Projection by David McDiarmid

Projection. You usually try and make
it perfect. But then you use these
quite recalcitrant materials, that will
always do something else than what
you envision. People live their lives
in a building, but then that results in
everyday edits and breakages, spillages
and stain. What should the attitude
be, accommodate change or create
space that in a kind of paranoia tries to
predict all future uses and accidents?
It’s a question of control. To
DMc: use a very simple example
from everyday life, the likes of chip stones
are used in parks or squares to discourage
people from walking certain routes. It’s
not necessarily a bad thing but, but it
does make me think how easy it is to
build an environment to control the way
someone walks around it.
This is a good way into the
AB: space of your installations.
You have to in some way dictate the
space, I did get a bit confused because
that projection wall was a built wall and
then there was the false pillar for your
piece Abeyance as well. They felt
like little interventions and kind of
controlling that space and how it can
be traversed.
Most of the imagery I use
DMc: in my work is of external
structures, rather than architectural
interiors. I suppose how I address the
subject of interior space is through
the installation of the work in the
gallery space. For a long time I was
very uncomfortable hanging paintings
on the wall. I was always interested
in presenting the paintings with the
models. Fundamentally I still describe
myself as a painter even though a lot
of the works you probably wouldn’t
describe as painting. I always feel I
solve problems in a painterly way. I
won’t present a model on its own, I’ll
present a painting with it because it
sets up for me an interesting connection
between design and construction,
proposal and projection, drawing, model
and finished concept.
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