Ben Heine

 Whilst investigating the space I have become most interested in the absence of movement and life in the dance studios. I have been honing in on evidence of previous movement in the space and photographing drag marks and scratches in the what first appears to be shiny clean floors. Although the images are showing something that was in the space but is there no longer I still don't feel like I am portraying how much the lack of movement "bothers" me when I enter the dance studios. After some research I found the work of Ben Heine, who incorporates drawings and photography to create fantasy worlds, and portray things in situations that aren't really there.

I would like to experiment with this myself within one of the dance studios. Perhaps instead of incorporating fantasy things into the space as Heine does, incorporating something that should be there but isn't. At the moment I am thinking of returning to the space and photographing in point blank, just as it is, which is something I am yet to do. I can then look into stock images of dancers (as I am not able to obtain them through my own imagery) and somehow incorporate them into the images of the space. My drawing ability is no where near up to scratch enough to draw these things myself, so I will

probably require the aid of Photoshop to change my images from photographs to drawings or paintings. I will then re-enter these images into the space, aligning them precisely as Heine does. At the moment I do not know what scale these images will result in being, or even if I am going to proceed with this idea until the end. I do intend on experimenting thoroughly with this idea and executing it to the best of my ability. 

Four Walls and a Ceiling

After further discussion we decided that the dance studio was the better option between the two sites we were looking at. For the "Four Walls and a Ceiling" brief I decided to look for imperfections, and signs of previous movement within the space. I wanted to create a contrast within the space, normally it is full of movement, control and etiquette, but when you look at it while derelict, you find the opposite. Cracks, dents and scratches are not things you associate with dance. Without the act of dance the space loses its grace and structure. It seems too still and lifeless.

Group E Site Viewing: Dance Studio

After deliberating over everyone's proposals we decided to go and view the dance studio situated above Yates in Wind Street. The location is of easy access for everyone in the group, and it has many different rooms so we can choose to work individually if we wish to do so.
We are still contemplating another location which we are planning to view in the next couple of days. This is due to most members of the group being undecided about what they would actually put in the space. No one in the group wishes to do a literal interpretation of the space, but it is difficult to see past the aspect of dance as it surrounds you in every room.

Site Proposal: Elysium Cinema

The site I have chosen to exhibit for the site project is the Elysium Cinema, located at the top end of the high street. I have chosen this site due to its significant place in Swansea history. Although it is abandoned, and has been since 1994, a lot of the history still remains inside. For instance when it was built in 1914 it was opened as a Cinema on the top floor, and a working man's club on the ground floor (named Dock Workers Hall), and a lot of the 900 seats provided for the cinema are still apparent. Like many working men's clubs in South Wales, the Dock Workers Hall had strong links with the Labour and socialist movement. Eventually it became home to the Labour Party in Swansea, with their local headquarters being located in the upper floors of the High Street building. Not only did the Elysium play headquarters to the Labour party, but it also saw the Second World War, and was one of two buildings left standing on the High Street after Swansea took heavy bombing. I think these facts alone would interest any artist who is interested in the history of Swansea and its past economy. At present the council are fighting to retrieve the building from private ownership to find a new use for it, so I think it is important to capture it in its original state before it is lost forever.

After the building closed and re-opened again in 1960 it became a bingo hall. My research has discovered that all of the bingo equipment remains in the building. This adds character and authenticity to the building which most derelict sites do not posses.

Despite the amount of research I have done I am yet to find contact details of the private owner, but have emailed people who have already entered the site, inquiring how they went about going inside. In saying this I have received no replies as of yet. The amount of imagery online of this site would suggest that gaining access to this site shouldn’t prove too difficult; whether they entered the site legally however is yet to be seen.

The only problem with this site is the issue of safety. Images of the inside suggest that certain areas are to be avoided, but there seems to be a lot of empty space too, such as the bingo hall. With a site this big I don’t think getting 6-7 people inside would be much of a problem, as long as there is enough secure space to work with.

Further information about the site can be found here: http://www.forlornbritain.co.uk/elysium.php