For my visual research, I wanted to explore as many areas of concealment as I could. I started by looking at my garden because the plants can conceal things like animals and bugs. I created a study of various trees, using mixed media to make the image feel more eclectic. I experimented by changing the scale and colour of the plants to make it look more diverse and interesting.
I was inspired by Jenny Smith's 'Holland Park' (Smith, 2014), which I liked because of the diversity of her media and the subtlety of line. In my own work, I wanted to add some shadows and darkness to represent the unknown that could be concealed beneath the trees.
I enjoyed the freedom of using the full double page and will continue this in future work because it will allow me to experiment with space. I would also like to work on the sense of movement in my drawings, which Smith has captured by blurring media.
I experimented further with this idea of things hiding in plants, and noticed that my pet rabbit was concealed underneath one of the trees. I turned my page portrait to play with scale, as I wanted the plant to seem daunting, to better hide the rabbit.
I was inspired by Mathilde Tinturier's use of leaves (Tinturier, 2020) in her collages, but I decided to print with the ones that I found to pick up on their textures. I liked the simplicity of her plain background that allows the leaves to speak for themselves, so I also kept my background neutral.
I liked experimenting with scale in this piece, but could have made it more busy to better portray the concealment ideas. Hiding places is a theme that I would like to further explore in my future work.
I then moved on to thinking about concealment within the home, especially the idea of what happens 'behind closed doors'. I made a lino cutting of my front door and printed it onto different materials. The repetition of the same image shows the normality of the door, which is not unusual, but could be hiding many different things. I also tried printing onto translucent materials (tissue paper and greaseproof paper) because this allows you to see through the door to what is on the other side.
I looked at Helen Murgatroyd's monoprints, because her varying thickness of line creates interesting textures. She also creates work to do with the domestic, which links to my image of the door. In response, I used thin lines to add texture to the bricks.
I think my print was effective because the simplicity makes it more of a relatable image. I would like to experiment by putting different images underneath the translucent prints to change their meaning.
Staying with the domestic theme, I created pen studies and then a mixed media collage of my wardrobe. I wanted to continue the idea of 'behind closed doors' and show that these mundane things can be quite personal- the objects you hide away say a lot about who you are.
The layout of these pages were inspired by a Hernan Bas sketchbook, because I liked how his first sketches give context to the other images. I wanted to show the 3d side of my wardrobe and how it sits in the room, to give background to my collage.
I feel like my sketches could have been more detailed, but I like the background of my collage because it gives a busy feeling. Perhaps I could layer more media to make my image more eclectic, or focus detail on specific objects of meaning.
Next, I wanted to explore concealment within people, as in being closed off. I started this by looking at technology, and how we sometimes use it to hide ourselves or to avoid conversation. I used pastels and charcoal to make a cool-toned study that reflects the light of the screen.
I then made another drawing, inspired by Francis Bacon's 'Self Portrait' (Bacon, 1973), because I like the complexity of the figure compared to the simplicity of the background. I used colour and curved lines in the legs to make them look like they are wrapping into each other and I made the figure more hunched over. This made her look more closed off and involved in her phone.
I like my use of colour but I could push my form further to make more rounded shapes like Bacon does. I could also work on adding more emotion to the face and posture.
Finally, I looked at the way people can also avoid each other in more social settings, like the idea of being 'lost in a crowd'. I wanted to pick out faces in a crowd scene to show the different personalities that you wouldn't have noticed, perhaps because they usually blend in.
I was inspired by Sanja Milenkovic's 'Light in Arizona' because of its bold colour and contrast between abstract background and realistic figures. In my work, I used a similar background technique (with added collage) to make the scene more lively.
I really like this piece because it is more experimental than my usual work and I would like to use bolder colours in future. I would also like to further explore drawing onto different surfaces and backgrounds to give another level of meaning to my work.
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