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.
Setting A scene
An important part of my childhood was my dolls house. I love the staging aspect of it. The ability to create any scene you wish using the characters, furniture and accessories you have. By picking out the individual carpet, wall paper and accessories; I was able to create something that was completely personal to me, my own personal stage. Moreover, each individual ceramic egg or wine glass is a miniature reflection of the real world. Within some of the photos of scenes within my dolls house I captured, some of these are completely ambiguous and you cannot tell whether it is a real scene.Â
From this series of photographs I created a number of prints using different printmaking techniques. Experimenting with collagraph, heat press and scanning, I was able to create a variety of different prints that documented the multiple aspects that form the dolls house.
evidence of my existance
This collection of work focused on the objects I used to not only identify myself, but reflect the person I am.
Varying Cultures
Focusing on the exploration of the historical names of many different female Goddesses from a multitude of different cultures, I was surprised by the sheer number of them. I was intrigued by the idea that a lot of the figures I came across were relatively known. I wanted to provide an insight into this collective group.
The depiction of the Femme- Fatale influenced my work as I was inspired by the portrayal of a temptress. All these Goddesses are extremely powerful and represent a different spectrum of powers, as well as differences and similarities between cultures.
typeface
I also was heavily interested in the idea that a woman can only be a mother, maiden or a crone, that her life is defined by three roles. The cyclical process of life is formulated in a very restrictive way. Therefore, by creating a project surrounding women who are classed as a deity in their own right, I was able to portray them completely within a different role, an elevated position.
I started this body of work by creating a series of letterpress prints exploring the theme of different religious Goddesses. I experimented with different typeface, colours and papers to achieve different effects. I was influenced by Fiona Banner and the way she uses text as an art form in itself.
Feminity
Therefore, from this initial research I began to compile an A-Z book of different first names Goddesses, to depict the sheer number and varieties that are present. I also wanted to portray the idea that these women are intertwined with a multitude of cultures and cannot be overlooked.
The book was beautifully created using the letterpress as the main medium. I used a floral paper to fully embody the theme of femininity I was trying to create. I began to comprise the book by limiting it to one Goddess per letter. This was very difficult as there was an abundance to chose from. I decided to include Goddesses from more than one culture, ensuring that the book was diverse and represented different types of religion.
Is there a god or a goddess?
This project explored the differences between Western and non-Western cultures in relation to religion.
archaic vs modern
The project consists of a cataloguing and categorizing of a variety of different objects. It began by completing in depth research into different periods of history, observing how traditionally people lived their daily lives without modern conveniences. This insight into the past depicts what objects people used in previous centuries, and how this has continued to adapt through technological revolutions and innovations to form the products in use today. Grouping, formulating, and comparing the old to the new,shows how many objects we now take for granted, and how many basic items were seen as luxury to people living in bygone eras.
I was heavily influenced by artists Mark Dion and Song Dong. Both use categorizing in different ways to express their individual themes. Whether using display cases or the floor, there is a distinct emphasis on creating interesting collections.
Completely Handmade
This book is a formulation of the differences between products associated with the past, and those in use today. I included a variety of different combinations in a range of categories. For example Toys and Diet, which including images of a only protein diet compared to a more varied diet. Other comparisons included rags and toilet roll and a stick and a toothbrush.Â
The creation of the work was very regimented. Each page was precisely cut to size, the printing plates were made roughly the same size and style. The piece is printed using a multitude of collagraph plates that I constructed. By using glue and removing some of the layers of the plate, I was able to create texture and different tones. The use of sepia ink was important within this project because I wanted to create a worn and dated look. I wanted it to look appear archaic, and in addition, reflect a just dug up quality. I wanted to continue this theme by creating everything myself and having it completely made by had to reflect a pre-Modern era. The structure of this book followed an exact layout of a print of the old artifact, new artifact, both artifacts together, and finally an embossing of the artifacts together. The use of embossing is supposed to suggest a legacy of the past is left behind that is sometimes forgotten or overlooked.
Cataloguing Contradictions
This body of work explores an extensive variety of comparisons, focusing on the juxtaposition between the archaic and the modern.
