Degree Show Planning

Degree Show

Since the actual layout of my exhibition is very important and a big part of the whole idea it made sense to start thinking about it as early as possible. It was only after I started putting down the ideas I realised that I wanted to use resin as the base of my 3D print as it looked very nice in the Blender renders. I already knew from the beginning that I wanted to have individual screens as digital paintings and a 3D printed sculpture. This would cause some logistic problems I needed to solve alone as well as working with the DJCAD to see what is possible and what isn’t.

The layout

To fully understand how my spot would work in the space we’re given I used the floorplan of the Matthew Level 5 we also used for our undergrad Degree Show in 2022. During then my spot was the first one on the left when people entered through the doors (red arrow) which wasn’t the best spot as by the time people entered they had their backs towards my spot. For this Degree Show I feel like the best spot would be facing towards the entrance especially if my idea of the semi closed room will be approved, that would make the sides so closed you wouldn’t see the inside of it until properly walking into the hallway.

My spot would make the most sense in the middle of the room, so either back facing towards the big pillars at the start and end of the space, or in the middle. The middle would be the best but at the same time trickiest as with the wall I’ve planned I’d need to put another wall behind to sandwich the monitor stands out of sight as the space behind is lowered benches so not much coverage. The sides of the space wouldn’t work with the three wall design, as the sides would block the walkway and most likely become an health hazard very quickly.

I also have thought about a layout with just one wall and all three digital paintings along that one, so that would work alongside the wall better.

The basic idea of the layout is a plinth in a middle, on top of it the 3D printed sculpture. I’m going to light the sculpture from below, so that the parts inside the resin are more visible. This could be done by placing a battery powered light underneath for example and leaving space for it during resin pouring. This would mean no loose cords on the floor, which would again, be a tripping hazard.

For the backdrop I’d use a movable faux wall. I know of their existence thanks to last year’s Degree Show as they were offered to us for use. In case those would’ve disappeared by now, it would be an easy build using plywood and cheap timber. I would then paint the surface with white paint (again this was offered to us last year) to match the walls. Using my own build would also mean that I can cut into it without destroying school property.

The way I intended to sell the illusion of real paintings was to use monitor stands behind the faux wall, then cut a hole on said wall and place a wooden painting frame on top of the monitor to make it appear like a normal painting you’d find in a exhibition. Since I’ll be using post processing during rendering to attach a paint like texture on top of my digital pieces it would seem like northing exceptional until you’d get closer and then realise that the painting you thought normal was in fact, moving.

Doubled with the ambience nature sounds from Finland I feel like the experience would be pretty nice. In front of the spot there’s also a normal monitor on a plinth to see my showreel and/or website and even possibly have an VR experience inside to one of the paintings.