This brief asked for innovative results from a material.

This brief focussed on:

- “...materials, processes, exploration, adap-tation.”

- Exploring and adapting unusual or uncon-ventional materials and processes.

- Developing new processes and approaches which optimise or perhaps subvert materi-als and techniques.

- Play, risk-taking, exploration and experi-mentation

The Design Factory

I immediately chose sand to work with as I had just written a dissertation with sand as the subject.

The dissertation analysed the sand meta-phors in the film, Woman of the Dunes (1964).

Firstly, the dissertation explored the as-sociations of sand, as a material and in terms of it’s cultural meaning and in a cross section of contexts.

It then analysed the sand metaphors that symbolised narratives specific to the film:

- Sand is used to signify existential narra-tives that represent not only those of the protagonist’s but to a wider audience (the wider audience is implied by critics as being human kind).

- Sand represents a prison, “physically and spiritually”

- Sand is a metaphor for the female charac-ter in the film, the “Woman”.

- The implications of abstractly representing sand to represent abstract concepts.

The perceptions of sand was then looked at in a cross section of contexts.

Sand possess the transformative ability to be turned into glass.

Sand was collected from different sites.

As part of the brief, I visited the “Unex-pected Pleasures” exhibition at the Design Museum.

There were many pieces that subverted the expectations and appearances of jewellery.

“Dew Drop”- Gijs Bakkar. (1982) Laminated Paper

Adding to the wearer’s appearance by mak-ing them look like the centre of the flower

“One Minute of Pearls” - Manon van Kousw-

ijk. (1999) Pearls, thread.

Using jewellery as a way of counting the stages in a relationship. The concept behind this piece seems to focus on the symbology of what jewellery can represent.

I then began some initial experiments to try and make design objects.

Looking at doilies and coasters and the way sand retains heat, I thought about making a coaster.

Making brick-like forms.

Spreading a mixture of PVA glue and sand, leaving it to dry which formed a sheet of sand. Almost literally, “sand paper”.

Heat moulding the sheets of sand to create forms.

Adding ink to “sand paper” to see the effect of colour.

A selection of sand, PVA glue and colour experiments.

The oeuvre of Yayoi Kusama features the form of circles, dots and repeating units.

Infinity Net Series (1950s-1960s)

I saw a relationship in the single unit of sand to the single unit of a dot so I decided to adapt Yayoi Kusama’s process of repeat-ing dots but with sand.

Single grains of sand (some were then col-oured) were dotted onto paper.

In an early experiment, I had made ele-ments that formed the word, “sand paper” so I wanted to work on elements that would form the word, “sand timer”

I began by mapping out the notions that relate sand with time.

I wanted to create something which com-municated the notions and relationship between time, counting and the units of time with sand.

Initial ideas included:

- An uncovenional or modern time piece.- A new way of looking at time keeping.- A reconfiguration of a sand timer.

Grains of sand accumulating were then photographed to communicate the passing of a unit of time to a unit of sand but the conditions were too hard to control.

This led to the decision of with moving im-age.

A mind map to explore the themes of sand and time once more and the possible mean-ings of the next directions and outcome.

Filming sand confirmed that working with moving image was correct.

Also, a decision to work in black and white was made to reference the dissertation film, Woman of the Dunes; shot entirely in black and white, this served it’s function in pulling out narrative focus.

Another element was made - a circular mask to reference an archetype clock face and a unit of sand.It also fulfilled a function as a view finder.

Mocking up how a frame should appear.

A range of clips were then recorded. Sand was depicted in many states of motion and perspecitves:

- Flowing- Piling up- An extreme close up

The experiements were then compiled together and combined with the mask to review which clips were most successful.

At this stage, it became clear that find-ing audio for the piece would have to be considered.

A decision was made to use clips of sand pouring.

It seemed to reference the way sand would pour into a traditional sand timer.

It wasn’t immediately recognisable as sand and was further abstracted as it was hard to tell the direction of movement.

I then briefly diverged from solely concen-trating on sand and then made recordings with other materials. It also helped to de-velop a way of constructing narratives.

Being aware that audio needed to accom-pany the video, I looked at the animated works of Oskar Fischinger and John Whitney to understand examples of audio being paired with moving image.

The animations were incredibly abstract, expressive and the audio reflected the same qualities.

I became interested in sounds which were by products of actions and were coinciden-tally made.

I recorded myself sleeping to see if I made sounds or there were outside noises that could be used in the final piece.

I had asked two children to play with a met-ronome in the background.

Footage of sand being poured was reshot and then edited to make a longer clip.

The clip had then been played on a laptop screen and then filmed to further abstract the image.

Finally, after treating following excerpts of sound:

- The recording of a session of sleep.- The claps and rhythms made by children- Cups and clapping rhythms- The sound of a fire alarm- Typing on a keyboard

were then applied to the video.