FEEDBACK

There were two sets of feedback at the end of Unit 2 that I want to capture here, then I will reflect on both sets together at the end. The two sets are (1) Group feedback on my 3 minute video and (2) Unit assessment feedback.

1. Group feedback on my 3 minute video

At the end of Unit 2, we each made a 3 minute video about our art practice. Then the videos were shown to the class and we gave each other feedback. I am very grateful for the thoughtfulness of the feedback I received and I would like to capture them here.

My 3 minute video:

https://eliza-rawlings.com/2024/11/24/ma-u2-3-minute-video/

Firstly, my fellow MA students each completed a note on Miro after seeing the video and below are the notes they wrote for me, captured from the Miro board in no particular order:

Ashton   I feel… ‘wow’ed by the consistent high standard of your work, 2!; amused that you described it as a pick and mix!! I also feel shocked to learn why the banana has been used in regards to racial slurs, I did not know that until now, and I feel impressed at the way you responded to that using humour when it’s a hard hitting subject.   I wonder …how this will continue to develop as there’s lots of paths combined to create these pieces – current/hidtorical racial prejudices and how they occur, cultural symbolisms, food connotations etc.    I think… the fact that you can split your work into what continues your narrative vs develops your style / technique is a very good understanding to have, and not something I’ve considered before. That you can still be developing your art practice even if not confronting heavy subjects, that it doesn’t have to pause in times you feel able to continue the narrative.

Sara   I feel… a lot of joy in your textiles work and curious about where it may lead to   I wonder … how this may link to other current affairs such as the example of the coconuts.   I think…your work appears well thought and considered with lots of interesting connections and a great use of metaphors.

Karl   I feel… excited about your exploration of memory within your new painting   I wonder … how you can connect the culturally appropriated objects and your genuine experience in the work.   I think… that the process of making the dress and the painting on it  is a great metaphor for perceptions of cultural identity and the space between the pictorial image and the duality of  the dresses.

Roz   I feel…engaged with richness and quirky imagery, drawn into a powerful metaphor   I wonder… whether the dress will hold more opportunities or what 3rd element is needed now in this 3rd space to take you further along your journey   I think you have been very successful in your ordering of the complex that you offer clarity, but are sassy in your delivery. And that you are owning, controlling the defining of your status

Chelsea   I feel… that the pieces are funny which makes them more accessible because you don’t feel that you are at first glance engaging in a weighty subject.    I wonder… where this will all go next.    I think… its all very colorful and eye catching and offers a way in to learning about how we talk about people, it re-humanises that which others have tried to dehumanise, especially with the use of clothing.

Bethany   I feel… nostalgia and familiarity, the 3rd Space idea, albeit from a different standpoint. I feel curious about your family history in HK, which was an odd colony.    I wonder… whether the metonymies might be handled more provocatively, more personally, as a feminist?   I think… I am drawn to the gritty, personal stories, the oddity of Cantonese steamed fish served with Spam.

Catherine   I feel I want more.  I like the element of surprise with your work, ….what will she do next….  You definitely have my attention Eliza.  And you are so eloquent – Bravo.     I wonder if you will use other clothes items in the future – the dress is so strong and powerful and a perfect vehicle for the way you express yourself and your research.  

Tom   I feel… educated in a nice way   I wonder … what she has discovered about process vs outcome   I think… the work deals with potentially emotive topics in a sensitive and restrained way

Ben   I feel… I wonder… making paint and making food have a great deal of crossover could they be brought together        I think… some lovely colour and ideas – looking forward to seeing how far it could be taken

Oi Fah   I feel… well informed   I wonder… good metaphor   I think… well organized

Daniel   I feel… the work is provoking – in a good way – to seeking   I wonder… where else could you take this work and how it could be expanded   I think…your aproach worked

Lais   I feel seen and understood through your video and practice, especially because of how you approach it and colonialism    I wonder what comes next for you, and if you will keep exploring textiles    I think this is beautiful work and it reaches me on a deeper level.

