I introduced the idea of drawing or painting with my non-dominant hand whilst developing my body of work ‘News’. I did that as a way to challenge myself and to introduce uncertainty / vulnerability into the process to reflect how I felt about the state of the world at the time. Since then, I have become fascinated by the subject and I have been reading the book ‘The Master and his emissary’ by Iain McGilchrist on the divided brain. I read about Divergent Artistic Behaviour which states that:
Truly creative art can only result from divergent artistic behaviour – behaviour that was previously unknown or often unexpected and unexplored.
Divergent behaviour demands something from you that you have not been taught or that is not part of the suggested or normal steps in solving a problem.
That understanding has reinforced my desire to explore using my non-dominant hand to draw and paint as that has been unexplored up to now.
In this research experiment, I want to gain a deeper understanding of what the difference is between the work that is produced by my dominant hand right vs my non-dominant left hand.
METHOD
I have previously done an exercise with both hands drawing together simultaneously and one of the outcome of that was to consider whether I needed to have both hands drawing simultaneously and whether I had to have my eyes closed. My conclusion after some consideration was that no, I didn’t need to do either. If my objective is to research the difference between how the two sides of the brain produce work through my hands then there is no need to do it simultaneously or have my eyes closed. In a way, those parameters could confuse because there were too many variables introduced at the same time. Therefore, in this exercise, I’m going to just draw with each hand and compare the outcomes.
I used the method of ‘blind contour drawing’ – drawing with eyes looking at the object and not looking at all at the drawing. Below are some of the items I drew in my studio with the left page drawn by my left hand and the right by the right hand.
Studio lightJuggling ballsScissors Miniature Chinese lute – Pipa
Cross-contour drawing –
A woman’s face
REFLECTIONS
It has been an interesting exercise. Firstly, I feel that there was no need to draw simultaneous like I had done in the previous experiment. The key is to study the difference at this stage and not the difference when drawing simultaneously. One step at a time.
The images drawn with my left hand were consistently larger than those drawn with my right hand. I have observed this before in other similar experiments. I am able to be more loose when drawing with my left hand. The right hand seems to be naturally more tight, as though there are invisible boundaries on the page that I had to work within. Whereas with my left hand – I don’t feel the boundaries and therefore am not confined by it.
The left hand drawings are less accurate compared to the right hand, but there is sufficient likeness to be recognisable as the piece.
I am increasingly ‘addicted’ to drawing with my non-dominant left hand and increasingly less satisfied with my right hand because the latter is a constant reminder of my inability to push boundaries – I get pulled back into being too tight and constrained when making art with my right hand, it’s like muscle memory that I cannot erase. Whereas the lack of control in my left hand enables me to, or grants me permission to just make and not think too hard as there is no expectation for the outcome to be good. With my non-dominant hand, I am often pleasantly surprised whereas with my dominant hand I often feel disappointed.
LEARNING
I am more able to create freely with my non-dominant left hand because there is no expectation and the lack of control enables me to push myself, often ending in pleasant surprises. I enjoy this way of making with my left hand and would like to pursue it further. Perhaps even make it a key aspect of my practice.
NEXT STEPS
Keep creating and pushing boundaries with my non-dominant left hand.
Continue to explore the differences between making with my left and my right hands.
Try writing or calligraphy to see how the left hand performs on that.
At some point, I need to consider more deeply why I am drawn to this way of making. I must not ignore this point because I feel there is a link to who I am and how I am evolving. So I must come back to this point when I feel ready.
Today I visited Donald Locke’s exhibition Resistant Forms’ at Spike Island Bristol. Below are some of the photos I took to remind me of the work that I found particular resonance with.
Use of collage, image looks like a crowUse of acrylic in a way that resembles inkAmbiguous use of photosLarge scale paintings with presence and energyClose up of the above showing photos collageUse of mixed media including metal grill mounted onto painting Placement of projector and understated size of projected image
REFLECTIONS
I want to capture ideas that came to me during the visit that made me think about how I could learn from Locke and build on my practice.
Use of mix media techniques:
On some of his paintings, the use of acrylic paint with ‘dry brushing’ to create the flying white effect like in Chinese painting energised the painting. It gave me the idea of trying my crow paintings in other medium, such as dilute oil, to see how that works. The use of different materials to create collage was also interesting. I could use ripped up newspapers to create collage effect on a canvas then paint on top. Locke also used items like metal grills to good effect. I can consider what objects, metal or otherwise, that could be incorporated to add meaning and texture to the work.
