Troubled Anatomies

 

I used pen, coloured pencils and watercolour on printed collage photocopy, which I then glued on a cardboard surface. 

The technique I used for the drawings was inspired by artist Özlem Altın's process. In preparation of her work she initially modifies found images on Photoshop, which she then prints out to paint directly onto them and create abstract and fluid shapes which reveal fragments of the underlying photocopy. 

Ozlem Altin,"The Lovers (Intuition)", 2017. Pigmented inkjet print with ink, lacquer, and oil paint

Özlem Altın. “Wheel of Union”, 2017. Paint on printed photocopy

This technique inspired me to experiment with painting and drawing directly onto photocopies of my organ collages, which was useful because it allowed me to experiment with various detailed images without having to re-draw them. 

 

I also tried projecting one of the collages onto a large sheet of paper and I am in the process of finishing this with pen.

The series Troubled Anatomies was displayed in the exhibition "Transient" (through Up North Arts) alongside other work by talented artists practicing in Lancaster University. 

Check it out on the website: https://upnortharts.weebly.com/, and on the virtual gallery: 

https://www.artsteps.com/view/5fbc54ec32cb4359e0a06c5a?currentUser

Expanded Painting: Seriality

 

For the seriality painting task I worked on 10 different paintings at the same time which were all developed from the same photographic reference, a still image from the film “Dogtooth” (2009). During the process of making these paintings, I realised I preferred the images where the figures were more suggestive and less realistic so I repeated the defacement of the foreground figure in all the pieces, and relied on a more unfinished effect. I really liked playing with different colour tonalities and I prefer the pieces where the colours were paler and more subtle – this was achieved by using chromatic greys next to colours at full saturation. Working in seriality is useful to reflect on what one’s work lacks or what is successful by comparing it with different versions of the same, and to uncover the meaning of the painted subject through its repetition. 

The source image:

The film still image attracted me for the closeness of the faces and the transparency of the window through which we see two girls gazing at something outside which we ourselves cannot see.

The importance of presentation:

The way I presented the works, in a horizontal line on the wall, made them look like a succession of stills from a film, conveying movement and stillness at the same time, and a narrative or dialogue between the single images. The photograph of the paintings placed next to the actual succession of paintings expands further the exhibition space/visual field, adding a sense of endless repetition, and conveying an illusion of space perception. This demonstrates that the way a work is presented is of great value since it can completely change the meaning of the work or can contribute to the way in which it will be received by the viewer.