There was a feature article in the Salvador newspaper, “A Tarde”, about the exhibition last week. Since the article came out just before the show opened, they didn’t have any images of the finished product. Instead, they printed a large image of my working design.
The opening of the exhibition “Saccharum BA” at the Museum of Modern Art of Bahia (MAM/BA) in Salvador, Brazil on Monday, June 15/09.
Project done. Disaster averted. All completed according to plan.
Exhale… Enjoy the evening!
I basically finished installing on Sunday, the day before the opening. The humidity was super high, so the tiles were becoming re-saturated with moisture, and thus, softening and beginning to slide. All of this was leaving me pretty anxious about if things would stay in place until the opening. Then, Sunday night, it poured all night! I just kept thinking, there’s no way it’s all going to in tact after this rain. So Monday morning, I went back to the museum to assess the damage. And… it was actually ok! One tile had fallen off, but a staff member picked it up and kept it in her office for me, so I was able to put it back up. I decided to put up a little more sugar “glue” between the tiles, kind of like grout, to help keep things set. The icing I use for this dries hard and doesn’t rehydrate like the tiles do, so it makes for more secure adhesion.
Here are the photos of the last touch ups and then the final product.
Day 2 was a little more tense than I had expected. I suppose the tension began when it rained overnight, and I spent the entire night wondering if all my tiles would slide down the wall over the course of the night. Arriving at the museum the next day provided some relief to see that everything was still indeed on the wall. However, the humidity was like a steam bath. ALL of the tiles from day one were wet, actually “sweating”. Even the ones I was applying fresh, the ones that were dry, were becoming moist as I was working. I began wondering if this mural would last until the opening!
It was all up by the end of the day, but I was still feeling extremely nervous about the whole thing. I always had doubts as to whether or not doing this project at this particular time of year in Salvador was feasible. As I was applying the tiles, realizing how quickly this mural might decompose, I tried to convince myself that it wasn’t much different than a very elaborate wedding cake, where the decorator spends days or weeks planning and preparing, and then it all gets eaten in a single night. My work is temporary and ephemeral. This I know, and this I must accept. Everything is impermanent anyway. Better to embrace this than to deny. Accept more and expect less.
Let’s see what happens…
Well, things seem to be off to a favorable start. I spent yesterday laying out the total azulejo (tile mural) and making all of the final adjustments. Today was the big day to install on the wall at the museum. I had expected to install all of it in one shot, in about 2 hours, 3 maximum. The last one I installed only took about 3 hours, so that was what I was gauging this one on. But, I guess I forgot that the last time, it was summer here, and the wall was exposed to the sun. This equals, less humidity and faster drying time. This time around, things are a LOT more humid, so things were not drying as quickly as I’m used to. Basically, I apply royal icing to the back of each tile, and affix it to the wall. This usually dries within a few minutes. But with the higher humidity this time of year, the “glue” wasn’t setting up, so the tiles kept slowly sliding down the wall. Awesome.
I had 3 helpers, so they held the first row of tiles up until they dried. And they held them, and they held them, and they held them… I think I applied more icing that I needed to, so they just weren’t drying. We got a big fan to help speed things up, but I knew that wasn’t going to be enough. Finally, I decided that we needed to put up a wooden support along the bottom row to support the weight. Then, the tiles could rest on that fixed edge, and I could keep applying the rows above it. This way, the sugar glue could set up and then tomorrow we could remove the wooden support. After some discussion between about 6 people (in english, portuguese, and some sort of mixture between the 2 languages) everyone agreed that this was the best way to proceed.
Indeed. this worked magic, and in no time I got several more rows put up. But by then, the sun was setting and therefore my light was vanishing. So it didn’t all get done in one day, but there shouldn’t be a problem finishing it tomorrow.
Just before installing, I need to lay out all of the tiles to be sure that everything lines up and one side isn’t darker than the other, or some other type of inconsistency. Generally, I paint the tiles in small sections, so it’s not until the end that I put the entire design together. I had access to a room at the Goethe Institute with a very large table that I could lay it all out on. The design underneath is my paper pattern. I also measure everything to prepare for the installation.
Imagine this is a flip book! I’m nearing the end of the drawing/painting process. Tomorrow I’ll lay it all out on the floor and make any corrections or adjustments. then in a couple of days, I’ll install it at the Museum.
Here are some general ambient shots of the Museum setting. There are 3 exhibition areas: the main space has 2 floors and is air-conditioned. This is where my photos will be installed. The lower area has several rooms that are more open and will be used for some of the sculptural works. Then there´s the Chapel gallery, which is just one floor.
I´m still not totally sure where I´ll install my mural. Maybe in the archway, outside, but maybe indoors in the Chapel gallery (Capela). Either way, it´s just such a lovely location that any spot would be suitable in my mind.
I´ve had 3 days of painting so far. I basically need to work solid days every day until I install. Since I´m working at the apartment, and I´m staying there with another artist, I try to just work during the hours that he´s not around. That gives me from 9:30am – 6-15pm. During those hours, I´m a painting machine! So far, things seem to be progressing on schedule.
The first task for making a sugar tile mural is to make the tiles. For my design, I will need 113 tiles, 17cm x 17cm. I´m going this work in the apartment where I´m staying because I´m there alone right now, and it makes the most sense. I´m happy to report it took only 3 days to get all of them made, with a few extras. Here is the process:
Art 21 azulejo billboard book art book sculpture Brazil ceramic concrete Darling Foundry Ductal fabric art FOFA Gallery harbour Karen Herland Mois de la photo Montreal mosaic Mosaika Art & Design mural nuit blanche old port pastry art PSB: Art in the 21st Century public art quilt quilting salvador sculpture slavery slave trade Stefan Zebrowski-Rubin street art sugar sugar art sugar graffiti tags throw up Z+G Magazine
