Endangered Plants Index Degree Project

Review: 26/11/21:

There is much from this crit which I have now (often indirectly) addressed – and there is also more which I am yet to address. Display is a big one still – I really want to experiment with the colours of the walls that I display it on – but this is a big step and involves a lot of time that I don’t have at the moment! However, reviewing this has also reminded me to look into magnification methods for the viewers, and the framing and display methods of the work really need to be investigated!

Today we had our first crit all together as Level Six, and it was really beneficial – there were loads of points brought up – some of which I had already thought of and some completely new! Overall, it was definitely the criteria which I have found most productive and useful – I think because I have a clear focus and idea of where my project is going – and that is clear to the audience in my illustrations.

I have highlighted the points in bold those which I will choose to work on first.

Summary of points made:

• Viewers want magnification tools to look at the images in all of their detail, and to be able to appreciate them more for their detail – eg. Magnifying glasses, thread counters, etc.
• Scale: scale was often mentioned – mostly in the idea of blowing the images up much larger. This is something I am reluctant to do for the final outcome, as it removes the idea of the illustration being life sized, and the ‘real’ plant being in front of you. However, I would consider blowing them up for advertising, etc. Alternatively, scale could also be perceived through the size of the total collection of works (when I have built up a collection), and the way in which I display them – in a grid/line/broken grid/organic way organisation. Also potentially explore projection.
• The engaging aspect of the QR codes was really successful and made people much more interested in the plants themselves and more likely to look at them and be interested in them after viewing the work.
• The Styles of illustration are very different, and maybe feel a little disparate? However, some people preferred one style over the other – and maybe in a collection of works, it will feel less disparate? Also don’t display them so close to each other, so that the viewers aren’t comparing them.
• Explore the composition of the illustrations – work on layering different elements of the plants on the same page to make a fuller and more engaging composition – less like the drawings are floating in space. Also maybe consider bringing an element of the natural environment into the drawings to aid the understanding of the plants themselves (although this may be less important when the composition is changed and the context of the plant is a little clearer).
• When exhibiting the work (or deciding on how to exhibit), try photocopying the work I already have, and playing around with a larger number of images, to see how they look as a whole, and to aid the understanding of the scale and meaning of the collection of work. Maybe further explore the positioning of the labels (although I have done this already). Also consider the environment that I am exhibiting in – does it have to be on a white wall – should it rather be a coloured/patterned/textured wall, to stop the illustrations becoming lost on it. Or will framing them stop this from happening?
• Method of display and production: will they be on the wall/as a book/on a table, etc?
• Exploring different techniques and media, such as digital drawing, video, etc. and creating images of the natural environment of the plant 0 without the plant in them, to highlight their endangerment.

Today I put my watercolour on the wall for the first time, along with its botanical label.

As you can see, I have placed it on the wall next to my pen and ink drawing of Cleyera orbicularis, in order to see how the two finished works look next to each other. This was an invaluable exercise, as not only does it show me how they will look in an exhibition environment, but it also gives me the opportunity to take a step back from my illustrations, and see them in a more objective and ‘overall’ view – rather than purely focusing on creating the level of detail required from a botanical illustration. It has helped me to realise the importance of composition in the illustrations, and how crucial certain pieces of information are to the viewer – for instance, I didn’t paint the cactus in the drawing, which has completely altered people’s perceptions of what the plant is, and how they read and understand it.
I am not too worried about this in this image, as it was merely a practice piece for me to understand how to draw with watercolour and to learn the process, but it is useful and fascinating to discover people’s opinions of the work (everyone has been struck by the detail), and how it is read by the audience.

I am happy with the overall presentation (I still need to frame my illustrations) – especially with the relationship between the botanical label and the illustration, and how they look next to each other. There are definitely things I need to play around with – including the orientation of the pieces and whether they are aligned by the top (as they are here), or centrally, or even at the base of the image. But this is something that I can experiment with at a later date – when I have more work to play with and to display.

The tutorial with Anne-Marie was really helpful. As she didn’t know my work or practice at all, she was able to give an objective and outside opinion and view of my work, which I haven’t gained so far, as I haven’t really shared my illustrations outside my blog of course group. I had to explain my work and practice to her, and I found I was able to do this much more concisely than before, as I now have a bit of a clearer idea of the overall form and outcome of the project, and the fact that it will probably outlive my degree.

Most helpful, for me, in the tutorial, was the artists that she mentioned: the most mentioned of which was Susan Hiller and two more of her works (From the Freud Museum and The Silent Movie) – both of which focus on the archive and endangerment – so are more contextual references than the botanical illustration artists, but will certainly be extremely interesting and valuable to study and learn from. Additionally, she also mentioned Michael Landy’s Weed Drawings, which are undoubtedly focused in a more botanical illustration theme, but in a very different way from my own work – but still uses illustration as a record for the weeds that he found around London. Finally she also mentioned Anya Gallacuio and the installations that she made of live flowers and their process of decay. This is again, of great interest to me, as it brings the natural processes back to the forefront of public consciousness and refocuses people on the importance and life of plants.