Video Installation

Hey friends and art lovers!

I rounded out my first year of grad school by creating this video installation. Here are some still shots of the installation and a raw little video that documented the project.

Here's a lot of garbledy gook about this work in case you want to understand it on a deeper level.

It's a crude video, it may be a crude installation - but I was compelled to get.it.out despite my lack of knowledge about technical or sculptural things.

Veil is an exploration of previously unfamiliar materials and challenges ways of working that encompass attributes I love about painting: translucency, the application of layers, repetition, and time. It also considers my grander thoughts about intimacy, touch and familial relationships.

It has become increasingly apparent that the time I spend making a work of art is integral in my studio practice.

Each mascara-coated lash is a mark of time. This is evident in the long scroll of acetate paper that undulates onto the floor. The painted marks increase with frequency as they trickle down the bottom of the sanded acetate. Swirling spotted patterns are made from the rubbings of my finger tips and the ground beneath my feet. The accumulation of these marks of “noir”, “blackest black”, “brownish black” and “midnight blue” mascara speak to my background and generational connection to the beauty industry.

The act of painting with a very delicate and vital part of my body, my eyes, explores ideas of intimacy. It is worth noting that this process required sacrifice; my eyelashes began breaking off as layers of dried mascara caused them to snap. Relationships often demand this self-less sacrifice. The repetitive act is a caressing gesture to my fiancé and our impending marriage. I am conscious of the way these materials and their arrangement are referential to marriage. The materials unfurl toward the viewer like an altar or the train of a wedding dress. In the video there is a scene in which the piece is shot sideways both from the left and the right. This is like an equal partnership.

Several layers of cascading fabric were inspired by the drawings of Hong Chun Zhang. A stencil was drawn on top of the fabric which was inspired by a shadow dancing along a sidewalk. This shadow appeared to me on Easter when I was fraught with feelings of isolation from my family. The forms are cut outs that reference nostalgia or a need to retrace the hand of my loved ones, like a crocheted handkerchief or an envelope with my grandmother’s handwriting.

The act of performance of notable artists like Janine Antoni, Ana Mendieta and Michael Namkung were also hugely influential. It was vital that the final piece be layered physically and conceptually. Therefore both the actual marks and the making of the marks are thus intertwined.

Enjoy! <3

#art #photography #installation #ashleynicole #ashleygilbert #ashleycassens #floridaatlanticuniversity #fau #mfa