Evaluation

 The exhibition as a whole progressed really well from our original idea of ethereal this is due to the hard-work and dedication from the group working together as a team. Reflecting back on the beginning of this module it felt extremely far off in organizing our large group to create a successful exhibition. 

Our theme originated from selecting pieces of work that we as a group and individually found visually appealing. A number of ideas and themes were bounced around depending on the pieces of artwork that were strong possibilities for the exhibition such as cellular, small, biological, and fantasy and fairytale. We then contemplated the idea of our exhibition finishing on the public celebration of Valentines Day and as many of the group had a strong interest in a number of individual pieces of artwork that were delicate and beautiful we eventually came up with a basis of ethereal as a theme. Personally I was thrilled with this development as a whole as many of the pieces I was interested in fitted the theme of ethereal because of their sublime, delicate and celestial nature.

Once the theme had been established we then set about selecting finalized pieces of artwork for the exhibition, we decided these needed to be small to medium sized pieces with a delicate quality. I really enjoyed the process of selecting the work and individually contacting the artist as it allowed everyone to become involved within the selection process. It also gave me a strong sense of satisfaction contacting the artist as they were keen and extremely grateful to be involved within our exhibition. Once we had asked the artists and they had agreed to participate within the exhibition it was then the case of interviewing them about their artwork and the concepts and context behind it. I found this very useful as it gave me an insight into the theory behind the work and how it fitted our theme for the exhibition.

The next port of call was to plan how or exhibition would take shape and therefore how we should display the work. We all agreed that we wanted to take an unorthodox approach to exhibition and to shy away from the idea of the White Cube. Again this was a group decision that everyone was happy with as it will make our exhibition unique and individual. A number of ideas were thrown around the idea of using plinths became our main focus. The idea developed into a island of plinths in various shapes and sized piled under a canopy which links to our last project with the material roof. At first I was dubious as to how the plinths would link to our theme of ethereal as they are obviously solid objects however as they were all painted white they constructed a strong link to the sublime, aerial connotations of ethereal. However I was really pleased with the idea of using a material canopy over the plinths in which you enter into this ethereal world, this also links really well to our last group project. 

The development of the project flourished through our regular group meetings and contact via our Facebook group. As our group is so large it was often hard for every member to attend each scheduled meeting due to prior commitments, however through our Facebook group it allowed everyone to be fully updated on how the meetings progressed and to share opinions to ensure everyone was happy with the progression of our exhibition. I think the regular meetings were vital in the success of our exhibition as it assured that we were fully organized and committed to create the best possible exhibition with the facilities we had. 

On the day of installation I felt fully prepared as we had planned as much as possible prior to the day, although I was aware it was going to be a hectic, stressful day due to the amount we as a group had to do. We attempted to stick to our per-scheduled plan, however on the day we found that as we are such a big group it meant many members of the group were left with no specific role at certain points. Due to this various members began to collect work to place safely at the edges of the room whilst the fishing wire structure was being constructed. At this point we could all then get involved in creating the material structure, working together as a team to ensure that the structure was safe and stable and applied to the health and safety regulations. There was a small disagreement as to whether the fabric should touch on the floor or be cut to create a flowing structure and to also reduce the risk of a trip hazard. Ultimately we decided to have the fabric floating just above floor level this was mainly due to health and safety but also as it created this floating canopy effect which we had all previously agreed on. Whilst the group began to arrange the work on the plinths there was an extremely unfortunate accident the resulted in Ilona's work being damaged. This was handled straight away and we contacted the artist immediately to apologise and fortunately Ilona agreed to let us use her work in the exhibition still. We all felt awful because of the damage and were keen to arrange a meeting with the artist as soon as possible in order to apologize in person. From this point onwards everyone handled the work very carefully and ensure the plinths were stable in order to avoid a repeat of the earlier accident. I think on the day we perhaps could have done with a few more breaks in order to continue the installation with a fresh mind. Despite the damaged work and stressful installation, the exhibition was a complete success and plenty of people attended the private viewing due to the advertising of the event. I was very proud of our exhibition and to listen to the positive feedback from the visitors it felt like a great achievement, as all our hard work had paid off. 

The day after the private viewing I manned the exhibition for a total of two hours. This gave me the opportunity to reflect and appreciate the exhibition. The sound of the footsteps echoed around the room whilst the fabric moved slightly as I walked around the island of plinths, this to me created a very ethereal atmosphere. It made me appreciate how beautiful the exhibition actually was and how each individual piece loosely linked to one another and also to our theme of ethereal. 

After the exhibition had finished and been de-installed we focused on contacting each artist with a thank you for letting us use their work within our exhibition, and also an apology letter to Ilona. This was a very difficult process as we all felt extremely guilty about the accident. Once a few of us had met with Mona, however she gave us her full support in the matter, this made us feel a lot more comfortable with the situation as we had done as much as we could to render the situation. Despite this accident, I felt we worked really well as a group. I have enjoyed working with such a diverse group of people, to begin with I was slightly skeptical of another group project, however during this module I have made many friends with like minded people that make the university process a lot more enjoyable. I am grateful to all of the effort and hard work that each individual had brought to this exhibition and I would most definitely be keen to participate in a similar group curation project in the future.