It has been a very long time since I’ve posted a blog on account of the Masters of Research degree I have been doing at UAL Central Saint Martins. Who would have thought all that has happened has happened and of course this has greatly impacted my studies. It was all going very well and I was thoroughly enjoying it and then suddenly we were impacted with 4 weeks of strikes. It really wasn’t that much longer after that when we all went into Coronavirus lockdown. I’m not going to bore the pants off people to detail the specific issues and fallout of this – we all know in one way or another. So instead I will briefly outline my current research interest which closely relates to my art practice.
My art practice primarily explores painting combined with photography, collage and montage. As part of this, the fragment is a key component, whether this be singularly, collectively or as a kind of absence and rupture. I am interested in exploring the use of fragment; the juxtaposition, the edges, the layers and rupture. What is the power of the fragment and what are the influences and considerations at play? What does it tell us about ourselves and what does it bring to learning and knowledge.
For my coursework I am currently in the middle of writing an essay looking at this and as a kind of metalanguage I am looking at the use of the fragment in writing as a methodology of acquiring knowledge.
In the next academic year I will be working on my final big project and at this point I am fairly sure it will build upon this. I am interested in producing something performative (probably a written piece) which will hopefully demonstrate the different tropes and mechanisms of how the fragment is used but nothing is set in stone. I have a fair few months to dwell over my ideas and to let them drift to different places.
As a way of illustrating some of my thoughts I am including a few photographs where the fragment could be seen to juxtapose, converge, rupture and be absent.
It has been a few months since I have written a blog post. As expected my studies have been dominating leaving very little time for the creation of new art works. My brain has been firing on all cylinders though and I just hope that the inspiration that I am soaking up at some point will be able to be translated in my art.
As I have been spending so little time in my studio, when I am there I can’t commit to anything very time-consuming. This in a way ends up being a kind of freedom as I just ‘go for it’ in terms of experimentation and materials. I’ve being producing little studies using the back of torn cereal and fruit packets as my surfaces, playing with collage, tape and acrylic paint.
I like the idea of using these normally thrown away materials in conjunction with these quick kind of throw-away mixed-media studies. There is a relevant but dynamic temporality about it all and feels like a groundswell of change.
It’s less of a blog today and more of a collection of thoughts in relation to some of my recent works.
Bursts of colour, bright scattered patterns, abstract shapes, the collision of photography, collage and paint.
This connects to that, the inbetween stretches its reach until it touches the other, moments overflow, stutter for a bit and then drop a level.
Semi recognisable figures hover and fade, double and repeat, hover and fade again.
Lines, diagonals push forth and change directions.
Acidic green sits against warm orange and yellow, light pierces the surface.
My mind will probably go faster but the making of art is likely to slow down. This is my expectation as I prepare to start my Masters of Research in Art: Theory and Philosophy at Central Saint Martins. My first lecture is next week.
The plan is to keep my studio practice going as much as I can although it won’t be easy as it is meant to be an intensive course. It will require a discipline to get myself to my studio in the first place but it’s important that I do as I’m hoping that my research will feed into and inform my practice and vice-versa.
As usual summer has interrupted my studio practice but I’ve made some progress over the last couple of weeks exploring my collage and paint endeavours. I have been enjoying working on my more simplistic work where I start with painting an acrylic ground and then follow it with collage. These works seem to have an energy and purity to them. There is something about the way the physical collage interrupts the paint and creates an opening that I would like to explore more.
In contrast to this I have also embarked upon mainly collage pieces which I shall be adding minimal paint to at some point with a view to playing with the connections between the shapes, light and shadows. This mainly focuses on interiors which I have deconstructed and then repeated bits of in places. These are more studies than finished works and as I work on them I am inclined to do all this digitally in future as I think the images lends themselves to be slick graphic works on paper (much like looking through the windows of a modern building).
I’m about to start a new body of work. This is always an exciting time as I anticipate the journey ahead and what surprises it might bring.
I’m currently preparing my surfaces – stretching, sealing and priming a number of small canvases. I don’t find this at all laborious. In fact is feels like an important part of the process and feels meditative in its nature.
This new work I intend to be a development from my abstract collages on paper I have been working on over the last few months. I will be using a similar approach for some of the work, plus also introducing aspects of work completed previously in terms of print transfer and oil painting combined.
As for subject matter, I will be using as my starting point some photographs I have taken recently where the object or objects in the photo are unclear. I have tried to capture the connections between things, the light, shadow, shapes and pattern so that the final photograph is a suggestion of something abstract and undefinable.
I plan to include some mark making within the final work whether it be painting or drawing. My intention is to try and push this more as a emotional and playful response to the abstract image. However I am unable to explain anymore than this as I just don’t know what might happen along the way.
The image shown is a photograph of mine that I’m likely to include in this new body of work.
