PORTFOLIO
AARON DAVIES
NOTE FROM THE ARTIST
“M
y practice is based around data visualisation within astronomy and I use my skills as a maker to shed light on subjects that are difficult to understand by creating pieces that can be interacted with and gain knowledge from. Allot of my work involves technology, from designing though to manufacture with processes such as laser cutting, 3D printing and interactive augmented reality. I work a lot with precious metals, pewter, and bronze as well as 3D printed nylon to achieve my pieces with a large proportion of my time involving the development and planning for final outcomes. Allot of my inspiration for my pieces comes from articles around the subject of astronomy however I am also inspired by cartography in the way that it communicates information in a way that is understood by anyone.� .
AARON J DAVIES
TABLE OF
6
THE ORCHID POJECT
8
BAMS APOLLO 50
10
SPINNING TOPS
12
LOGOGRAMATIC
14
SLICE LIGHT
16
MOVING THE MUSEUM
18
BLK BO CX
20
GESAMTKUNSTWERK BOWL
22
LUNAR ORBIT
24
10,000 GALAXIES
26
CELESTIAL OBJECTS
28
NEBULAS
30
TECHNICAL EXPLORATION
EMAIL I aaronjdmaker@outlook.com N
FOLLOW ME
CONTACT ME
CO N T E N TS
INSTAGRAM @aaron_davies_maker WEBSITE aaronjdmaker.com
I AARON J D MAKER |
5
ORCHID PROJECT
W
ork inspired by the insole family’s link to orchids in relation to Violet Adeline Lilly (Orchid and Iris Specialist, descendant of the insole family). Experimenting with abstraction though exploring the deterioration of Insole Court and preserving the fragility in decaying architecture through the idea of taxidermy. Ink, silver leaf and gold on paper sculpture encapsulated within a glass dome on a turned wooden base accompanied with a ceramic representation of each piece. Available to purchase through aaronjdmaker.com.
6
|
AARON J D MAKER
AARON J D MAKER |
7
BAMS APOLLO 8
|
AARON J D MAKER
“F
or BAMS (British Art Medal Society) I designed a medal that not only can be worn but can also be considered as an art object. I wanted to not only create an art medal but include an extra aspect that is in addition to the medal that completes the piece. The project gave no subject to base the design off, so I thought that I would go with my passion and design a medal that not only is significant to its subject but also significant to me.� Designed is a medal that commemorates 50 years since the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969; this was on the 21st July 2019. The main body for the medal is cast in bronze with the underside being the topography of the Apollo 17 landing site and the top being the Apollo 11 landing site. The section that is inserted through the howl in the medal is there to remind us and to show that of the impact, impression, effect, that us as a human race have had on the exploration of space. It is also there to represent the idea of coming together as one as we work together to explore further into the unknown, uncovering what is yet to be found within and outside of our solar system.�
AARON J D MAKER |
9
W
orking spinning tops that not only create interesting artwork once spun but also are art objects in their own right.. The tops are 3D printed to show the progression into modern technology as opposed to traditional and ancient methods of producing spinning tops. All are made in the same way and style as the designer didn’t want the standard pencil top to lose its value next to the clutch pencil design. Biodegradable and bio-active thermoplastic coated in graphite featuring Palomino Blackwing pearl pencils are the basis for the designs with the first being a clutch pencil mechanism housed within the spinning top, having the ability to work like a clutch pencil that dispenses lead. This design gives thicker and darker results from its drawings and is much heavier and harder to spin than the other designs. The second design houses no internal mechanism and is designed to hold any standard size pencil. The purpose of this design is to make a more universal spinning top that will be used to generate more detailed drawings as opposed to thick heavy drawings produced by the first design.
AARON J D MAKER |
11
12
|
AARON J D MAKER
LOGOGRAMATIC
he piece/ pieces that have been designed are a response to the history of written communication, using the form of logograms as a means of representing the development throughout this history. The finalized outcome consists of ten books that are a collection of history, the first being the start of the history of written communication and the last representing the present state. As time goes on, technology begins to distort communication and the truth becomes bent. Using spinning tops to gain the desired effect, the interweaving of lines and areas of darkness are there to represent the unknowing, the areas of communication that have been filled with deceit. 85mm x 50mm but once opened extend to 85mm x 420mm. Fabriano cartridge paper and summerset watercolour paper
SLICE LIGHT 14
|
AARON J D MAKER
“M
y main aim was to steer away from the conventional use of steam bending and use an alternative method that’s main purpose was to season the wood.
