This week was the opening of our exhibition 'Reimagining Objects'. The purpose of the exhibition was to express our research for our object essays through a new interpretation of our object. We felt that seeing as many of the objects we researched will never be displayed, because they're too delicate or broken, we really wanted to open up the archive in our own way.
I decided not to interpret my own object, although that might be something I do as a later project. Instead I worked with my friend Natalia, who wanted to animate her board game, 'The New Game', a kids game based on the Crimean War. In her research, she explored the surrounding media of the Crimean War in Victorian Britain which not only included newspapers, but also theatre productions, songs, and even 'holidays' to the front to watch the battle. Clearly the documentation (and exaggeration) of the war was relentless and totally indifferent to the violence that was occurring. The board game was a part of this, disturbingly set against the domesticity of a child's playroom. The game itself is simple enough, with two swirls of ocean with the port of Russia and Turkey being the aim of the two sides. The game used a teetotum, an acceptable version of dice for children. The counters were also miscellaneous so that you could use them for different board games. The game is unbiased; it doesn't matter which country wins. The war is even accessible for children.
It was this juxtaposition that we wanted to try and capture in our animation. We went for a photographic stop motion technique and 3D props in the corner of Nat's living room, in true DIY style. We used paper boats made from sheets of the Illustrated London News as counters to represent the two fleets of ships that eventually move on their own. But once the 'war' is won on either side, the player intervenes and destroys the paper port. The story begins again but with the alternative ending, playing in the exhibition on a constant loop. The idea was that we would depict it as a childlike parody, an kitsch film that's cute, whimsical and harmless, but is also representing the darker side of the time, a sick fascination and entertainment from the bloodshed of the war.
At the exhibition, we projected our animation on one of the walls along with a demonstration of the game available to play on the opening night. We had a fantastic time doing this project on the side of all the million other things we all have to do, but it was all totally worth it! The exhibition was really rewarding and we're all really proud of what we have achieved. None of us pretended to be artists or designers on order to reach a final outcome, but really wanted to use this experience as part of the process of research. It was really nice for me to be able to use what I've learned on my BA course, and I'm really enjoying the combination of what I love within this course. It shows that it is totally valuable to have all these skills, you don't just have to focus on one thing.
See the animation here.
