Madeline Howden
World to be Interviened
Bench Pose
Awards
How I started
The starting point of my practice revolves around a collection of observations, the majority obtained by walking around and noticing how we interact with one another such as; walking hand in hand, talking across the street or; sharing lunch on a park bench. What interested me more is how and why we overlook those around us, the pace of our daily movements and our awareness of timesaving leads many of us to be less observant, fixated on this understanding I wanted to explore how I could communicate this within my practice.
Toilet Time
Toilet Time
Toilet Time
Making
My practice approaches mundane moments around my everyday life, for instance drinking tea or sitting on a park bench. Inspired by my natural environment I’ve captured these scenes and reinterpreted them through a playful and detailed eye by remodelling them on a small scale scene, this encourages the viewer to look attentively to capture the detail and gain a deeper understanding. Fixated by the moments within my daily routine and emphasising on a understanding that our behaviour is unconsciously driven, I demonstrated this by making automata’s. Allowing the viewer to physically engage and operate the work, enables a reflection on how our mundane routines are operated through our unconscious.
The scale of my work is a purposeful part of my making process. Small scale allows me to emotionally connect to the work by crating a nostalgic feeling and delicacy to detail. Furthermore, my personal creativity has developed and flourished by facing new challenges like assembling wooden mechanisms to allow clay figure to move. Additionally, when I had my work exhibited I was able to see how the scale enabled an emotional reflection on the viewer and brought nostalgic sentiments to the surface.
Inspiration and fuelled from observing and reflecting on myself and others around me, seeing how people interact with one another and place them self on street furniture. From these sighting it allows me to actually represent and lead the viewers to personally connect to my work. An important process of my making is the final outlook, showing a range of materials and textures allows an element of apparition and examination towards the collection. Has allowed me to develop new skills and develop my working knowledge.
Cloud Gazing
Bike rest
Cloud Glazing
Kitchen Table
Under the table
Playing cards on kitchen table
Kitchen Table
Sight Seeeing
Patio
Whilst In Thought
clay figure at desk with tea
Whilst in Thought
Bed time talk
Method and Making
I’ve purposely made the furniture look used and worn to actually remodel the original source of the scene, for example, the bed used in Nighttime talk automata is modelled from my own bed. Reflecting on the final result, by making them look worn I have created a look as if they have been played with even though they have not. Listening to some of the viewers respond to my work; I have heard this finished look creates an abandoned emphatic response. Although this was not the intention a successful response has occurred.
world to be intervened
Continuing
Reflecting on my made work I would love to explore making more of these scenes and adventuring to make more challenging movements with automata’s. One medium which could engage with my practice and enlighten a new understanding of my work is animation, using modern techniques to articulate movements around banal everyday, this could also lead to an experimentation with sound and colour.
Madeline Howden
World to be Interviened
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