Madeleina   I feel… informed and inspired   I wonder… what other items of inspiration are hidden in Eliza’s attic which she could start painting on!   I think… Eliza is making a very important and insightful social commentary through her joyful creative work

Karen   I feel… a great balance of research and lived experience.  I hear a voice.   I wonder… how the dress images would translate in other media….   I think…the food is a great metaphor and I love the titles of the work.

Holly   I feel… delighted by some of your images especially on the “family dinner” cheongsam dress   I wonder… how you view the differences or similarities between “narrative” and “style”, I wonder what would happen if you worked with actual food in your practice    I think… it’s interesting how you thought you had lost your mother’s dress but then found it after many years, sort of a metaphor there around identity and fluctuations in connection and expression with/of identity, I think you have quite a bit of clarity about what you’re interested in exploring there appeared to me to be a lot of coherence in the work despite your view that it lacked coherence

Martina   I feel… intrigued and amused. I want to see more    I wonder… if the dress-paintings are thought to be worn   I think…you should reconsider the relation between your narrative and stylistic work.  The two seem beautifully integrated  to me!

Terrye   I feel… inspired by your dresses – playful and colourful interpretations of your identity and a link to your past   I wonder… what happens if a  European dress is used as an alternative identity – you mention hybrid identity   I think…your process towards using materials is a way to create intrigue and excitement in viewing your work.

Jonathan   I feel… connected to your story – the narrative is important to you   I wonder… if we the audience only need to see small parts of this – eg the food – do we need to see it on a dress   I think… the narrative and style are connecting, maybe you can be brave a try just the food paints for a while?

Lucy   I feel… lucky to hear Eliza, invited to a personal world that reflects moments in time that are not just culturally important but personally   I wonder… how do you feel in the dresses   I think…the way you use the dresses to respond to one another is exciting, how in response to the banana you made the egg to reflect you

Dee   I feel… transported to my mothers world of dress making   I wonder… What a catwalk fashion show of your art would look like   I think… The development of your style/narrative is an excellently engineered solution… the next development for me is the latest painting and I am excited to see what happens next

Victoria   I feel… inspired by colours and emotional    I wonder… inspiration background, ideas for research. If inner dialog is involved and what’s next   I think…interesting process, great ability to create deep emotional art. Very complex and simple at the same time, i really like that concept

Inna   I feel… I feel that bright colors are a source of energy and inspiration. They bring life to a work, drawing attention and sparking thought. Behind each vibrant hue, there’s a depth of carefully considered ideas, symbols, and stories. It’s not just about the visual impact but about how every detail communicates its own emotion and meaning. I wonder… What stories and carefully considered ideas lie behind each vibrant hue? I think… I also think the allure of bright colors lies in their universality—they resonate with people across cultures and contexts, carrying both personal and collective significance. They can symbolize hope, energy, or transformation, making them a vibrant language that transcends words.

Then we ran a video session where people chipped in with comments on what worked for them about my work. Summary of the video feedback on ‘what worked…’

– Connection to topical discussions

– Dresses

– Fitting my personal narrative

– Use of colour

– Clarity of thoughts and processes

– Metaphor of food

– Playful

– Wanted to look into it to see the stories

– Detail of the food and fish

– Balance of research and lived experiences

– Metaphor of wearing cultural identity

– Confidence in communicating narrative and views

– Dresses – sculpture as well as painting

– Oddness of the food combo

– Making tinned food appealing

– Strangeness of food is brilliant

–

2. Unit Assessment Feedback

At the end of Unit 2, I received some invaluable feedback from my course tutor. There was feedback on my practice and my research paper. I agree with much of the feedback and I will not list everything here. I will extract the key points that have caused me to think more deeply about specific elements of my practice. I want to use this blog to further explore my thinking and consider my response in order to develop my practice.

The specific points that I want to respond to are:

1. Is there a risk that the terms “banana” and “egg” can feel reductive, even when reclaimed, how do you (do you need to) account for the multidimensional experiences of diasporic individuals? Could these inadvertently reinforce the stereotypes they seek to critique, without offering sufficient nuance or alternative narratives? How might someone from the Chinese diaspora interpret these works? How do you want them to engage with the works?

