I'm optimistic, my Mum's dad was a waiter on a long voyage ship travelling to Singapore, New York, Australia and New Zealand, I think a wedding photo survived...I'm pretty damn sure I've seen it and they looks like my Uncle and sister...

Narrative

Just been taking on Miguel's advice on a search for narrative and figured the idea of letter writing is "old fashioned" to some therefore pre-millennium. Then it sort of clicked whist I glanced at the glass cabinet, some of it's contains is a copper plane hand crafted by my Dad's relative in WW2, also some plane models of a magazine that's out issuing every 2 wks a new warplane...so that can be a narrative...wartime letters.

Just out of curiosity I began some research started by my dad, so far I have 52 pages of squad and aircraft details of Leslie Victor Moran, a flight Sergeant Air Gunner of Squadron 158 and was in Halifax HX342 when it was shot down in action. Below is a squad photo unfortunately I don't know which one he is!

I have printed 4 of the pages which I have read and skimmed the history of his squadron but all this info is overload and I can't copy it here because computer says no! It's going in my sketchbook and is being saved as I type! Now...what can I learn of my Mum's Navel family...