Using sustainably sourced ash wood, the design features 20 2mm thick disks that allow the light to pass through and highlight the wood grain.
I used a microwave to gain the result that I had set out to create. I wanted the light in my design to capture the true material properties of the wood and highlight its fragility to us as humans. I added a 100% natural soap finish which cleaned the wood and gave it a slight sheen. It is easy to cut a tree down, but it is what you do with it after, that is the hard part. I feel that my design is simple in the way that it only involves two processes, the cutting of the wood and the steaming.”
Using a microwave instead of a conventional steam box to season the wood and warp it to its shape, cutting out large resources and power as well as avoiding waste material, this is what makes this project sustainable.
MOVING THE MUSEUM
“M
y idea was to explore the architecture of the museum through bronze sculpture and utilize the layout and formatting of the museum’s collections as a way of presenting the outcome. I intended to map the locations of all bronze sculptures within the museum to then formulate correlations between them and form shapes that can be taken into 3 dimensional sculptures. I wanted to illustrate the value of the collections that are held within the museum and I wanted to highlight the value of materiality through the work. I knew I wanted to work in bronze as it is a material that I have grown rather fond of during a previous project and I wanted to take the material further. I also wanted to try working with more precious metals as it is value that I am looking to illustrate within this project. The main inspiration for the outcome was an object held within the natural history collection, the piece of moon rock that “only NASA hold the key to” is supposedly the most valuable item in the museum’s collection and to think that a lump of rock can hold such value due to its material nature is fascinating to me. I had the idea of demonstrating the value of an object/ collection by using two materials that hold completely different values. I wanted to experiment with bronze and silver, and this is perfect as silver holds almost 100x the value of bronze. What created was two 500mm x 500mm frames with sculptures held within, much like insect specimens, one frame has 49 bronze sculptures and the other contains a single silver sculpture as the value of the sliver would be double that of all 49 bronze works. The shape of the individual sculptures was governed by the patterns gained from analysing the location of the bronze sculptures within the museum.”
16
|
AARON J D MAKER
The estimated value of the materials used to form the sculptures is; Silver (2.5g) =£0.78 Bronze (107.8g) =£0.39 This estimation is based on the current price of both silver and bronze in February of the year 2019. Just to think that the silver sculpture holds twice as much material value as the bronze piece is incredible.
BLK BO CX
“T
he communication of the human experience with the cosmos is a settling constant, transcending ephemeral socio-cultural that realise so much on our perception of our environment to understand the magnitude of the universe we live in. With this in mind, I often consider place and its meaning to an individual in my work. I wanted to create an interactive sensory piece that would bring a physical aspect to exploring the night sky. By undergoing a thorough research in combination with my personal views, I dissect the subject and translate into a design that tells a visual story, focused on image and perspective.” The piece is comprised of multiple sections, lithophanes to be observed with light passing through to reveal the hidden detail, postcards to offer a portable guide to locating deep sky object within the night sky, 3D printed holdable objects to offer a tactile perspective of the variations of deep sky objects as well as artist books that are separated from the main body of the piece to offer a more personal experience that can be taken away. The piece tests the boundaries between seeing, classifying, and reproducing deep-sky objects against those catalogued by French astronomer Charles Messier. BLK BO CX, is both an adaptation and variation on the visual data comprising Messier’s 110 deep sky objects that he observed in his attempt to chart comets (when, in fact, he had “accidentally” observed whole galaxies and interstellar nebulae).
18
|
AARON J D MAKER
BLK BO CX
“T
he pieces that I have created is my homage to the Messier’s catalogue of deep sky objects, split into sections the piece is a correlation of the catalogue in different forms.
The piece includes 110 lithophanes that depict each deep sky object when held up to light with an accompanying set of postcards that displays information about each of them. In addition to this there are 9 hand painted disks that show the variations of deep sky object from a galaxy to a nebula as well as an 18-panel star map to help locate in the night sky. To accompany the main piece there is an additional aspect including a miniature artist book containing all 110 illustartions as well as a single lithophane. The purpose of the piece is to inform people about the Messier catalogue as well as creating a museum style art piece. The books can be purchased through aaronjdmaker.com by contacting the artist.
AARON J D MAKER
19
“O
riginating from my interest of data visualisation and the use of technology within the production of art, the two bowls that I have created are a visual representation of the difference in popularity between Art and technology, with one bowl representing the 15,000 people who visit the busiest art gallery in the world each day and the other representing the 25,000 people who visit the busiest Apple store each day.