2. …your HK family dinners bring a nuance and context to your broader theme. … Does this painting need to be on a cheongsam? What does the cheongsam canvas add or takeaway from the image?

3. …we encourage you to continue experimenting with different techniques, layering methods, transparencies, marks etc. E.g. how might you use thin transparent layers in your work? If you spend time looking at a variety of oil paintings in real life, what effects might you incorporate into your own work?

4. We also encourage you to go back to the documentation of the painting progression – some of us thought the fish dish was stronger at the earlier more “sketchy” stage, experiment with how “finished” elements of the painting need to be. How might this relate to memory? The sketchiness of remembering? The gaps in between the memories, the ‘flying white’.

REFLECTIONS

I really valued the group sessions. I feel blessed that I am in such a supportive community where everyone is thoughtful, kind and genuinely wanting to help each other to progress. I treasure their feedback, it is more than a gift. I started to make and paint on Cheongsam canvases in the last few months, I am still at an early stage with this exploration and I am constantly questioning if it is the right way to go. My group’s feedback gave me the confidence to continue as they seem to enjoy seeing the colourful dresses. Some of the comments have helped to reinforce my decision. However, my tutor feedback has caused me to rethink this point – does it need to be on a Cheongsam? What does it add or take away from the image?

I have been thinking a lot about this since receiving the feedback. Making a Cheongsam painting is a special process in that it makes me feel that I have created something special (to me) when it’s finished. It’s not a judgement of whether it’s good or bad, it just means more to me because of the complexity of the creative process. I set out in my MA Study Statement to find a way to create something that is unique and recognisably mine and I thought I had found that when I started making Cheongsam canvases, hence I referred to it as my turning point. Also, looking back at my earlier work before joining the MA course, I have had attempts at making dress canvases. This was from a period when I was investigating the concept of Expanded Painting and ways to eradicate the traditional canvas. Below are images of the dresses I had made at the time (one of which was also a Cheongsam):

I like the way the Cheongsam or dress paintings are 3D paintings, a hybrid between painting and sculpture. I think showing them as 2D photos does take away from the image especially in my latest Cheongsam series as the curved sides of the dress obscure part of the image. Perhaps a film may help to convey the image better.

I believe the Cheongsam shaped canvas adds to the story and narrative that I am trying to convey about my journey and how we ‘wear’ our identity. Here is a past UAL exhibition about wearing our identity which I found interesting:

https://fashionexhibitionmaking.arts.ac.uk/wearing-our-identity-the-first-peoples-collection/

However, I wonder if my Cheongsam canvases can seem rather ‘gimmicky’. I think I understand the question from my tutor asking if I have the courage to make just a painting without having to paint it on a Cheongsam (I interpret that as ‘without the use of any gimmick’). My response would be – I’m not sure if I’m there yet, but I should try.

My response here also ties in with the feedback about exploring oil in more ways and trying different techniques. I think that is valid as I am aware that I have been using oil in a limited or single-dimensional way (undiluted and impasto). This can have the effect of over-saturation and I should broaden my approach to utilise all that the oil paint has to offer. By exploring thinner transparent layers and producing less finished images, that would add ambiguity and help me to convey my narrative of working from patchy memories.

On the other points regarding whether ‘banana’ or ‘egg’ are too reductive as metaphors – I plan to respond in a separate blog after completing some research.

LEARNING

I enjoy doing the Cheongsam paintings and I feel that I would like to maintain that element in my practice. However, not all my work need to be on a dress or 3D canvas. My priority now should be to explore more painting techniques and widen my ‘painting vocabulary’ so I can be more creative in expressing complex narratives. To do this, I will pause the making of the dress canvases and spend more of my studio time on painting.

NEXT STEPS

– Explore different techniques of using oil paint so I can be more creative and multi dimensional in my expressions.

– Explore different approaches to painting and ways of thinking about painting.

– Pause the making of Cheongsam canvases for now to release time and return to it at a later time.

– Respond to the ‘banana’ and ‘egg’ feedback with a separate blog.