Worktable - IBT

I have been meaning to write this post for an AGE. In February we went to the IBT/13 interactive, live installation that was Worktable (http://ibt13.co.uk/worktable-8/). It all took part in portacabins outside the Arnolfini, each portacabin is a different stage in the installation and its something you mostly do on your own. I don't think you were supposed to know what you were going to be asked to do, but a friend had enthusiastically told us everything the evening before we went.

You pick an object and walk through to a room where you are given your worktable (pic above) and are asked to destroy/take apart your object. We went last thing on the last day and so just got in before the whole thing closed. Consequently there weren't many objects to pick from. There were lots of pieces of pottery but I didn't want to just smash something, so I picked string.

I then spent the rest of the time unpicking and unravelling the ball of string thinking. MEGAN! WHY did you pick STRING! This is just going to be like a piece of work now and you spend AGES unpicking STRING! YOU CAN'T HELP YOURSELF!

Nevertheless it was satisfying and it wasn't canvas threads so it was sort of not the same, and I didn't have to be so regimented as I am when I'm making a work so I unravelled and unpicked and cut and pulled at random. Magnus picked a little brooch, pulling apart and cutting the cheap metal, and he (after a couple of goes) managed to pulverise the stone, I think using a nutcracker.

You then put the remnants of your objects in a cardboard tray and take it to the next room, where you swap your tray for another. There are loads sitting on shelves and you look through and pick what you want. Its a good chance to see what other people have done, lots of smashed up pottery - to the point where you can't even hazard a guess at what it used to be.

I picked a box of shards of pottery (like the one above but that's not the one, got carried away and forgot to take a picture..). 

This bit was the fun bit. I covered everything with glue, scrunched it all into a ball (smelled brilliant but didn't stick all that well..) and then covered it with tape. I wanted to do lots of wrapping but have the pieces of pottery visible so loads of tape and some rubber bands. 

Magnus made a 'necklace' out of a little dish that we had seen at the pre-smashing stage. 

Once you had put your second-hand object back together you took it to another room where there were shelves crammed with all sorts of objects which had been unmade and remade. This was fascinating and I think we spent longer in here than in any other part.  

This (above) was my favourite of all the objects remade, someone has been so restrained at the smashing stage! 

My object's siblings.

Magnus' necklace adorning a taped-dog.

There were some really gorgeous and really creative objects there, some you had no idea what they were or how-on-earth they had been put back together.

It was such a good project. I obviously find it satisfying, and think there is something in taking things apart and remaking them. To have the chance to do it just to enjoy the process and not think, and for anyone off the street to experience taking apart and remaking is a brilliant idea, and it makes for some fantastic objects!