Formaldehyde?

On the topic of preservation, an artist whom immediately springs to mind is Damien Hirst,

an artist whom both intrigues and sickens me.
Same as applies to my earlier post of Pickled and Preserved, Hirsts animal based artworks should on morals make my blood boil, his attitude towards life is foul, setting up greenhouses to gas butterflies, paying ridiculous amounts of money for someone to kill a shark, putting the whole life cycle of a fly in a box, in a gallery, inviting the viewer to watch it as it perishes.
And he does sicken me, incredibly, but I cannot help but be intrigued, perhaps even to the extent of being attracted.
But this is off topic,

 

I am looking for a way to preserve.

Damien Hirst uses formaldehyde solution.
Although I still don't understand how this enables his pieces to float?
This could be out of complete ignorance.
But as far as I can gather formaldehyde is a liquid solution.

But what am I to use?
I need some form of clear solution that preferably is denser than water, something that preferably could set? I shall try some vegetarian gelatine? Although not particularly accurate or honest,,

Thoughts on Exhibition

First some notes on artists whom use growth in their practice

An artist I have previously mentioned

Anna Garforth

Garforth uses moss amongst other things as an alternative process of typography.

The work above she constructed into a small derelict area that was about to be knocked down to be renovated into flats, but Garforth snuck in first to leave them a little message.

I like the use of the moss, and am intrigued as to how first she managed to construct it and secondly as to how she sourced the moss.

I was earlier intrigued by this prospect of growing my own moss, a seemingly relatively easy process, involving blending together beer and a little moss before spraying it onto the desired surface, but a lengthily one, taking up to two seasons to grow. 

Unfortunately time is currently not on my side,

Another artist of intrigue

Martin Azua

whom by leaving pots in certain areas, lets nature determine the final outcome for him.

The pots he creates are very porous white ceramic vases, therefore allowing for mosses and other organic growths to colonize upon the surface, letting natures natural patterns to take hold.

Once again absolutely beautiful results and an incredibly intriguing idea but a lengthily process.


 As for my exhibition
I want to play with the preservation of the dandelion, with the influx of an edit of Pollen.
Preserving that, that you assume to be a weed,  

RICHARD SOLOMON

Richard Solomon is an American Artist.

A self claimed "SeedSharmen", an environmental artist,
The above image is off his seed orbs, where he picks Goats Beard and encapsulates it in glass orbs,
I am intrigued as to how he does it;
He cuts the plant before it is ready to bloom, places it in water and then as it begins to open he places it inside the glass orb, allowing it to bloom once within.

It is a simple image but a beautiful delicate one.

I personally now have six dandelion seed heads bloomed and ready to go, but I am unsure of what purpose I want them for,,
I fear they are too literal, too obvious, far too basic.

RUiNS AND REMEDIES

[[as promised]]

I began this project with an intrigue into ruins, after seeing 

a souvenir book of romantic views of Rome

in special collections.

It fascinated me that this large book of etchings of ruins was described as romantic,
not that i disagree,
but
it is a peculiar notion,,
how we see ruined and derelict buildings and sites,,
stories from our past in tatters,,
as romantic?

full circle
It appears my project has rotated the full circle, back to beginnings,,
our romantic ruins are locations where nature has started to reclaim the land, where plant life is grasping back what originally belonged to itself.
but
surely this plant life, is indeed the weeds we all love to hate

so therefore ruins are buildings of disrepair, forgotten places of our past, overtaken by weeds,
do you really deem that to be romantic?

Notes on Growth

I have been looking into growing within found objects and how to allow the plant to survive and flourish. The basics of the idea is that as long as your object has drainage holes in the bottom and space for the plant to grow from the top, then you should be able to grow something in anything.

I was originally fascinated by this idea of growing plants in water,,,

,,but that was in ignorance. As by purely submersing the roots in water is a means for drowning the plant. That is also why to grow a plant in some form of container or object it needs the drainage holes, to prevent from it being over-watered and the roots suffocating.

I still mean to explore this further, as I like this idea of growing outside of soil.

Next Point;;Growing within found objects

The artist/designer Anna Garforth plays with a number of sustainable design concepts, writing messages out of moss in public spaces and creating responses to the industrial world around us. In particular I am intrigued by her HeadGardener project that she created for Guerrilla Gardening.

 http://crosshatchling.co.uk/Headgardner.html

Where she has planted up recycled milk bottle cartons and put them up around the city. I like this fusion of the recycled object and the plant.

Another intrigue also in relation to Guerrilla Gardening and in response to the variety of things you can turn into a planter are these plastic toy dinosaurs, where they have been repainted, a whole cut out of the top and drainage holes added to the bottom.

 

http://www.theplaidpigeon.com/

This is a very crafty project but I like the appeal of how easy it in fact is to create your own planter out of almost anything you deem fit, as long as you apply the general runes of drainage

Final Point;;;

Hulme Community Garden Center

Within Hulme Community Garden Center, there are Community Gardens around the back and what really caught my eye was these planted up old boots. Many of them seemed to be planted up with succulents as with the dinosaurs above. I would assume as these plants are quite hardy they are more likely to survive in the peculiar environment of inside a miscellaneous object.

This growth of within the unnatural object is something i want to pursue.

Quick Find

Other commercial ideas for bringing gardening into an urban environment,,

Inside//Outside

This video showcases a pre-made commercial pocket but could this be made from scratch to the same effect? Perhaps using the same material as is used as the support for hanging baskets?

I have done little research into this query but if the liner used in hanging baskets is designed to with hold the water and supports the plant then surely you could make your own to some degree.

Also what would happen if you weaved with sphagnum moss?

Give [[Ground]] to Green

I apparently always seem to be drawn back to life, life, plants and growth, nature and all its incredible wonders,,

This project seems to have taken a shape change,,

In moving to Manchester, it has been my first time to live in such a built up city. I am not a country-bumpkin, I am from a city, a city such as Cardiff, but from the suburbs, where both the city and countryside is accessible, easily, where growth and greenery are a few steps beyond my front door.

Living in the city center of Manchester is different, I have no garden to wonder out to, to grow a plant has to be done on my windowsill, under certain conditions, options are limited.

And it is that, that I want to explore, looking at what space there is to grow a garden in an urban built up environment, is there room for contemporary landscape architecture in a concrete jungle?

And what happens when nature tries to take back the city?

Feature Jeff Noon's book "pollen".

A couple of sights//sites of interest

http://www.stringgardens.com/

Moving life to the skies, growing above its natural environment, using space in a different way.

Here, above,

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Is my own attempt although not in fact hung up as off yet,,

more to follloww,,,