My aim was to highlight the potential devaluation of art due to the rise of technology and how the focus on physical art has shifted to a more technological environment with art no longer being viewed in physical form but rather on a phone/ computer screen. I wanted to highlight how one technology brand can attract such a demand and outnumber the attraction to potentially the most prestigious art gallery in the world.�
AARON J D MAKER
21
“T
he outcome that I have created is a visual representation of the planetary systems within our solar system. Using NFC, the piece becomes interactive and engages with the viewer far more than
if they were to just observe it for its aesthetic value. I wanted the piece to be of an educational value and teach its viewer about the moons and planets of our solar system, not only for its characteristics but to gain a sense of scale as well.
In total I created 14 pieces that comprise of a pewter casted bottom, 3D printed top and a compartment for an NFC chip as well as containing ball bearings. Each aspect of the piece is in relation to its context and, although metaphorical, each aspect has been designed to reflect its value.
The black paint used was developed by NASA to reduce the reflection within their telescopes and is representative of the dark outer space within my piece. The gold accents on the piece represent the moons of the solar system with each line representing one or more moons. I chose the gold colour not only because it complements the piece but because it represents the value that space hold to me. I feel that without outer space or knowledge of its existence, the world would offer no context for its existence and many questions would have gone unanswered. The pewter inlay within the top section of the piece is representative of the 9 major planets with 9 concentric lines forming its design. The inlay also helps to add weight to the top section and to hold the NFC tag in place. The bottom pewter section is there to add weight to the piece as well as stability as I didn’t want the pieces to move under vibration. I also wanted the pieces to be as tactile as possible so by adding weight it encourages people to pick it up and touch it. The ball bearings with the piece act as a sensory experience and are representative of the number of moons orbiting that planet. They are also in size order as I wanted to show the variation in size between each moon.�
22
|
AARON J D MAKER
LUNAR ORBIT
AARON J D MAKER
23
10,000 GALAXIES “2020 marks the 30th anniversary of the Hubble telescope and I wanted to dedicate my last project as a BA student to it. Over the past few months, I have been making thousands of sculptures each one representing a single galaxy within our universe with the purpose of illustrating the true scale of the universe. The Hubble space telescope has helped us gain a greater understanding for what lies beyond our solar system and has provided us with some of the most important and beautiful images of the universe.
One of these images was the Hubble Ultra Deep Field image, containing 10,000 galaxies within a patch of sky no bigger than a pin head held at arm’s length. My piece is a representation of scale within our universe and the idea of infinity using mirrors to replicate galaxies. I have created 2,000 sculptures each derived from data of the closest galaxies to our own, alongside three mirrored infinity cubes. “
24
|
AARON J D MAKER
10,000 GALAXIES
C
apturing the scale of the universe and commemorating 30 years of the Hubble Deep Field Telescope.
Using simple data processing methods to create galactic sculptures, this work aims to illustrate the vastness of space. The work is comprised of 2,000 gilded sculptures, set in a grid like structure. These forms are representational of the 10,000 galaxies captured by Hubble, over a distance of 13 billion light years. Galaxies which exist in a patch of sky no greater than the size of a pin head held at arm’s length.
AARON J D MAKER
25
“C
elestial objects are a collection of 50 ink illustrations based on the 50 closest moons to our own. Using acrylic inks and acetate to create celestial looking objects, these pieces use various methods I have developed for the last 5 years.
Using petri dishes to contain the liquid paint and using syringes to move segments of colour to achieve the desired effect, the pieces are 50mm in diameter and blown up in size to reveal the microscopic detail. I then use photoshop to bring out detail in certain areas and increase the luminosity of each piece.� Prints and commissions can be purchased by contacting the artist through aaronjdmaker.com
CELESTIAL OBJECTS AARON J D MAKER
27
CELESTIAL OBJECTS
NEBULAS “M
y nebula series is a collection of 12 abstract alcohol ink works using various chemicals to react with the inks and create colour displacement.
Created as part of my A-Levels, the techniques developed from my technical research is still used in my work today and continues to be one of my favorite art methods. It is a quick and effective technique that is easy to create, and one large scale piece can be divided into many smaller pieces.”
Space has always held a strong bond within my artwork, and I have always used it as a way to gain inspiration. Not only am I interested in the visuals of astronomy but also the data that it holds which is prevalent within my other work.”
AARON DAVIES