When introduced to this project I struggle to come up with a concept that I thought would fit in with the theme of “future bodies”. After having a bad start with no inspiration for this project, I started to simplify the brief for myself. I looked at the different meanings of the term future bodies and came up with an idea that fitted my conception of the term. I first came up with the idea of making three books, each book being a part of myself growing up and the third being what I want my future to look like as I’m not there yet. I stuck with this idea for a while but as I did more research, I found myself unhappy with the idea. I instead decided to change my concept to making my dream house. I was much more excited by the idea of making a sculpture rather than a book as it is something I had never done before. I felt it would push me out of my comfort zone and allow me to explore a new art other than photography. Interior design has always been an interest of mine outside of the university. I have always loved creating Pinterest boards of my future house and watching series such as Grand Design, and Escape to The Chateau as well as watching Architectural Digest on YouTube where you look into celebrities’ homes my personal favourites are Emma Chamberlain, Dakota Johnson’s, and Kendal Jenner’s. I also added a lot of inspiration for my design from different TikTok influencers and TV show homes that I love. I felt with this new concept I would be able to combine my passion into the making of my future home sculpture.
From this concept, I was able to link the mini house to the theme of future bodies. When growing up I was given a doll house by my mum which was hers growing up. I thought of my sculpture as a doll house but of what I now see my future as. When I was younger, I would use my doll house to make scenarios of what I thought family life is supposed to be. I created characters such as a husband and kids as that is what I saw in my own home. Now I see my future a lot differently, I imagine myself living alone and I don’t have any interest in marriage. I found this interesting and thought it would be a good topic to research into. I looked into different articles and books that showed that when children play with a dollhouse it is very common for them to do this. It is very important for children to do this as they are able to use what they learn while playing in real-life situations. I looked at a blog by Kate Bourbon where she discussed the different benefits of children playing with a doll house and used further research to back up my opinions on the study.
I went on to think about how the doll house has evolved. A popular game I regularly play called Sims has a very similar notion of a dollhouse. The game creates a world of freedom for its players allowing them to use their imagination to live and be whomever they want which is similar to playing with a doll’s house. I went on to research how creating spaces of what we imagine our future to look like allows us to achieve our goals.
Finally, when I presented my house, I wanted to create a space that would inspire my audience about their own future. I wanted to create an immersive experience, so I played a combination of noises such as birds, the wind, and rain to allow my audience to get an even further idea of the surroundings of my dream house, further allowing them to feel submerged within my fashion space and use their own imagination.
To improve I would have liked to take the sculpture further, I wanted to add more details and props but found it hard to physically make them. I overcame this by drawing some of the objects such as the TV but was unable to do this with all the props I envisioned I would make. I also feel I didn’t give myself a big enough time space to physically make the house, I assumed the body of the house wouldn’t have taken as much time as it did but after having to remake it, I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked. I was originally planning on taking my sculpture further by creating a smaller version of the outside of the house and making a stop motion of the surroundings. I was planning on showing the house on a hill with all types of nature around but with only a small amount of time left for the project, I wasn’t able to finish this concept. Although I wanted to take my design further, I still feel I have created an outcome with in-depth research in response to the brief. I am happy with what I produced and how I presented it. my favourite part was making the props for the house the sofa in particular as I was really happy with the outcome.
Overall, I’m happy with the outcome of this project. I feel that I have been able to create a space that was innovative and through research, I was able to connect the theory of future bodies. For me creating a sculpture of what I imagined my future to look like allowed me to create a space where I can become my ideal self in a way that is real and not imaginative.
