The Undeniable Miscommunication of Beauty

A few weeks ago I began an art installation. But not any old art installation. This installation - as I insist it be referred to as an installation - lives.

The Undeniable Miscommunication of Beauty lives, breathes, and it ruins my mother's lettuces.

Today I found another addition so I thought it about time to let you, internet, know all about it.

Here are a few photos of the installations and the meanings behind them...

As this creature shrewdly observes the soil before it, it teaches us that our own actions need not be conscious. We must move and think freely to truly honour ourselves. From whence comes vanity, comes evil.

This stark image clearly tells us about the dangers of high life. As we strive for constant improvement, we find ourselves out of our depth; lost in the clouds and devoid of our roots. Here I placed a flower at the base of the picture to signify the beauty of the past, and the longing for nostalgia.

This angle of the installation was one that caused the most controversy. Some loved the disorientating way that the mollusk loomed over them, but others questioned my motives. I must use this outlet to describe my true intentions: I was desperate to discuss poverty in these pieces, here I spent many weeks honing the construction to address this difficult issue. The looming figure was designed to reflect the insecurities of third world countries in the recent light of first world issues, the backlighting especially - I felt - drove home these points and really helped me to deal with them in my own mind.

A similar angle to a previous piece, but this one significantly different in many ways. Grasp of my subject here was a more optimistic one; by elevating the optimism and opening the left hand backdrop - clearly pointing to left wing liberalism - I hoped to create a hope and desire within visitors.

One of my favourites here; The Lost Limbs of Beauty Once Held really manages to communicate the nostalgia for the present that each of us holds. In our processed and sullied lives, we oft forget the beauty of a day's work and ignore the pleasures of the soul. I set this piece directly into the ground to communicate its grounding with reality and every day life.

Another piece using a mollusc subject here. I felt a true affinity with their ability to act on instinct, I longed to move as purely as them, but I cannot. I spent many weeks reeling in their glory, attempting to escape my complicated mind and into the thoughts of such a beautiful creature. Alas, a bag of bones I remain...

This photo was a time in which the installation properly came to life for me. Within moments of seeing this, I was throw back to childhood; told off for playing on the sofa with my shoes on. The bold movements of my subject spoke directly to my soul and left my speechless. It actually took a few days to recover from this image. I have emerged a stronger man, though.

 

This close up is a snippet of a larger piece I entitled What Is Beauty Within Utiliarianism?, similar to Lost Limbs in many ways, but drastically different in meaning and impact. I really felt that here the strongest areas of impact were colour and texture; by casting away my inhibitions I was able to mould this wonderfully original, and unquestionably moving, product from what was mere dust.

Here we have the conclusion of the installation. Not only in a different time, but in a different space. My work cannot be confined to spaces or timezones. Here one notices a plethora of different images swirling around the central point of another mollusc. Hanging onto a line.

A lifeline. A nylon line. The two become synonymous. Our relationship with materialism has gone too far, we rely on trinkets and objects that hold no worth. We strain along our lines, trying to find new ground to discover, new things to buy and new people to dispose of. We grow distant and forget the true meaning of life; we leave friends behind and search for that new car, a bigger house. Let go of the line, fall into the abyss. The darkness will save you from yourself.