Throughout the last few months I have been predominantly working on creating short films. I’ve always been a painter and drawer, and loved using these mediums, but after 3 years at university (including foundation year) and 5 years at school doing so, I felt that I had gotten everything I possibly could out of this method of working. I wanted to move onto something more stimulating and that I was more interested in. I took into account what really interests me and what motivates me more than creating painterly artwork; the first thing that popped into my head was music. 

I have always been interested in music and submersing myself into really intense trance like environments, so I thought why not combine the two? I started gathering footage every time I went out, just on my phone, of the crowds and the atmosphere. I started to looking back at some documentaries I’ve watched in the past about raves and drugs, films from artists that focus on rave culture and old 90s amateur video footage of warehouse raves. I asked a lot of my parents’ friends about their experiences in the 80s and 90s of these types of environments, and gathered some first hand knowledge from the people themselves who knew these places extensively. I became building a library of footage from my own personal experiences, with endless loose audio clips from 90s documentaries and 2000s radio interviews and programs. It became a case of studying 90s rave culture against the rave culture of today, and how much it is changed and how much has actually stayed the same. I began having visions of how I could put all my footage together in short films and how this might be perceived by the audience. 

I have taken a lot of inspiration from several film producers, particularly Mark Leckey and his film, Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore produced in 1999, revealing energy and aspiration from keen club goers. The video is sourced from footage of British nightclubs from the 70s to 90s, and is extremely euphoric and aesthetically pleasing. I took a lot of influence from the style and arrangement of his films to pull through to my work. I have also been massively influenced by the work of Carl Slater, an artist and art coordinator living in Plymouth. He predominately works with film and produced an incredible film Hyper Crucible, focussing on British nightlife and religion. He combines ideologies of cult, and cult in religion, and rave culture and drugs. I felt extremely influenced by seeing Hyper Crucible and how it made me felt the first time I saw it was unlike any other feeling I had felt before. I felt immersed in the atmosphere of the environment, and really affected by the audio track. It started out with a techno and electronic trance style and then blends into really moving melancholic choral style music. I thought a lot about how Slater edits his films and the effects put onto the footage and the audio, and how I could relay this into my work. 

For exhibitions of my work I am always considering the space in order to accommodate for the style of my work. For example, with my films, I would prefer to only show case them in an enclosed space where the atmosphere can be truly felt. If I am to take some of my work to a higher level, I would love to include bigger and louder speakers in a much more sound proof room, with heaters and uv style lights. For my third year final exhibition, I have thought about the alternatives if I’m not able to showcase in an enclosed room or space; I will drape material around a structure that can allow me to project the films in a slightly darker space, and then accommodate for the public space by using headphones instead of speakers. 

My philosophy behind my work resonates with my continued interest in the rave scene. I am fascinated by its history, and the ways in which it has changed over time. I also enjoy learning of how the law dealt with things so differently 20/30 years ago and how much people could get away with. Rave culture has been a prominent part of our society for years now, and it’s amazing being able to experience it first hand in its continuous development.