Portfolio
Sentimentality
To form the basis for the body of work, I chose to focus upon things from my childhood, objects that are very precious to me. This decision was made because I was interested in the idea that our early years shape who we are as a person. Arguably experiences we are exposed to can affect our choices in the future. I was also inspired by again the importance of objects, and how the archaic and modern can relate back to one another.
I chose objects that had sentimental value, a link to the past, an artifact of my former self, a moment in my timeline. Moreover, I wanted to explore that what might seem trivial and unimportant to one person can be extremely precious and dear to another.Â
I explored this project by using a variety of mixed media including painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking and photo-grams. To view these other bodies of work explore the different tabs to locate them.
Cherished
My penguin is one of my most precious and most cherished belongings. Previously belonging to my mother, it was gifted to me by when I was a child. He is extremely well loved and has undergone some modifications to prevent him falling apart. Penguin now wears a knitted jumper to protect his remaining fur, his feet have been mended with white ankle socks and his beak has been repaired using black velvet. To many people he appears ratty and unkempt but to me he will always be a symbol of my childhood, something I genuinely could not live without.
Sentimentality was as main theme of this project and by using the medium of paint I was able to elevate his status by making him worthy enough to be painted. I wanted to depict his preciousness and his quirks. I did this also through capturing Penguin using the medium of photograms. I was able to fully portray his cute little jumper with its fine knit, as well as documenting the fur around his body to give another form of representation. Artists such as Anne Ferran inspired my photograms as I was heavily interested in the way she documented childrens clothes, and I tried to impliment her approach when creating the photgram of the knitted jumper.
Evidence of my existance
This collection of work focused on the objects I not only used to identify myself, but reflects the person I am.
Mundane
This project explored the belief that the mundane trivial things we keep in the bottom of our bags are actually symbols of ourselves. They provide an insight into our lives, and reflect our character. I began this project my making a number of sketches of items within my own handbag. These little unimportant things became symbolic of my personality. Where some people are organised and rigid about the placing of their belongings, I was more haphazard and messy.
Necessity
I moved away from my initial drawings and began to focus more on bigger objects. I wanted to portray the idea that often women have a variety of things in their bag that they do not need, however, are put into the bag in case they are needed. This leads, certainly in my case, to an extremely heavy bag with lots of unused items. This does not detract the importance of these objects by the women, they are there for a reason. Exploring my own bag, I made a series of collagraph prints depicting some of my own items. I was surprised by the sheer number of unnecessary objects and often multiples of one object.
What is in my bag?
This work examines the relationship between how we portray ourselves in the everyday world.
Ritualistic
The setting of the table is an art form in itself. The decisions regarding what plates to use and where objects are placed differ from family to family. I wanted to create something that was a personal response to how my family set the table. Â
I wanted to create a tablecloth that created the illusion that the table was set when it wasn't. I experimented with different perspectives and was influenced by an array of artists. I researched into how Cubist artists distorted perspective and how surfaces artists such as Jim Dine, use line and colour within their work. The history of still life was also very important in the progression of this project. I explored how some seemingly unimportant objects could be turned into art themselves. Moreover, how the genre of still life has shifted to incorporate contemporary explorations on the subject.
sketches
I began this series of work by creating a number of drawings of things associated with fine dining. I was interested in the ritualistic process of setting the table. I began by drawing food items, typically seen during a dinner. These were quick pen sketches of numerous items, and I intended to show a range of items that would help to inspire my practice.
Crockery
I also created a series of mono prints, that began to explore more cutlery and crockery inspired pieces. I began to be more concerned with the actual items on the table themselves rather than the food. I wanted to look at the beauty of the dinnerware themselves. I experimented with messiness and mis-registering of the prints, which looked really effective.
Tablecloth one
From my initial designs I began to create a design that resembled what a table would look like if it was set. I was interested in creating something that had multiple perspectives, and alternated between being extremely flat but also realistic perspective. Therefore, I drew influence from surrealist painters who also experimented with perspective. I created a mismatched design to create a multitude of interesting areas to make the eye constantly move around the design. To create the tablecloth itself I used a fabric transfer process as well as my original designs.
Tablecloth Two
Moving on from my original tablecloth concept I began to experiment with using food within the design. I wanted to capture a moment in time, a snippet of a an imagined event. You could imagine people gathered round the table enjoying a meal. I experimented further with including more objects on the table. I wanted to move towards more of a formal dining aesthetic, therefore, I included side plates and cups and saucers. I again followed the fine dining diagram of how a table was arranged, but also included my own way of setting the table, which gave the piece a more personalized feel.
Tablecloth
This series of works explores the ritualistic function of fine dining. I was interested in exploring the ways in which we interact around the dining room table and the variations in traditions.
Drawing
