Homes and Gardens: The Bathroom

Everyone knows what the bathroom can be like.
The bathroom is unique because it is generally the only room with a lock so each member of the house really values their privacy. Most conventional families don't tend to interact in the bathroom, rather than being social it is more of an awkward spot. The bathroom is a symbol of stress and anger as family members squabble during the morning rush as to who deserves to go first, moreover family members calculate how much time you have spent in there and shout through the door, begging for you to get out.

We concluded that people don't wish to all go to the bathroom at once because of the awkwardness that surrounds nudity and excretion. we wanted to create a new way for families to cope with your Dad walking in on you having a poo. Planning permissions require bathroom windows to be made of frosted glass, and so your awkward-free family now requires you to wear frosted glasses, which prevents any awkward eye contact or glimpses of family members. This is achieved by frosted lenses, which allow you to see things up close, but not far away. These, along with red bathroom accessories enable you to navigate the bathroom whilst wearing the obscure glasses.

The all important pulley light, every bathroom should have one!

Pieced together using a mini plastic cup, some cord and attached to the ceiling using elastic so that it could be physically pulled.

Toothbrushes spray painted in red.

Toilet seat also spray painted in red.

Everything else was tiled with white and black diamond tiles to give the essence of a conventional bathroom aesthetic.

Glasses made using cardboard and the frosted part from a plastic wallet.

Everything was made out of paper but that didn't matter as once the frosted glasses were on, all that was visible was blurs of colours.

The striking notes of red really came through the frosted glasses and these photos successfully show that all important colour differentiation for an efficient anti-awkward bathroom navigation.

Glasses in action

The Bathroom Team

(Elliot, Theo, Me and Ella)

New and improved goggle-styled frosted glasses, adopting the imagery from swimming goggles.

Discombobulate Me... alternative idea

Little People



Using miniature figures to stimulate human-ly shadows in scenarios and settings so that the viewer is confused as to whether the shadows belong to figurines or humans. We used everyday stationery objects such as pens, glue stick lids and scissors to simulate buildings and very ambiguous scenarios.

 

Inspired by the comical and dramatic compositions of mini-people from David Gilliver's photography. I am intrigued how the relationship between the mini figure and the object reveals the truth of that object in a playful manner.



 



Discombobulate Me!

(Final shots where the relationship between the doll and the human, throughout everyday activities, confuses the viewer as the doll is doing human-like activities.)

Discombobulate Me took some time figuring out the perspective foreshortening in order for image to look as though the doll is holding a human.

Perspective foreshortening allows the doll to look larger and so the human looks more vulnerable in the image.

One of the issues was trying to give the illusion that the doll's hand was holding the fork. I had to hold the fork, but the photographer placed the hand in front, to hide my hand. The trick was giving the impression that the doll's hand was of a similar size to mine, that is achieved through distance. Furthermore it is was a task to disguise the doll's hand so that it looked like a human hand. To get away with this we thought of blurring that area where the doll's hand is to create an ambiguity.

Invention?

Visual thinking - Sherbet Straws

One hundred sherbet straws video: https://vimeo.com/265840319

Focusing on how the sherbet reacts with the taste buds/saliva by licking on perspex, watching the marks being made by the mouth whilst tasting the sherbet.  

Mark-making with the long edge of the straws, by dipping in ink and printing on paper.

Then mixing ink with washing-up liquid and using the straw to create bubbles. The effervescence is what is depicted from the fizz of the sherbet and the relationship between the sherbet and the taste bud.

Visual imagery portraying the path that the sherbet makes when poured on a surface. Resembling a trail or a road mark.

Also looking at the way sherbet looks similar to other dangerous powdered drug substances like cocaine. My group agreed that there is a connection between addictions, whether it is a sugar addiction or a drug addiction. In fact the intensely playful colours and flavours from the sherbet correlates to the hallucinogenic effects of drugs.

Experimenting with the way the sherbet (sugar) makes a mark. We did this by pouring sherbet in a container and melting it in the microwave, after 3 minutes the container had melted through (of course it was made of plastic) and the microwave had been tarnished with this caramelized hardened sherbet.

It took so long to clean off. Poor cleaners.

There were no cleaning detergents so the only way we could remove the sugar from the table was by scraping vigorously with a fork.

Taping them together in rows, with about 34 in each row.

Snipping both ends off and collecting the sherbet in a bucket.

The repetitive cross-section of the straws can be seen as a motif, a pattern, a mark made by the formation of the straws.

Using the sherbet straws to build a structure, so that multiple sherbet straws are used.

The 3D piece was then placed on a yellow backdrop, as we thought this colour complimented and accentuated the exuberant colours of the sherbet straws, displaying the nature and fun energy of the sugary sherbet. Making you feel youthful and buzzed. 

Each of the thousands of the straws are used as a vehicle to shoot the sherbet out once the movement of air/sound has been applied.