Summer Gallery Project (Landscape)

I started this project with a very set intent; I want to make the visitors of the gallery feel immersed in a zone, and to appreciate the details of said area. For the research for this idea, I looked up nature exhibitions, and found a lot of results that incorporate live plants into the space they show the art in, which really inspired me.



 I think it's wise to extent an exhibition into all of the space available, when this is the goal, and make sure that where ever someone is within that space, they feel as though they're experiencing art. It was a long walk that first sparked this idea in my mind, the sun was setting, casting the sky in gorgeous oranges, but if I turned the other way, I'd see the moon, in gradients of purple and blue, with the bright orange laying on it's face. It was a moment that I had trouble taking pictures of, because I just wanted to be in the moment. I was going through my usual home-sickness at the time, and feeling out of place, but this scene was able to make me forget about that. I ended up taking 4 photos; one north, one east, south, and west.

 Thinking back on it, I remember the feeling of the grass between my fingers, and the slow chilly breeze that really kept me in. Recreating this seems like a strange thing to do, but my idea for it was to lay down a tarp, and then lay fresh grass over the top, which was something I'd never really seen done before, and upon researching it, I couldn't really turn any examples up, most cases they would set up a pond, with lilies and such, which fits some of the scenes, but I'm looking more for the texture of the grass. I think a large part of that is the maintenance that it would require. That said, I wouldn't want the sharp plastic substitute, so I suppose it would be an expensive exhibition. I also like the idea of creating very small obstructions between the tarp and the grass, to give it  more unnatural unevenness. I planned for the pictures shown above to be projected onto the four walls around the gallery. Perhaps with the primary colours of the picture more emphasised, or even slightly obscured by vines hanging down, in a similar fashion to the vines I saw in a shop in Birmingham, COW.

I love the simplicity to this form of presentation, and used very sparsely, I think could help to further the feeling of immersion further. The sparse use is very important in this element, as it helps to stop this element from distracting too much from the intention of the exhibition. Another key element would be to have a slighted cool breeze blowing through the room, which I feel could play into the vines, provided the ceiling to the exhibition had rigs similar to the ones shown the photo of COWs ceiling. 

In addition, I feel that mentioning the intention of the exhibition would null the idea. I think a large part of it is the question of if it's able to distract people, not if people know that they're supposed to be distracted by it. The goal is more to see if people, stop and appreciate the atmosphere, or if they just walk in, take photos, and leave. On top of that, I think that these types of immersive places promote the prospect of relaxing, and encourage good mental health. Which as the note the had me consider music, or sound to be included, and things such as the sound of breezing in the trees immediately emerged. But I feel as though it's a bit typical, and that I'd rather leave the room silent for the sake of the peace behind it, and so it doesn't venture into anything too tacky.