Tag: Quotes

Evaluation

In relation to my project proposal, I feel that what I have produced was exactly what I set out to do. I spoke about how I wanted to present my work in a more creative way than what I previously have, considering sculptures as a way of doing this. The final piece I have produced for me creatively represents my photos, showcasing them in a contemporary way. Using a mixture of both photos and quotes is something I wanted to experiment with more since doing it within my last module, and I feel the combination of the two worked well within the sculpture. It visually allowed the images to breathe, creating a gap between the photos and therefore meaning the sculpture didn’t become to overcrowded. Although the project is personally to me, the text gave an insight into how I feel, which I feel the photos alone could not have done.

Creating a head to represent the idea of mental health was especially important to me, and feel that this was the right shape to create to represent my photos in a creative yet meaningful way. I am however disappointed with the execution of the sculpture slightly, as when hung up the sculpture appears stretched, not allowing the shape of the body to be fully seen.  Finding the balance between keeping the shape and allowing the layers to be far enough apart from each other to view the pictures was especially difficult. I could have got around the problem by making the sculpture a lot bigger, which would have allowed me to space the layers further apart without losing the shape. However, this was not realistic within the time and budget I had. The execution of the photos linked directly with the idea of mental health. I purposely didn’t present the photos neatly, ripping some of them to give a personal feel to the work. I would want to make it clearer next time that I used 23 layers to represent my age, something that I feel is important when understanding the work in a personal piece.

The work is intended to be presented within a gallery space, with the photos that appear within the sculpture chronologically being placed around the room. This allows the audience to see the photos clearly, with the sculpture hanging in the centre of the room. This means that it would be easy to see from all angles. If I had more time I would create a 3d sculpture of what the sculpture would look like in a gallery space.

Overall I was happy with the outcome of my project. I feel that it was quite an ambitious project regarding time and money but handled it well. My biggest disappoint is how stretched the sculpture looks when hung up, however this is something that I could not have overcome unless making the sculpture a lot bigger. Although the execution did not go exactly as I planned, I was pleased with the concept. The idea of sculpture and installation art is something that has really interested me during this module, and is something that I want to look into continuing with during the final module.

Gallery mock up

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I created a mock up to see what my sculpture would look like in a gallery space.

Because the images cannot be seen fully on the sculpture, I would have the images that appear within the sculpture around the edge of a gallery space. The images would go in order of what they do on the sculpture, starting with childhood photos, through to the idea of recovery. The text that features within the sculpture would also be places next to the image it corresponds with, however did not have room on the mock up to do this.

I would hang the sculpture within the middle of the room, meaning when viewing the photos on the wall, you are walking around the sculpture. By hanging it centrally within the room means that it could be viewed at all angles.

Constructing my sculpture -final

The images show my sculpture constructed and complete. The sculpture forms its shape when held up by the wire, and when not held compresses back down flat. Ideally I would have liked the gaps between each layer to have been further apart which would have allowed the photos to be seen more easily. However if I did this then the sculpture would have lost it’s shape and it would have been unclear of what I was trying to represent. Even with the layers at this distance apart, I feel the sculpture already looks to stretched, especially when viewing the head.

I feel that using black around  the edges was the correct decision, as it stand out against the images and doesn’t make the sculpture over complicated when viewing it. For the same reason, alternating between text and photos allows each layer to stand out individually, rather than using all photos which I believe would  have made the sculpture look to busy.

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Constructing my sculpture

After using spray mount to attach the photos to the foam board, I went round using PVA glue to stick down any loose edges.

I then began to contrast the sculpture using nylon wire. The process began by creating holes throughout each layer, and then threading the wire through and creating a knot under each layer to hold it together. I found this the most challenging part of the whole process. Not only did I have to ensure that each hole was in the correct place, and there was enough all around to keep the sculpture from spinning, I also had to make sure the gap between each layer was 1.5cm. I would have ideally liked the gap to be more which would enable the photos to be seen much easier, however the sculpture would look stretched, which has already happened doing it this distance apart.

Choice of paper

I chose to print my photos and text on standard printer paper. There were a number of reasons for this choice:

  1. Personal feel – I wanted my work to have a personal ‘raw’ feel to it, and therefore wanted to give it a scrapbook kind of feel. I decided that printing the work on photo paper would make the work to ‘nice’ and presentable and not convey the work in the way I wanted it to be viewed.
  2. Cost – Because I needed to print photos for the top and bottom of each layer, with each layer having multiple photos, the cost of getting them printed was not realistic
  3. Easy to work with – Because of the thin feel of normal paper it meant that it was easy to work it, being able to overlap it, bend it and apply it to the sculpture easily. I wanted to tear the images to once again give it more of a personal feel, and using printer paper allowed me to do this

Test Images

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After previously experimenting with shadows, I wanted to carry on with the idea of using them within my work. Before I had used a plant to create an abstract feeling within the work, yet felt that I wanted to create something with more of a theme. Within this image I wanted to create the idea of being trapped, using the shadow of garden trellis to imply this. The cold colours are used to create a feeling of negativity and uneasiness. Although I am happy with the idea of appearing trapped, I don’t know if this image clearly portrays this to a viewer.

I may try to recreate this image at a later date, keeping with the theme of being trapped. I didn’t not originally write a quote to accompany this image, and therefore will look to see if the idea fits within the overall theme of my work.

The images above show family members holding a photograph of me as a child. These link to the first layer of my sculpture which shows images from my childhood, looking back at a time where I did not suffer social anxiety and I felt helped.

Having family members holding an image of me as a child is their way of holding onto what I used to be. My social anxiety doesn’t just effect me, but those around me. The image acts as metaphor for holding onto hope that I recover from social anxiety, and therefore going back to my childhood.

I also experimented with family members holding a photographs of me at my graduation. I had the idea of pairing this with the quote ‘Are you proud?’.  For me, graduating from university was one of my biggest achievements as I suffered badly from social anxiety during this time. The fact that I went onto finish the course and graduate was a proud moment for me, even though I struggled. Having family members holding onto a photo of me at my graduation, paired with the quote represents the idea of recovery, showing that even though there are difficult moments I can ‘beat’ the anxiety to hopefully make people proud.

I positioned each family member within the fame position which created consistency. I purposely didn’t show their faces, as a I wanted an anonymity to the work. It represents the loss of connection from me since I have suffered with anxiety, in comparison to the happiest times talked about previously during my childhood.

Test Images

The two images above link to the quote – ‘And when you find somebody who accepts you, even with all your faults, everything changes. You open up to them in a way you never thought you could with anyone.’

The images are simple, yet represents the support that I get from being in a relationship. It contrasts with the other images where I am alone. This focuses on the idea of recovery, and how being in a relationship has helped with this. The simplistic muted tones is a theme throughout my work, giving it a film photography feel. Using negative space within the image allows the viewer to focus purely on the hands, without any distractions.