As I was developing a variety of strands for this assignment I pondered on how objects could represent self. A internet search didn’t reveal to much in respect of photographic practice, but I did stumble upon an American artist call Tom Sachs and in particular a piece of work entitled, Rockeths (2017).
Tom lives and works in New York after moving there from LA via London where he studied architecture at the Architectural Association School of Architecture. His contemporary art practice combines mixed media and sculpture, working with a wide variety of materials. His works are mainly concerned with consumerism, labour and an obsession with space.
Rockeths forms part of a series of works based around the German notion of Wunderkammern – cabinets of curiosities, dating back to the Renaissance period. The items contained within the carefully curated and structured works are objects of his fascination and often relate to labour intensive practice, he states, ‘I want labour to be the point, because everything in our lives is miraculously made with no idea of how it’s done.’ (Sachs, 2017). This resonates with me because my assignment equates specifically to the subject of labour inherent in my working identity. A particularly poignant element of his piece is the chair chained to the work surface, for him it represents slavish dedication to hobbyism, whereas, with relation to my own work it could represent a different notion of slavery, that of slavery to a capitalist model.
Sachs, Rockeths, 2017.
Bibliography
Magazine, W. (2020). Tom Sachs shapes a self-portrait through things, found and fabricated. [online] Wallpaper*. Available at: https://www.wallpaper.com/art/tom-sachs-sperone-westwater-objects-of-devotion [Accessed 22 Feb. 2020].
Tomsachs.org. (2020). Tom Sachs: Exhibitions / Objects of Devotion. [online] Available at: https://www.tomsachs.org/exhibition/objects_of_devotion [Accessed 22 Feb. 2020].
Artnet.com. (2020). Tom Sachs | artnet. [online] Available at: http://www.artnet.com/artists/tom-sachs/ [Accessed 22 Feb. 2020].
Huck Magazine. (2020). Tom Sachs – The Curse of Creativity. [online] Available at: https://www.huckmag.com/art-and-culture/art-2/tom-sachs/ [Accessed 22 Feb. 2020].
En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Tom Sachs (artist). [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Sachs_(artist) [Accessed 22 Feb. 2020].
Context and Narrative 