#36 Coco Crampton, Swing
2 - 21 July
Coco Crampton was born in London 1983. She studied at Norwich School of Art and Design 2002 - 2005. he lives and works in Norwich.
From the centre of the gallery a mulberry tree extends into the roof space, pivoting four other works: a hand-stitched quilt comprised from a signature rhombus shape laying on a bed of stacked particle board; three sculpture-cum-furniture pieces housing strip-lighting; a black hexagon circling and hanging from one of the gallery's i-beams and an alternating pastel coloured scalloped and spoked semi-circular screen.
A discussion between Kaavous Clayton and Coco Crampton at Outpost 31st June 2007.
Kaavous Clayton: A lot of the work you're showing in Swing seems to use design elements from pre-existing pieces or movements as starting points. How do you feel that your modifications add to them?
Coco Crampton: The word modification suggests improvement, to make an object function more successfully, the act of bettering something. I don't feel that by departing from a pre-existing design I am necessarily changing it for the better.
KC: What are you changing it for then?
CC: I'm not interested in a complete imitation of the original. I've chosen to borrow aspects of other people's designs. For instance, the Donkeyrides borrow their aesthetic form from Ernest Race's Penguin Donkey Mark 2. I wanted to hijack the form of Race's bookcase design but not the function.
KC: The title of your show suggests play, as does the title Donkeyride. This combined with the removing of the function of objects and bringing of their pleasurable aspects to the fore invites involvement, presenting a space that proposes the viewer indulges in leisure.
CC: Although the titles I have chosen can be seen to suggest play, Swing is actually a fairly formal show. The objects are very contained and consist of strict aesthetic structures. I use the titles to counterpoint this and add narrative; swinging is not confined to the playground, one can also swing a punch or swing from a noose. This susceptibility to many meanings does not necessarily lead to ambiguity, they are all strong visual equivalents, each informing the other.
KC: You seem to have a strong vision of where objects will be placed and how they'll relate to each other. Is this decision making an intuitive process? Or maybe an emotional one? Or even formal?
CC: I had some pieces constructed specifically for the space so their placement was preconceived. I'm not overly concious of any particular approach to arranging works, often objects find their ground without any deliberate decision making.
KC: Have the colours you've used been selected to elicit or encourage any particular response?
CC: In this installation colour is approached similarly to the titles as secondary to form, sometimes in a wayward fashion. When someone saw the work under construction they commented that there was a colour for everybody, I think there's certainly an aspect of that, with a palette hinting towards the leisure time livery of fairgrounds and beach amusements.
KC: And for some people leisure is eating: lime and mandarin tic-tacs; fruitella chews, black-jacks, ice-gems and coloured candy-floss. Consumption for the masses.
