SURREAL WAYS TO DRINK COFFEE

Manipulating the use of everyday objects.

For this project I have been looking at how I can manipulate the use of, everyday objects – taking something ordinary and turning it on its head to be able to include them in films I will be making for my end of year show. Eventually I will have created a set with these products and allow people to move them around and create their own surreal experience. This page will be focussing on the most surrealistic ways of drinking coffee and how I will finalise the product.

Above, I have included a digital plan of how I can bring this idea to life. My initial ideas consist of making a mug and turning the handle upside down, making a mug where you would drink out of the handle instead of the main part, making purely a handle that would fit to your hand, and completely altering the shape and meaning of the mug by designing it as a toilet (as an example). The two main ideas I am leaning towards are the handle fitted to your hand, and the one where you would drink out of the handle instead.

As I started to form the mug, the position I had it in meant that I had indented a slight pinch on the front of the mug creating somewhat of a v-shape and I found myself thinking about Marcel Duchamp’s fountain – a sculpture piece where he turned a urinal upside down to give it a new meaning, a fountain. I then slightly changed my idea and kept the shape of the urinal in response to Duchamp’s work. Below is a digital sketch page in response to the thought process behind how this came about.

Above is the sculpture I made with the idea of Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain in mind when making the mug and I love how weirdly it turned out. I’m often a perfectionist when it comes to my art and experimenting with surreal ideas is really motivating as I’m interested to see just how far this idea can go!

Above is a video from where I mixed PVA glue with coffee grounds and poured through the mug. I poured it this was to show how the mug works. It was really difficult to make this shape so I’m glad it actually worked. I then mixed a tiny bit of white into the remaining bit of the mix to create the froth effect when coffee is poured and applied it to the outer edge of the mug.