Shaun Project Space Crit

Sophie-Anne Mitcheson's crit included a range of her resin sculptures positioned on a plinth and some jelly prints displayed on the wall behind. Sophie's sculptural work preserves natural materials by trapping things such as petals, leaves and sand grains in resin. The overall effect is very delicate and as if it is preventing the effects of time and decay on fragile flora that look like they're floating in the clear resin.

Sophie had used a range of experimentation in her choice of materials and testing of shapes. My favourites were the smallest ones which reminded me of a classic sweet shape. Sophie also invited everyone to handle the pieces which seems an unusual thing to be allowed to do with artwork but I think people were keen to handle them and it created an interesting contrast with the fact that it appears so delicate but is actually strong and durable work to allow people to touch it and it not be affected.

An interesting topic of discussion about these works was the sometimes unpredictable nature of using resin as a material and some of the 'mistake' outcomes that had proven to be interesting pieces. One example is the larger spherical piece in the first photo which was particularly intriguing as the resin had expanded in the reaction process causing the texture to change and blurring the contents more than usual.