The animation is approximately 41 minutes 21 seconds and is not intended to be viewed through the entire footage, but maybe revisited during the night to see the progression of the pieces. the piece has been doubled in speed to allow a shorter animation, it also shows a more interesting setting rather than the original footage, as the actions where a lot slower and barley noticeable in some places. While filming the process, my pet cats decided they wanted to be included and played there part in creating the work by showing that I am completely involved with the art and ignoring them.

25 Drawings

It has been decided that 25 square drawings all individual; all unique will be produced and given away for free in the exhibition Transition, the number 25 in Occultism is symbolically held as being the number of rebirth, during the research into the numbers it was considered to either create 25 or 86 drawings, 86 being associated as being symbolic for the notion of eternal life, but through consideration and thought, 25 were decided in the effect that the person who has taken the piece has given it a new life, therefore it has become reborn into a destiny that I no longer have any control about.

Spiritual immortality is the unending existence of a person from a nonphysical source such as a soul. It is a belief that is expressed in nearly every religious tradition. In both Western and Eastern religions, the spirit is an energy or force that transcends the mortal shell, and returns to either the heavens or the cycle of life, directly or indirectly depending on the tradition.

Photographs by Simon Cruickshank
Private View of Transition Exhibition

Life After Life

Within the parapsychologist Raymond Moody's life after life publication, he came across a common ground of happenings that the case studies informed him off. An example of an overall view of the narrative collected by Moody's case studies describes how the person hears the doctor pronounce them dead, while they start to hear a buzzing noise or a load ringing while he feels himself moving through a dark tunnel. The person has a body but one of a different physical appearance, they then encounter other people, deceased friends or relatives, then they see a person made of light, a question is then asked by the being of light that makes the person evaluate their life, and a scene of images are also seen, to help them relive the memories they have acquired during there conscious life. Apparently a barrier or border dividing the earth life and the afterlife then appears. Overwhelming feelings of joy and love flood through them and they are resistant to return. Life after life highlights near death experiences that are similar in narrative, although all slightly alter in the happenings but similarities run through each, the book has brought about new research understanding of the secret of what may lay within the future of the afterlife and by no means does Moody want to completely say that life after death is a certainty, but like myself is looking for all possibilities that it may actually exist somewhere out there.

The images have seen a development from being produced on canvas to bare oak wood and onto MDF tile pieces. the drawings were produced while listening to music and letting the sound take over the hand, and become a very conscious act of producing.The work of Felix Gonzalez-Torres was researched through his replenishing of art works that the audience were encouraged to take for free. Felix Gonzalez-Torres concerned himself with the avenue of death through a aids related illness that took the life of his lover as will as himself in 1998.

Consciousness Continued were developed over a period of four months and a variety of presentation outcomes were explored with the initial idea being inspired by the Rules of the Game exhibition proposal. The idea were to secure the pieces to a wall with mirror plates and allow the audience to unscrew the pieces and take them home with them. With my own practice being concerned about the actual process of making the pieces, a short film documentation of my own hand drawing the images were documented and made into a short film, the idea was then to project this image onto the blocks. This idea was experimented with in the black out room within the university.

April 2007

With consideration to gift giving the thought is to highlight the aspect of the giver (me). It has been decided that the video accompanying the installation art work will involve the aspect of producing the pieces, although not every detail of this process. The painting of the blocks and the tedious aspect of having to get the edges perfectly defined as been long and drawn out. Various methods of paint application were applied and it was found that the most appropriate was white emulsion due to its absorbency with the gel pen used for creating the images. The drawing is to be the only part that becomes shown within the film footage as it is this what is mostly created sub-consciously.

The filming of the work is to be done at home and the camera position with full focus and myself and the blocks. the blocks are to start piled on top of each other at the side, slowly being laid out in front of me. The presenting and audience interaction of the piece is being reassessed as the idea of the viewers getting that involved may be limited, so to make it more accessible a grid frame is being made to hold the pieces; allowing them to slide out of the top and creating a grid similar to tic tac toe.

March 2007

with the intention to have physical audience interaction it is being considered in which way would this work best, Glenys Hodgeman and Felix Gonzalex-Torres make it as easy as picking the gift up and walking away, with wonder of how involved people will get, an art experiment as been created within an installation room within the University.



The blocks were piled up in a row on the floor and the projected image were positioned close to create a image that focused on the first block, creating an effect of blurring the image when the final final block is removed. after reflection on the set up of the exhibition and the fact of health and safety within a gallery environment it has been decided that this is not suitable and is not portraying the avenue of the process of the art as much as anticipated.



A variety of different methods of using the projected image were explored before I reassessed the piece and decided the hand image was not one that highlighted the process of the pieces. The publication by Roland Barthes, Image Music Text were also being read during this period and The Death of the Author essay within this book gave a whole new way about thinking of my work within a gallery setting. The notion that the work is no longer yours and becomes the viewers with their own interpretation inspired the practice and this led to the creation of an animation of myself producing the art work.



Documentation of Video Projection.

February 2007

The exploration of the drawings are being developed into a more detailed form, consisting of more integrate detail and depth compared to the first initial ones produced. More video footage is being captured to see the progression of the pieces. An individual Submission for Rules of the Game Exhibition at the Surface Gallery has been proposed, along with a submission to co-curate a one week exhibition. The notion of the proposal has slightly altered the intention of the work, as i was intending for the audience to interact with the work, by giving them a piece of the work for free, the idea of the exhibition has made me think about the ideal presentation for the work and how the audience may interact with the work.

Thinking at the moment about the work being applied to the wall with mirror plates, and having a set of rules that informs the audience about the rules of the game, this is intended to be instruct the participate to unscrew the pieces, fill in the holes and paint over the poly filler; leaving no trace of the existence of the piece.

Several hand documentation experimental video footage were captured the kills reason unknown were applied to the second to show the music being listened to while in creation

Hand drawing video documentation

January 2007

Small drawings are being produced in response to the context of consciousness, a questioning of putting it within a object. What would it be, what would it look like, is there any real possibility that it could be a form. Near death experiences create a feeling of astral travel but what do they do and what form to they have. The accounts from Raymond Moody's case studies have an intriguing avenue for me to take inspiration, expressing the self as a being of energy that they have no humanistic appearance. Also of what consciousness is within my self, listening to music, I am allowing this to create the movement within myself, to create the pace and move the soul.

A recording of the hand drawing as documentation of the process of the art were produced, it was within this that i thought it may work within the actual final piece, as it is all timed based from the avenue of the artist making the piece, to the audience taking it home, and even then what happens to the work, it now has a life. the film recording was not as successful in the quality of the image, the lighting was wrong and created a yellow image, not resulting in the crisp white i usually work with. The drawings have been produced on a variety of different canvas's to see what substance works the best for the holder of the image.