Manipulation / Grand Puppet

 For my mini degree show piece, I was given the theme of Manipulation and distortion. I liked this theme as in my own work I often manipulate my original outcome and end up creating a completely different piece to the one I intended. Rather than creating a plan, I decided to work in the way that I enjoy the most, which is by creating one thing and adding changes until I am happy. I created a clay bust of a generic smiling face. I used clay as while it is wet it is easy to manipulate, and when it dries it will crack, which is pure natural distortion. After sculpting the head and staring at it for a while I decided to add a similar headdress tot he one on my smaller puppet. I added silver eyes and I could see the piece turning into an almost religious looking figure. With the elongated headdress and the mirror eyes it looked like a figure that should be praised or intimidating. I originally added a Club Bar wrapper to the top as a joke, but I decided to keep it, as it adds a comedic value to my piece which I like in my work and it also adds to the idea of the figure being a provider, even a provider of junk. It also contextualises the piece, as before the addition it looked as though it could be an ancient artefact, but the

I began to think about how the piece should be displayed. I initially though of a plinth, but would this make the piece look godly, or just a piece of clay? I decided that the piece should be given a body, and be sat on a tower in the corner of a room (in the corner to also give the impression of it being a dunce). I kept with the puppet theme, and added very crude arms a legs so that they would dangle from the table. I wrapped the piece in a white sheet to go with the god theme. After seeing the radiator by the piece I nailed pictures of dancers to the walls. If they were anywhere else in the room they would be static, but because they are by the piece and the radiator they move in the heat and are given life. 

I created a dancer mask for myself, to play with the idea that I was given life by the god piece.