Unit 2 submission
Temporary additional information for my Unit 2 submission (GDFA, UAL)
From fashion, to dressing, to sensory moments
Moving on from fashion theory, I have had more of an interest in mindfulness techniques and focussing in on the mundane everyday tasks (like dressing). These first paintings have really driven my practice forward into looking at themes of solitary, sensory and intimate moments.
Recording myself getting dressed and ready, I took shots from unseen angles where I wasn't looking at the camera. I liked the intimacy of these and there was something honest about them. These angles were very much influenced by artist Seung Ah Paik.
Reflecting now, I could've spent more time making smaller works like these, developing my painting techniques and style, before moving onto larger scale. And, I became comfortable working on paper, but could've tried working on canvas.
Interim internal exhibition
I tried arranging my paintings in a few positions around the Triangle. Curatorially, I felt that this worked well, where they're attached to different surfaces but when the viewer finds them from this side, they are faced with them all in one frame. There's an element of it that's like a changing room being faced with mirrors at different angles.
They were purposefully placed near Dirk's zip piece and Karen M's pockets because of the connections with garments..
The fabric one is wrapped around a pillar. The others are hung on nails with white bulldog clips which I think worked well - embracing that they're on paper and card stationary.
Experimenting with fabrics
Inspired by Louise Bourgeois' Woven Child exhibition, I experimented with painting directly onto fabric.
It was a useful exersize to try different fabrics - the tartan to the left was quite woolly and textured which made it difficult to blend the paint. The striped fabric was more canvas-like so I'd use it or something similar again.
Preparatory sketches
Some sketches I did when thinking about what to exhibit at the Safehouse. I was trialling how the different angles worked together.
I wanted to include another element (like the rug) in the portraits, so wanted to visualise that. I didn't include it in the end as I wasn't sure if it would take away from the floating-like way the figures exist on the page. On reflection, I could've included it to really bring the scene into the bedroom.
Alongside these, I attended some life drawing classes at the LCF to work on my drawing skills and especially with perspectives and foreshortening of figures.
Safehouse exhibition
My painting had developed by this point, with more practice but also with a couple of tutorials with Tim Johnston who had gone into detail about the cool and warm tones of skin which was especially useful for me.
At the Safehouse it was said that there was something cool or clinical about these works - I can agree and its something I hadn't noticed. The white clean space, the cool tones of the skin and the way the subject is unaware of being viewed have lead to this.
Curatorially, I think the paintings worked well with Fan's box frames because of the empty space they both featured, and there was a synergy between the colour of the skin in my paintings, the wood the boxes were made of and the colours on the walls.
To be critical of the work, I feel like they would work better if much bigger and therefore more imposing. I wanted to get a sleepiness across in these but I feel the yawn (middle image) is too literal. Going forward I would like the imagery to be more subjective and open to interpretation.
Example of failure
Because of the link with clothing, I wanted to try making work on my own clothes. An item of clothing I'd had for a long time and remember buying when at university, I painted a passport photo of me taken at the time. It didn't work well - the material didn't take the paint, there wasn't much of a likeness and it wasn't my intention to make/design a new item of clothing like this was suggesting - or did I want to comment on the longevity of clothing as that's somewhat irrelevant to my practice. Overall it just wasn't very successful.
