Choosing the Location

The Quiet Room.

Just over 4m in length [to be reduced] and ranging in different widths under 2m.

I want the transformation of this room to focus on two main elements: entangled pipework and an uncomfortable, cramping of a large human body. These ideas are transparently linked to the work of Jan Švankmajer, Adam Jones and Ron Mueck. [See reference images below]. Wimbledon's 'Quiet Room' works perfectly for this; with the narrow, claustrophobic behaviour of it and an already apparent suggestion of metal piping in the right hand corner - these are good foundations for what I envision it to become. I definitely plan to incorporate the sink, but to remove all furniture and commodities, fill in the right hand side's wall-inset for the bed and alter the ceiling and lighting arrangement. Once transformed, I want the already cramped room to feel even more suffocating.

Left to Right: 'Sober - Tool' [Music Video animation by Adam Jones (1993), 'Untitled (Big Man)' sculpture by Ron Mueck (2000), 'Darkness Light Darkness' animation by Jan Švankmajer (1990)

Today I've been working on some initial concept drawings which can be seen below. I hope to develop these further to include more existing subject matters and a successful means of lighting. When it comes to creating a narration solely through the set design, I'm thinking of have the pipework swallowing the room up, with clear manipulations to the back of the room, as though a huge giant has sat upon these pipes and dismantled or flattened them - much like an animal nesting.

The room should be unkept with cracks upon the walls, peeling wallpaper, mould forming on the pipes and leaks dripping from the ceiling. There is also the possibility of the pipework creating a slight suction onto the naked beings' flesh, to watch him evolve into the metal work himself.

Above: 15cm x 10cm, initial idea.

Above: 20cm x 20cm, more splayed out body behaviour, frustrated expression.

Above: Plan view [rough].

I want this room to translate the idea of a prison-like sentence in which this being infinitely sits between metal structures without speaking a single word. Perhaps like a mouse under the floor boards of a home or a human experimentation that's waiting to happen; a rat laboratory cage. This concept doesn't necessarily require a very specific era but during this week I'm going to carry out some research into the materials used and when this main building was created. From here I'll be able to acquire the correct "materials" to form the rest of the structure and perhaps involve the ideas of some controversial scientific experiments occurring at the time. In preparation for the model-making weeks to come, I've been looking through David Neat's wordpress website for a quick overview of what to expect. When it comes to specific tasks, I plan to use this site as a source to refer to.

Tonight I plan to watch Andrei Tarkovsky's 'Stalker' (1979). Having read through the synopsis and seeing the particular still (seen below), this will be worth-while for the development of my own ideas.