Reacting to the space / The Puppet

We were told to create a piece of work which reacted to the studio. Since it was still early days I felt very lost. I decided to create a puppet to convey this. The puppet is capable of movement and action, though because he is suspended, 'lost in space', he cannot perform. It reflects the feeling of not being grounded. He looks very basic so that he blends into the environment, as it conveys feelings of anxiety, shyness and nervousness.

I made the puppet out of what ever materials I could find around the studio to make it look more natural in the space. Initially it wore a latex glove on its face, again to demonstrate the idea of hiding.

I soon discovered the puppet needed a stand. I created a stand out of would, which was unintentionally reminiscent of a hang-mans noose. This could convey feelings of hopelessness which often occur in unfamiliar situations.

After I created the puppet we were given the instruction to make our pieces disappear. I chose to paint my piece white so it would blend into the white walls. The idea of invisibility matches the original intentions of the piece very well.

I then began to think deeper about disappearing. If the original intention of the piece was to blend in and to be unnoticeable, would the best way to make it disappear be to make it stand out? Would it disappear by changing into a new piece?

I found this idea more inventive, and so I sculpted a green face out of milliput onto the piece. I added the smiling face to show confidence, rather than the original anxiety.

I added fabric to the head as I like the look. I also added paint to the face which is similar to make up. It makes the piece stand out more and lose its original intention.