Catherine McCaw-Aldworth

Alternative Studio part one We were given a new brief for spatial practices, which consist of three parts. The first to use the pocket as a studio to create work and to be a part of the work. The second to work with a cardboard box for a week and the third to create a piece of work on public transport. These short week-long tasks were given to make us explore the studio as an unconventional space, to explore the environment of making work outside of the conventional walls of the studio. For the first project of studio in my pocket I was quite confused and frazzled to start off with, I wasn’t sure which direction to take the work in or how to make work in such a small and confined space. I started thinking about things I keep in my pockets, I also asked other people and compiled a small list. Money, phone, keys, headphones, tissues, wallet, feminine hygiene products, cigarettes, lighters, gum, tickets, etc. I also thought about how many germs must be in pockets that have tran...

To finish off alternative studio we had to make a piece called cardboard atelier and also a piece about transport. For the cardboard piece I was thinking a lot about homelessness and how they use cardboard as shelter, this developed ideas and got me thinking a lot. I decided to make a replica of my room at uni, but small enough to be almost a shoe box size. it was quite easy to make and reminded me of when I was a child and would make my own dolls houses.   I used a hot glue gun to stick it all into shape and to glue the furniture down. I then wrote onto the cardboard things I asscociate with certain areas of my room, like on the floor I wrote “where drunk friends pass out”, on the bed I wrote “where nghtmares happen”, desk “where I should do work” and I wrote like this on the entire box, but not enough to fully cover it, it was quite subtle. I am happy with this piece, I don’t think that it is my strongest work but there is always room for improvement. For the tran...

One of the many things I love about UCA is that all the students there are of a creative mind. You get to meet people on various courses that will somehow be able to help you and influence your work. I have many friends on the film production course and one of them was kind enough to help me complete my installation piece by helping me hang the many origami birds around Farnham. She was also able to help me by recording the day’s events, but also professionally recording the movement of the piece when installed which adds a greater layer of depth that cannot be seen in the still photographs. I decided to call this piece caged as it was in some way how I felt about the piece being somewhat limited but also because these paper birds are not able to fly, they are forever stuck on a piece of string to be watched by the public. They are caged.