INTRODUCTION
In my Art Culture class,we were faced with the challenge of creating a three dimensional assemblage that would show an event/theme related to our life or a dream or aspiration we have (or had) using a variety of different materials and try to incorporate them in a box/container in a way that would mix several different techniques or skills such as collage,silk screening,etc.
MATERIALS
-Shoe Box -Coloured Paper
-Tin Tray -Glue
-Cereal -Acrylic Paint
-Tin Foil -Hot-press Board
-Tissues -Blue transparent Trash Bag
-Bottle Caps -Coloured Elastic Bands
-Scotch -Pencil
-Scissors -Cutter
CONCEPTUALIZATION
Right from the get-go,I knew I wanted to incorporate the Museum of Islamic Art located in Qatar in my project because I grew up in Qatar and it's a structure that always caught my attention when walking by that area.One day in particular,while having breakfast,I was particularly missing walking by the sea next to the museum,so I came up with a couple of concepts:
I decided to go with the first concept which consisted in making a top ''layer'' in which a bowl full of cereal would be made and you would be able to see what is submerged into the cereal,which would be an underwater structure in a way that would look slightly like the lost ruins of Atlantis.
PRODUCTION
The very first step was to glue light blue paper only for the top layer of the box where the cereal would be placed.The choice of color was made to be reminiscent of a typical kitchen-like choice but also to represent the sky for the final production.
Afterwards,I cut a trash bag into the necessary measurements to fit in the walls of the box and used glue to make it stick.This would allow for a better representation of flowing water-like texture rather than to have painted the walls blue.
I wanted the underwater structure to feel a bit more ancient and so I decided to make pillars out of bottle caps I'd been collecting.I painted them at first and slowly glued them bit by bit rather than to have glued all of them together at once,or else the pillars would have collapsed.
As I waited for the pillars to dry,I started making the cereal bowl by first cutting up a tin tray and start curving the edges and sides in order to give it an actual bowl shape.
I then proceeded to cover the tray with tissues and then added liquid glue and stick Fruit Loops on the "bowl" which I mounter on a hot press board using scotch.The spoon was made with a piece of board which I then wrapped in tin foil for a more metallic look.The glue wasn't going to remain as white so I quickly decided to mix it with white paint in order for it to maintain a milky look.
Later,I proceeded to cut up another cardboard box in 2,and they would serve both as support for the cereal layer that would be later on glued on top of those 2 boxer,as well as being the base for the underwater columns.
I decided to also cover them in plastic bags,and I cut up a bunch of colored elastic bands which I glued together in various shapes in sizes in order to create a bit of a coral reef that would surround the underwater building.
Finally once the bottle caps were all glues together and had a texture similar to pillars that had been underwater for a while,I decided to stick them into the boxes that serve as support for the top layer that I would later on glue on top off.
For the actual underwater building,I had initially thought of doing a three dimensional structure but the box wasn't deep enough,however,I also didn't want to make a dull two dimensional drawing so I decided to create several layers of the museum one on top of the other in their respective order so as to create a bit of depth as well as value with the shadows that I had make using a pencil.
FINAL PRODUCT
And finally,once the cereal layer was mounted,I added some more reef and algae on the building as well as the sides of the box.Moreover,I wanted the spoon from the top layer to interact with the bottom one,so I decided to make the spoon transform into a fishing rod and hook using a rubber band I scotched on top of the board separating the layers,and on the other end I attacked a piece of cardboard shaped like a hook wrapped in tin foil.
CONCLUSION
Overall,I am pretty happy with my creation.I feel like my two sole intents,which were to recreate a structure resembling the Islamic Museum of Art and to make the bottom layer look like an underwater world using some decorative space,were achieved better than I expected.Another aspect of this project I'm proud of is the good use of time management in such cases where,for example,while letting the columns dry I would work on the cereal layer.However if I were to change something from the production process,it would be to have painted the bottle caps only once they were fully assembled into the pillar structure.Finally,I'm also satisfied with my use of various materials applied in creative ways that actually tell the story I wanted and I aspire to have more opportunities in which to reach a certain goal or meet a certain criteria using multiple means (hopefully involving more digital resources).
