In these photographs I have taken Winston Churchill’s speech and I have burnt it, not in a way to say that I disagree with them (as burning things are usually a sign of hatred), but to create ashes. All that we know of Churchill is from what historians have told us and from his famous words, which are still being spoken about to this day. When people die it is a very common for them to be cremated- the ashes are their body, who they are and they are a symbol of what they were when they were alive. All that we know of Churchill are his words. As they are all of what we know of him, the burnt embers of his speeches are just as significant to us, if not more, than his actual self.
To progress from this idea I want to film the words burning. Fire is a very emotive and beautiful thing, and I think that by filming it might lead me onto some other idea. The idea that I currently have for possible progression is to record people I know saying the poems that I have written. I want to see how these words sound coming from lots of different dialects, accents and ages. I will probably experiment with the different sounds to see that I can create something that fits with the burning of the paper. I want to make sure that I have something other than just the pot to fall back on, because although I am pretty confident I would rather be safe than sorry. Also this seems quite experimental and it might lead me on to advancing in some more ‘dangerous’ work in the future.