Evaluation

Visual language…
Paul Murray…

In the final week of the project, I found this time crucial in my learning, due to the fact that it contained the period in which I would get to curate; something I am greatly interested in. The task at hand, when said, seemed pretty simple; Pick multiple pieces of work, and place them together on the wall. At first I worked hand-in- hand with Pauline, and we picked pieces together that we thought would correspond and harmonise with each other in the space. We thought that we had a winning formula, but I was still a little unsure.
I found myself thinking that maybe we had too much work, when comparing to other walls, however also thinking that, if available I would like to have more work on the large wall space, to draw more contrast; making each piece emerge prominently in its own right.

Then, exhibition layout changed, and we had to merge two very different arrangements, together on one wall, and work in a larger group, meaning more interpretation and idea-conflicts. Put very simply, my wishes came true, I had gotten what I thought I wanted, and I did not want it any longer.
A simple piece of knowledge I have acquired from curation, is at all times, be prepared for change; if it was not for someone bringing in late work, or the exhibition layout changing variously; ones options have to be open at all times, and you cannot be adverse to change. I found myself getting less and less annoyed by the changes, and in-fact more open to change.

A seemingly simple realisation is that; one should always be open to new ideas and to always experiment with contrast. A lot of the pieces that we worked with, would not be able to stand just together. However, visually as part of a collection, these pieces now compliment each other as well as standing-out in their own right.; Visual language has been a worthy and knowledgeable brief for myself; And the lessons I have learned within this brief will stay with me for a long time.