Material Hybrids Project

This project creates material hybrids through combining every day, urban materials to form abstracted outcomes. In this body of work, I have been using aluminium sheets and photographically printed vinyl adhesive. These are inspired by the materials prevalent on the redevelopment projects that surround the Royal College of Art, Dyson building, London; where my studio is located. These materials enter my artistic process through their existence in the mundane crevices of everyday life. The building materials that glide past our peripheral vision as we walk through urban space. Their existence a transitory sight before developments are completed.

I combine the aluminium and vinyl with photographic imagery, taken in these locations. I aim to capture mundane viewpoints like rubbish on the floor and the corners of the ceiling in my studio; also relating to the less-observed aspects of space. These images are then printed onto the vinyl adhesive, which is adhered to the aluminium. This creates a very smooth surface, the photographs on the vinyl are semi-transparent and the reflective surface of the aluminium enhances the colours in the image. In combination all the materials appear as one form, becoming a material hybrid. From the 2D flat pieces of aluminium and vinyl, I work to make the pieces 3D. I do this by my own bodily manipulation; crushing and warping the metal. This process distorts the image and the form. I also melt the excess pieces of vinyl which collapse and solidify into augmented objects. I am inspired by the transformative properties of materials not existing in one fixed state.

For me, creating material hybrids is about using two recognisable materials to generate a new form that doesn’t quite exist in reality. I find the combination of aluminium and plastic exciting because they are both familiar aesthetics of everyday, modern life. When combined, their reflective surfaces mimic the sleek, futuristic facades of London’s modern high rises. My motivation in bringing these seemingly banal materials together is the opportunity to create surreal material hybrids, that sit precariously between the familiar and the unknown.