Look at Me! Interactive Arts Degree Show 2001

Manchester Metropolitan University, June 2001

For my Degree Show exhibition I decided to look at the exhibition environment itself and how people look at work. My work for this exhibition had many strands. One element was a series of labels created to be shown alongside my fellow artists' work. I spoke to the other artists about how they might like people to approach their work, and created images of them in the desired position.

I also created an instructional video showing the various stances that can be adopted in the different art environments; I looked at in-flight safety videos as a source of inspiration for the aesthetic style of this video. I particularly wanted to explore how people behave in the 'private view' situation, and created an instruction card for visitors to the exhibition. I was fortunate enough to have quite a large space in which to show my work, so took the opportunity to create some wall drawings to bring the installation together.

Another strand to my exhibition was a project that ran parallel to this one. I had realised that my work was always giving instruction, so decided to see if I could follow instructions for a while. I had found an image in a book, giving the measurements of the average person. I measured myself and realised that I was above average. It seems that it is desirable to be either average or below average, so I endeavoured to achieve this status through being instructed in various physical activities. Throughout this period, I took weekly measurements and compiled them into a book. This was shown along with a 'before' and 'after' image.

Click on the image below to view larger version.

Detail of 'Above Average'

Installation view of 'Direction of Art'