BFI Film Archive

The BFI film archive is a huge collection of some of the most interesting film and television ever made, with some of films dating back more than 100 years. Most of the archive is British, but does feature some 'internationally significant holdings from around the world'.


The website claims that the collection includes 'A wealth of material of every genre from silent newsreels to CinemaScope epics, from home movies to avant-garde experiments, from classic documentaries to vintage television, from advertisements to 3-D films, soap opera to football'. What is really interesting is that they have recently released a large amount of their films onto Youtube, and every single video I have watched has been very charming. Below, for example, is a film from 1970 entitled 'Rush Hour'. It is by the British Transport Commission's film section, which was set up in 1949 for the purposes of training and external promotion.


I find the ongoing theme of the clock ticking makes it very engaging to watch, and shows how little needs to be done to make a film really successul in its purpose.

Sand Sculpture

This is quite a spontaneous piece that I made yesterday. The movie below is a documentation of what I did. Whilst making it I had no image of the final outcome in my head - I was simply experimenting with the different components of concrete - in this case, sand. After realising the final form of the sculpture, I played around with the idea of scale.

The piece reminds me of 'Atomised Passenger Aircraft Engine' by Roger Hiorns which I saw at The Tate Britain a couple of months ago. It was the artwork that I spent the most time looking at, and for most of the time I was sat on the floor beside it because I couldn't get over how much it felt like a scaled down landscape. I think that I instinctively think of things on a large scale, as most of my work involves human interaction and is almost always on a large scale.

/Manipulation of Size and Scale\

/Roger Hiorns' 2009 Turner prize entry\

Cubes

I'm at college so thought I would upload some pics of what I've been doing.

The first picture is a model of an idea thats been floating around in my head for a while now. Its not right yet. I'm thinking less of the cube visible and on a larger scale as well.

The second and third pictures are pictures of a trial concrete mix I made on Tuesday. When I made a new mix i would simply grip the concrete just enough to leave the mark of my hand on it. When I picked it up today for the first time since it was dry, it felt very nice to hold. Although its not the most astheticly pleasing object in the world, it had an amazing effect on me. It felt sculptural. Which surely is what sculpture should be about? Sculpture is all to do with your hands, and this object was like an extension of myself. I find myself wanting to hold it...

Concrete Dye

Just found this website! I'm thinking of some really cool things you can do with the dye! Exiting!


The dye definitely takes away from all of the properties I love about concrete, but adding it gives concrete a new life and a new meaning.


http://www.daviscolors.com/Home#mixready

/A concrete walkway in 

California using the dye\

Festung Guernsey

The Group of people restoring and preserving Guernsey's bunkers.
http://www.festungguernsey.supanet.com/

/MP4 Bunker\

Cement, Sand, Water

I've finally been able to begin working with concrete! Today I bought a bag of cement and sand as well as some basic equipment I will need (a large and small trowl, a bucket for water and a bucket for mixing). The bag that I bought is called Safe Mix/Soft Sand and Cement. It is a £6.26 bag with both cement and sand provided. This could save time if I move onto larger scale sculptures in the future as it will save me measuring roughly the correct amounts of sand and cement. Right now, all I am doing is playing around with different measurements and testing the limits of the material. but once I feel like I know what concrete is capable of then I will start moving onto making what I like to call 'proper' artworks.

Concrete German Bunkers

Before I left guernsey to come back to London I went around a few of the German bunkers from WWII. Although I have grown up around these structures I found the experience quite distressing and upsetting. Because these buildings have been around me my whole life I had never (until now) properly taken the time to think about what happened, I never made the link between me and those who suffered on my home island.


There really is something haunting about these great, grey blocks dotted around the island - they are a true reminder of something awful. However, do not feel as if they should not be here. They are one of the greatest living reminders of how to live our lives, and how to run a government. They represent the strength of the good, common people of the Channel Islands. They represent the strength of those Jews, Romanies, homosexuals, disabled, Slavs, Poles, Soviet PoW's and Jehovah's Witnesses who suffered and died because of this occupation. It was these people who built the bunkers as slave laborers, and you can almost feel the soul of those people as you interact with these incredible structures.

/Bunker at Cobo Bay\

/The interior of another bunker on Cobo\

/A preserved bunker at Vason Bay\

/Napolionic fortress meets German bunker\

/A shape that I found intriguing\

/Another fascinating form\

Building Bridges

I recently went from London to Leeds by coach, and between Sheffield and Leeds I started to notice the extensive amount of bridges there were. So i started to take pictures of every one we passed. I missed out a few on the way because t my annoyance the camera I had with me was shite. However, I feel that the grainy effect you get from the motion of the bus coupled with the slow, unadjustable shutter speed gives the series of pictures a reminiscent feeling of long distance travel. You are reminded of all the little things your eyes try so hard to focus on as you speed past the landscape that you wish you had more time to study.


Here are a few pics from the series

Translucent Concrete

/See-through Concrete\

Found this Blog: http://greenlineblog.com/2008/08/litracon-light-transmitting-concrete/ It is about a material that I have become increasingly interested in - translucent concrete.


The material - from the company LiTraCon (Light Transmitting Concrete) - works by adding 4% of optical glass fibres to a fine concrete mix, which in turn makes it possible for light and shadow to be seen through the concrete. Light can still be seen through it at 20 metres thick. Their website is here. The only problem for me is that the concrete is very expensive! Here is the price list:

Knowing that I can not afford to buy this material, I really want to try and make my own version of it. I would have to buy some fiber optic cables and some concrete and then find the best way to get light to pass through. I have tried looking on the internet for places that sell the type of glass fibre optic cable that I need, but at the moment I can't find anywhere, which is a bit annoying. I am about to send an email to this company asking them if they could supply me with it.


I have already had countless ideas of what i could do with a material like this, so I am really exited about getting my hands dirty!

Christoph Niemann

I just stumbled across this on the internet... The artists name is Christoph Niemann. I was really interested in the quirky approach he takes to his work. He has very simple ideas that work extremely well. I am mainly interested in his series of leaf pieces called 'Bio-Diversity', but his graphic design stuff is worth a look at too.

/Bio-Diversity feature in the NY Times\

/His Website\