Scribble Lessons (sentences by Sol Le Witt, toddler participation), (2011)
1-channel video projection, DVD, coloured pencil, one video monitor, colour, audio, loop, 1:46
This installation includes a childish animation, vocalised by baby sounds and accompanied by hand-stencilled text. It draws upon the intimate time frame when scribble became recognisable composition, when play took precedence over TV and when an emergence of language came from babbling. The use of animation is referential to cartoons as our earliest form of moving image. The selection of text is from 'Sentences on Conceptual Art' by Sol Le Witt. This is scribbled on to the wall and subtitles the dialogue. Sol le Witt is also taken as influence here, as he used scribbles extensively in his work. The audio is a baby-like voice, originally spoken by my sister, but then learnt and performed by myself. My process and outcome attempt to behave as insightfully as a child.
The scribbled faces were all developed during recreational drawing sessions, with my sister, in our living room. This participatory process enhanced our relationship. She taught me how to draw fluidly, without prejudice or convention. My uptightness was eventually overcome. At one point, the animation shows a potatoe-like head saying "Banal ideas cannot be rescued by beautiful execution". Also, I realised that language is abstraction, made translatable by conceptual attachment. This makes clear the need for commonality between us and also the changeable nature of linguistics.
Alongside the video, the sentences are stencilled in colourful scribbles, graffitied onto the wall. The ultimate childish sin is referenced. The scribbles are subtly contained though the use of stencil. This gives a sense of its own temporal structure that wants to spill out and progress beyond its boundaries, like an eager child, or a performance artist. The wall between professional and amateur collapse, which reveals the possible permeability of overtly institutional structures.
The time frame is personal, intimate. It occupies time, not just space and does away with monumental dreams and offers positive formations. In many instances, TV has replaced play and become the primary teacher. Children are highlighted as totally inspiring by ballooning out of expected conventions. This work relishes a balanced way of working. The installation acts like a listen and learn video directed by kids, often causing excitement from children and grown-ups in the space.
