Body of Work:

murmurations:

looking at the previous work of charcoal murmuration and printing the images in a series

The layout formalised the images to some extent with the inclusion of the ‘our fear like starlings’ included as well as the image title. They have a a sense of more to come , like a book cver to turn or a poem that will proceed it.

Original text regarding the initial perceptions of the work: I called it ‘beds of emotion’. – The text may be included in the work at some point …

Our fears like starlings gather at night

Group together, collect, concentrate, murmurate and thicken

Swirls around us enveloping

They poke at us and wake us

Eyes wide open, alert, rabbit in the headlights

The tirade of worry begins

The list of angst

A torrent of fear

A raised heartbeat

A shallow fast breath

A heat !

Kick off the covers

Count the fears, list them

They are huge enveloping all encompassing, insurmountable

Suffocating, crushing, pressing unbearably ….

Light on !

Breath…

How they seem to fade by dawn , in the light now

I can get through, talk about it, find a way,

Manage, deal cope

Disperse the flock !

Wanting to place the image of Murmuration on to an every day object I painted a jug…It was an experimental process and a toe dip into this process. I used acrylic paint to recreate a sweeping 3D image surrounding its form…

This was was exploring the theory of ‘object referral’ – defining ones self through external objects; ie people situations, posessions, and or accomplishments.

In this way I wanted to produce an object with negative connotationsc%and feelings such that it sits there like the famous ‘black dog’ analogy. In this instance though it is physically tangible and can be touched and removed, hidden, put away. Allowing the emotions and experiences attached to it to also in some-how retreat. An object that acts as an aid remove mental anxiety, worries and depression , either by placebo or a transference of energy and emotion for a period of time. Shutting it out physically.

I wanted to photograph the object in areas that I felt was pertinent to angst / worry or highlighted a place that may cause such emotions in and around every day life.

I opted for the mundane tasks of housework – as photographed – washing – up !

I followed up on this further with the the onset of an exercise that encouraged an element of chance or collaboration with a work/ project. I asked friends to photograph the object in a scenario that brought on an emotive response.

The results were diverse and open doors for further work in this area.

Raw photos below:

Looking to represent this image or concept further I went back the materially of the female imagery initially explored: Using an embroidered napkin looking at repression of the female in the past.

using some old canvas I created the image with an additional black ‘burn’ hole .. denoting the epicentre of emotion:

Within the whole I placed a vintage dolls head.

I am also drawn to some inclusion of the object below.. I placed a number of vintage linen cloths used for domestic purposes with in it …and the murmuration image inside … it s not resolved but the feeling of enclose and inclusion was a new angle to explore … working with found objects … etc.

Referring back to Shrines:

Recent exploration with the element of chance added to the middle image will encourage use of tribal/ semiotic markings up on a 3D structure possibly ….

The post cards are set up as such and the back reads with the word ‘venerate’ – a potential postal collaboration with other women / artists….

Artists Statement ‘ Shrines/Venerate

‘Venerate’ is a work concerning the essential and pared back notions of ‘femaleness’. Exploring across culture and ethnicity it comes from a place of belonging, shared experiences and the common bonds of being female and what that necessitates within us. The symbolism created around it is thus reminiscent of a ‘shrine’ hinting at the physical essence of the female and her exulted and venerated state using the international sign for the female. ‘

The collaborative work on chance allowed a strong influence of mark making to emerge within the images- an area of semiotics and symbols I will explore further within the process of the development of this work.

Having made a stencil with the image above I sought to look at how and where to represent it again and again…

I felt a graffiti would be a bold and open format but did not want to enter into an illegal wall paining process. Instead I have used some collected found plaster from dilapidated buildings as a canvas. This plaster was recovered from a property in Spain and its materiality and narrative was rich. I had not a specific use for it until now.

Arranging the pieces onto a canvas I was aware this was a vulnerable and unstable surface. They pieces were deeply curved and thick and at this point I decided not to try and permanently adhere them to the canvas.

Placing the stencil over the top of the undulating surface I used a bold red spray paint to capture the image.

The end result – as expected the image on close inspection is distorted but from a distance still has a strong effect.

I will have to adjust how to represent the image in a clearer format..

New exploration in this series involved using found objects: A collection I had purchased at a vintage fair of dolls house sized lids of serving and cooking pts. All found on the Thames mud banks… quite extra ordinary… I found their symbolism intriguing. There was no pots at all only lids in all shapes and sizes, a narrative I have not quite got to grips with but I felt it had to do with an emptiness, a loss, a sense of providing or unable to provide A domestic failure

…They carried a literal and physiological weight to them which inspired the following work:

I cut our a collar shape from some sculpting mesh to make a 3D collar

I was concerned by the ‘ weight ‘ that these objects portrayed and the woman being tied down to the house and home for much of history particularly when these were produced a full century ago at least and the patriarchy was at is strongest in society.

I tied the pieces to the collar shape using wire and string…

I wanted to explore the concept of ‘Weight of the world on her shoulders ‘ which would indeed be an anxiety creating emotion ..

I placed the collar onto a wooden tripod stand I had made for a previous artistic experiment :

On the collar I added some fabric to give a slightly more realist feel to the work, denoting a signal of the feminin and definition.

Combining a further stencil work onto to some fine mesh resulted in a clearer image of the ‘shrine’ image.

Thinking ahead to try and formalise and or combine the experimental project work I photographed two of the pieces together ..it had an installation like quality and added some drama to the pieces…