NOX and the Outdoor Gallery 2

I have always looked forward to taking part in this subject at university as it gave me a different type of exhibiting experience to the usual white cube one. I didn't realize that it would remind me of my fond memories volunteering in the Adelaide Fringe Festival. I also came to learn that an outdoor festival gallery experience is great exposure for an artist. Due to the large scale of my work many people photographed themselves in front of it. People enjoyed the scent element also but most appreciated having photo's in front of it and the time it took to make the work. I didn't really note how long the work took me as crocheting is more relaxing then laboring for me and I spent many comfortable hours crocheting this work in front of a television. Not only was the work site specific and site responsive the work has a time based element as I plan on adding to it, each time I exhibit it. There was an element of care involved which speaks to the protective nature of the work.

I took note of how the exhibition went and I wrote how I can improve upon the work and it's installation in the future.

During NOX I had some technical difficulties. The lights stopped working except for 4 L.E.D's so I made some last minute purchases. I bought some non flickering cool lights from bunnings. I cut out the warm lights as it lowered the quality of the work. I also had to buy many spray bottles as the initial spray bottle I had, stopped working last minute. The second night I had the spray element going for a short while and some could smell the work. By the third night the scent element was going great. I had to have a lot of spray bottles on hand as the constant spraying broke the spray triggers. Initially the scent element looked really good when the wind direction was going towards the crowd and you could see the mist in the light. Unfortunately the wind did change direction though but I constantly sprayed the hand and the hand preserved the scent element better than the web did. I had a subtle torch on the web Friday and Saturday but it was too camoflauged and people kept tripping over it. The last night I used a yellow spotlight which did help keep people from tripping and knocking the light over but the lighting wasn't as subtle as I would of liked it to be. Everybody was going directly in front of the work, taking photo's and touching (sometimes pulling) the hand. This is what I didn't realise would happen. The performative element worked really well with me wearing a high vis vest and a mask and the fact that I was spraying the web periodically instead of constantly. All up I was glad that my work attracted crowds. Families and their kids were being photographed with it and even peoples dogs were photographed with it. 

What I would do differently next time:

I plan on fixing my original lights and maybe increasing the amount of L.E.D's. I would of preferred the work's lighting to be more subtle. I would like to put a subtle white sponge in the palm of the hand to better soak up the scent. A mister would of kept the scent going more beautifully but I would like to perform the work with a spray for at least two more times before I evolve the works scent producing element. Each time I exhibit this work it will increase in size. I think the growing of the web would make it more disruptive but also would make it more fascinating for a crowd to engage with the work. 

To conclude, I think the outdoor exhibition gives an artist more recoginition as it attracts crowds of all kinds, not just the typical art lovers crowds. It attracts families as well and your work may stick in the minds of children who haven't seen much art before. I know there were some kids who thought that spiderman might of created the web which I found quite cute. As a result of this exhibition I have put in a proposal for another outdoor exhibition in the city that will go for 6 months. I am hoping I get in as this will be even more exposure for this work and this work is by far one of my favourite works to create due to the dedication and larger than life quality that it has.