Christmas break over and back to Bangor on Wednesday. I’ve asked for a critique on my first day back, it’s unscheduled, but I feel I need some feedback, some constructive criticism re my work with light boxes. Sometimes I question if I should be working experimentally with my degree show looming, but there again I don’t work well in my comfort zone…my own worst enemy really.
My proposed direction of study has developed and moved towards an exploration of what is hidden, what is seen…still linking to my learning plan, but with references to personal space, not just environmental space. Moving away from making conventional prints, has allowed me to arrive at fresh connections and meanings within my work.
Personal space:
What is hidden, what is seen…thinking about about how we put things into little boxes within our minds and the decision to either disclose or conceal.
The ambiguity within the work remains unresolved and therefore perched on an uneasy edge…raising questions to the viewer.
I worked on these images simultaneously…I knew roughly what I was going to do, but I just thrashed about artistically…let it freely come from within.
I like the tonal qualities, colour and quality of line, but most of all, I like the ambiguity.
I can’t take my work with transparencies any further until I get my light boxes at the weekend.
Layers are an important element of my work. We are all familiar with layers and use them to hide, cover up and smooth over, but we don’t always recognise how and why we choose to use them.
At the moment I’m working with lino etch, it’s an unpredictable yet fascinating medium to work with. I’m printing onto a variety of hand-made and fine Japanese papers, using a process of layering related images to materialize ideas.
I was working in my dedicated space yesterday…no other students, no tutors, no energy within the space…it’s got that edgy feel to it; it’s a space that you can’t imagine what it used to be used for.
I’m working with A3 transparencies…trying to resolve the idea about landfills being hidden, smoothed over, covered by a membrane/new skin. Thinking about layers and process meeting ideas; using digital imagery, traditional printmaking techniques and drawing.
