With Show One just two weeks away, we’ve been talking to the exhibiting students to find out about their rituals and routines in the studio.
In the midst of preparing for the show, we caught up with soon to be MA Art and Science graduate Julius Colwyn. Discussing his project ‘In the Midst of Things’, an examination of the make-up of complex systems, in particular the human body, he told us about his studio rituals which all revolve around objects.
They’re sort of totemic, there is a really interesting link between cognition and ritual, the way we can coax our brains into a way of thinking, or making.
Julius connects his artistic process with five specific objects. Associating each one with a particular way of thinking, he uses them as a way of creating and encouraging different approaches to his work. Currently you can find Julius with:
A fragment of bone – which encourages structure and problem solving.
A cut stone – the purpose of which is to help with the editing process, the cutting away and refining of a project.
Something complex – at the minute it’s a fractal bottle. This object intention is to act as a humbling force. Looking at the complexity of nature, Julius refers to this particular object for some grounding.
A glass object – to encourage clarity, this is currently in the form of a glass buoy.
An object related to fire – at present Julius keeps a sample of crude oil and military issue lighter from WWI. The meaning behind this object relates to the idea of throwing everything into the fire and seeing what happens, it promotes the trial of ideas.
Visit Julius’ website to find out more about his work.