Exchange of Cultural Perception ... by Daiva Gauryte.

Kofi, your description of your chosen space ‘Heaven’, a New York café in week 2, inspired many thoughts and ideas for me about the heart and soul of the space. I formed a vivid impression of what it would be like to be inside, and a real feeling for the people who frequent it. I was able to establish a sense of proportion, and your creative piece really helped to conjure an intense feeling of the atmosphere.

I have never seen or visited this place, yet I am able to clearly imagine how it feels being there, from this work I found I could transfer myself to the New York street. I imagined it to be a dark cold night; I got a sense of being surrounded by towering and imposing structures, it all felt so monumental. Yet from out of the cold darkness I could feel warmth and the bright fluid colours attracted my attention, a ‘Heaven’ that I must seek out.

To enable me to manipulate and transform what is already and accomplished piece, it was important to place myself in the street outside the cafe, as a passer-by looking in, maybe I paused for a minute, my attention caught by the bright lights and vivid interior. A dynamic element breaking up the static geometric architecture and existing within it, with the multi-layered themes evoked by the interconnections between the inside and the outside space.

I have presented my interpretation of the piece at night, isolating that feeling of looking in from the outside space, feeling involved without being inside. I want to underline two different forces in this work: dynamic and static, the dark imposing walls of the night are a reflection of static objects such as architecture and masculinity, with the fluid colourful space inside being vibrant, full of emotion and feminine traits.

I have sought to emphasize the individual characteristics of femininity and masculinity by dividing the café’s space in to two defined spatial components, framing the female character as the centre figure of this work, in what appears to be a window at the bottom of the piece. I moved males to the top to represent the existence of two parallel, yet interconnected worlds.

I have created the illusion of a mysterious and shadowy atmosphere in what could be construed as the upper floor; this is a portrayal of an environment that does not actually exist in reality, more of one that symbolises the subconscious of the female mind. Some objects that existed in the piece have been repeated, some of them crossing the division between the spaces, existing without boundaries, creating a sense of the inherent relationship between the two elements. The black ‘walls’ appear to be framing the stereotypical aspects of gender, those that are instantly recognisable and rarely subject to change.

The café’s name of ‘Heaven’ aspires to create a dream-like feeling of relaxed surroundings, encapsulated by precise and purposeful boundaries. The idea that you are always likely to encounter people from different continents and cultures makes for a sense of excitement and anticipation. The mood created has a profound influence on the nature of relationships, often meaning that they are very dynamic and fast paced, often with the knowledge that they are no more than temporary. It is an opportunity for barriers to be crossed and taken down altogether, leading to the uninhibited assimilation of opposites.

Through this collaboration of different artists, both of whom are involved in intense but diverse practices, we can see how combining styles and ideas still allows for their individuality to be communicated through one image. How different techniques and experiences can create an aesthetic composition, bringing two ideas together in a common theme. The gendering of space is by nature a complex and variable series of moves and looks between men, women and their environment, constructed and represented through spatial and social relations of consumption, display and exchange.

Kofi, I have found the process of transforming and manipulating your work to be enlightening and enriching. It has been an experience that has enhanced my appreciation of the many different perspectives that can be related to a common theme. My work focuses on the stripping down of elements to their basic components, then re-building the relationships between them in their purest forms, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to express my ideas through your work.

Fosu's orginal art.

Gauryte's modification.

Exchange of Cultural Perception ... by Kofi Fosu.

Metamorphosis as in transformation is a form of birth. Given the nine month pregnancy of the female species, the body transforms from a distinct posture, perhaps elegant or spectacularly feminine to an exaggerated shape subject to a more bulbous proportion. What is particular in this form of manifestation is how the physicality of the female acquires features both normal and abnormal inclusively defining what is structure and change, diversity and homogeneity.

An empty space is a newfound territory, free of any decadence or torture. Circumstantially, it’s pronounceable, simply as air…thusly remarking at the thought of birth. How then does one manipulate the greater cause to expound? With what elements do we delineate, carve and engrave the symptoms that express the volatile issues examining the politics of gender?

Mood suggests the “emotional” temperature of ones environment. Light and dark imply the foundation for such disposition. Light affords clarity. Darkness on the other hand justifies the need and cause for reaffirming a more definitive element which at times embraces the light to express dimension or rather serves as a compliment to the dark as in “opposites attract.”

Color embodies the wealth of pageantry. Given the relevance of light and dark, color undergoes a variety of different meanings. This is exacted in neutrality, as in the “juxtapositioning” of colors based on the very use of tone, shade or texture. The overall environment then determines the aforementioned “mood” therefore setting a predestined notion of what is to inhabit the space.

Gender probabilities in this spectrum can be considered through the use of shapes, lines, and text. A circle, for example, is spherical. A square is however a line having undergone a series of redirections. Can we presuppose that the order in a circle completing its cycle is feminine as opposed to the exaggerated steps and missteps of a square? If an hourglass defines the shape of a woman, then the square exemplifies a barrel-chested man.

Your remarkable creation, Daiva, has given me a chance to modify what I thought you established as a neutral space. It however borders a horizon that I feel is ordered and therefore it provides me with a chance to maneuver whatever avenues I can on the circumstances of gender.

In reference to the language of shapes, I decided to feature a circular relevance to something I thought was other wise masculine. Certainly, I’ve explained my realities on the square and the circle.

Then again, color in the original piece is minimal. I found it reflected more of the conscience. This allowed me to refer to the idea of pageantry by using colors and yet managing to maintain the neutrality of the original piece.

I was also aware of the use of texture and tone. Daiva, I feel this is a magnificent piece. It gave me a chance to diverge from what you did and yet it allowed me to incorporate my own idea of masculine/feminine by using tone, texture, shape and color.

Finally, the text “EXEUNT” is Shakespearean. At the end of a scene in an act, the actors are directed to exit. When all of the actors on stage exit, they exeunt. Eternity grants a means of forever. Not everything or everyone is stationed. As in a revolution, we are free to move. Your piece, Daiva, has power and rule. I thought it probable to be enlightened.

Thank you for giving me this opportunity.

Gaurytes original art.

Fosu's modification.