Meraki
For my final year project I, as a member of a group of five, produced Meraki. We created an immersive multimedia installation which gives an insight into the mind of an artist during their creative process using audio, video, animation and tangible media. As a group of creatives, we were curious about the individuality of creativity.
What do we classify as creative thinking or creative action? What did it feel or look like? Is going through a creative process a universal experience or something unique to each person? Could we foster an environment where we could show an individual artists process which would not only engage an audience but also give them an opportunity to recognize moments of creativity in their daily life?
Meraki Team. February, 2019
From left to right; Georgia Gilroy, Orfhlaith Gannon, Lauren O'Mahony, Aisling Larkin, Lizzie Breen, Finn Nichol.
We decided to work with a student artist, Finn Nichol, as he was someone who was also at the beginning of defining his artistic praxis. This was important to us as it allowed us to inform and mold the project with our research. While Finn's art was the inspiration, and his voice was the method of delivery, the project became equal parts of our creative experience and his.
I had several roles within the group. I took the lead on research into academic articles and studies on creativity and how it applied to our work. I also lead the set design of the exhibition, drawing the animation, preformed the interview and along with all members of the group filmed while in the Burren.
Set Design
First concept drawing of exhibition layout. January, 2019.
Set Design sketch. January, 2019.
We thought about holding Meraki is many different settings; in a self-contained blacked out plywood box artwork, or in a small gallery space, but decided to use a theatre space that I had used while directing plays in the past. I was very familiar with the space, the fact that it could be completely closed off using a fire curtain and the fabric wings around the stage. The back section designed for ease of movement for actors and technicians was the perfect space to display Finn's artwork in the form of an 'art tunnel'.
Guests entered through the left-hand stage door and walked toward the stairs where they would take a right into the mini-gallery space filled with Finn's collection. We hung Finn's drawings on twine, shown below, and lit the artwork from above. When guests entered this space the audio leaked from the main exhibition video creating an immersive experience. When reaching the end of the 'tunnel' the guests turned right and into the video space. We laid mulch on the floor which gave a strong bog-like smell and texture to the floor which increased the immersive quality. In the centre of the room sat a chair before of a desk set up to feel as is you were in Finn's studio, including pastels, paints and paper. The audio from the headphones on the desk was linked to the animation while the two speakers on either side of the back wall played audio synced with the video. We designed this section to be experienced in whatever way the viewer felt comfortable, we wanted to encourage a sense of curiosity and playfulness.
One of Finn's drawings in the art tunnel. May, 2019.
View of the screens and desk. May, 2019
View of a person experiencing the exhibition. May, 2019.
Walk through of exhibition. May, 2019.
Animation
Video of the three screens. May, 2019.
Orfhlaith Gannon and I lead the animation section of this project. Orfhlaith took charge of motion editing and I drew all the designs. We decided to draw inspiration from a twelve image oil pastel project made by Finn Nichol. Our concept was to take this storyline and imagery and tie it to Flow Theory, something that greatly influenced our project. We wanted the visuals to follow a curve pattern with moments of intense colour followed by moments of darkness to visually reference the experience of working through creative peaks and valleys. We largely taught ourselves how to animate and is a process I am still actively practicing.
Above is an example of story boards that I drew at an early stage of the project. Making sure we stayed true to the story Finn had laid out for us while also crafting it to fit moments of high intensity colours contrasting with dark moments was a challenge and required careful planning. We also wanted to make sure images in the animation complimented the video and audio which was mostly completed at that point. An example of this is when the bonfire in the video is mimicked by the flame in the lantern. We also had to carefully time the animation as it moved between screens taking into account the physical distance between each projected screen.