Slop, 2018 (with artist statement)

Artist Statement

‘Slop’ is a cartoonish, non-linear dialogue between the on-screen realm and the physical spaces our bodies reside in. Seemingly, the black lines that frame and separate each colour extend through the screens and pool out into the space around them.

The organic forms are frozen in space; insular and dry, unaffected by physics. The animations show small gestures of movement that are locked in loops and framed by the screens they reside in. Oozing materials are generally associated with bodily functions or other high viscose liquids, maybe man-made building materials, we might feel disgusted or morbid curiosity for these, but what happens when the form is associated with a friendly, personable colour. Which asset of the object is more powerful to the senses?

Online there is a large ‘slime community’, where making artificial slime and watching it be pulled about and prodded has become an addiction for some. Here is a strange combination of one party having a physical experience with the (usually) safe artificial slime and the viewers on their phones and laptops, vicariously living through this kinesthetic experience without the mess.

The need to organise, to categorize, to coat something old with a fresh coat of paint, to freeze moments in time and press playback is expressed here. Control over our physical spaces is a craving usually unsatisfied, there is a lack of ability to anticipate how real-life objects react to the environment, air, light and temperature. But interactions with media through screens is seemingly clean and it is easy to bookmark, organise and experience a feeling of control and release.