Chance assisted collage

A Newspaper was selected by allocating a number from 1-6 to each newspaper and then rolling a dice. Pages were selected by allocating page numbers in the same way. The pages were then cut into squares, put into a bag, drawn out one by one and stuck down in order of the draw.

Dice Drawings

Dice Drawings

I have begun to experiment with chance directly in my work, taking inspiration from artists who employ chance methods such as the Dadaists.

These 'dice drawings' were created by allocating each number on the dice an action, for example 5=straight line right, 6= stop drawing etc. I found it both freeing and frustrating as I didn't know when the drawing was finished, working in this way goes against all preconceptions about taste and style as you have little control over these things.

The Dice Man by Luke Rhinehart was one of my first introductions to the concept of chance. The story centers around a psychiatrist who begins to experiment with 'dice living' making all his decisions by the role of the dice. The novel raises issues about the random aspects of life, responsibility for your own actions, morality and how society is constructed. It has sparked my interest in chance and coincidence and given me many interesting chains of thought and starting points for my research.

" Chance opened up perceptions to me, immediate spiritual insights. Intuition led me to revere the law of chance as the highest and deepest of laws, the law that rises from the fundament. An insignificant word might become a deadly thunderbolt. One little sound might desroy the earth. One little sound might create a new universe." Jean Arp

Chance: the unknown and unpredictable element that cause an event to result in a certain way rather than another, spoken of as a real force.