Use of photos:
Some old photos were used in the collage. I have many old family photos that I have been considering how to incorporate into my work. The way Locke used the photos were more random – a few here and there. Whereas I have tried too hard in the past; I could just use small images in a few places – I don’t need to tell the whole story in one painting. I must remember this. Also, he had just pasted / stuck the photos (copies of) onto the canvas. I always felt that I should photo-transfer the images onto the canvas – this is not necessary. Locke also used images or photos of his own work (sculptures) in his paintings – those images (e.g. female nude) appeared on multiple paintings and acted as a link to join the works together.
Use of projector understatedly
The projector was projecting at waist height with a not too large image. It was understated and effective. I often feel that projection has to be big and has to fill a wall. It clearly doesn’t have to at all. The projection was also placed in a way that you have to walk through the beam to get past. It was an interesting positioning which makes the viewer interact with it.
LEARNING
There are no major learning from the visit and mainly just ideas that came to me as I studied Locke’s work. The main take away for me was to think about experimenting beyond just painting on the whole piece of newspaper. The news headlines remain important to the body of work (News), but through the use of collages, the newspapers could be incorporated to maintain the theme while opening up the materials that I can use. Locke’s extensive use of black was very effective which resonated with me.
NEXT STEPS
Start to think about how I can start to make more complex and ambitious work with multi media materials yet remaining connected to the topic of News.
I have been planning how to continue to develop my art practice after I finish my MA. The key for me is to ensure I work in a way that maintains my interests with variety and balance to keep up the momentum so that it is sustainable in the long term.
As a starting point, I have created a MindMap where I have captured my aims as well as resources that are available to me. I have tried to create a balanced plan covering the following areas with a structure that I hope will help to establish a rhyme after my MA:
– Personal / Self-development: Attend in person classes, e.g. continuing my monthly Chinese painting lessons, as well as online learning. I have identified around one year’s content (with 3 to 4 hours per week starting with cultural theories) on Future Learn that I have just subscribed to and I plan to attend those online modules every Thursday afternoon in place of the MA weekly classes to keep up a learning rhythm.
– Reflective practice: A key part of my self-development has been my reflective practice. The structure that I have built into my blogs has been invaluable in helping me to develop my practice. It offers a safety framework that I can return to especially when I feel a bit lost or uncertain. Writing the reflective blogs has put me back on track time and again when I have been stuck. So I plan to continue with the blogs because they help me immensely and I have set myself a goal in the frequency of blogging.
– Professional development: I plan to engage with an art mentor having a session once every two months. I have been recommended a mentor used by several Spike Island Associates and I have connected with him. It’s my way of holding myself accountable and forms part of the rhythm.
– Profile exposure: I need goals to work towards in order to maintain my momentum and I have set myself targets such as attending one artist-residency per year – this could be self-funded if I do not get accepted onto a competitive one as I don’t want to give myself an excuse to not do it. I feel the act of attending a residency, making art away from my environment, would open my mind and expand my horizons. In addition, I want to show my work as a way to keep my thinking and my work ‘current’. I will look out for Open Calls that are aligned with my work and if that doesn’t work out then I would create my own ‘show’. That could be in whatever capacity, even just displaying my work in a park in my neighbourhood – the purpose is to have an event of some kind for me to make work for and aim towards.
– Community connections: Although I enjoy my own company and can happily make work in my studio without seeing anyone. I appreciate that being connected with other artists is important for my development and well being. Hearing others talk about their work always gives me inspiration. Talking about my work to others is also a healthy thing to do. I am fortunate to live in Bristol where there are many artist communities that I have always found to be friendly and supportive. So I will definitely continue to connect with them regularly (e.g. attend events with Spike Island Associates).
Below is my first draft MindMap plan showing my plans and aims for each element. Items within the map are there to feed into my art-making; to give me inspiration, to deepen my knowledge and to help me think.
The plan is work-in-progress and I will continue to build on it over time. I may not even fully follow it, but having a plan in place is important for me to have a starting point, so that I am not faced with a blank calendar and feeling lost the day after graduation!
I will follow the plan for as long as I enjoy it; if I stop enjoying it then I will revise it. I hope as I travel on this journey, other things will come up and the plan will evolve as my needs change. I will be very sad when my MA course ends but I am very excited to continue the journey with all the new skills, knowledge and friends that I have gained on the programme.
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REFLECTIONS
A few things that were said to me recently have got me thinking about my MA…
A very good artist friend said that she noticed I have been talking about ‘my practice’ and about ‘being an artist’. I remember when I first joined the MA course, I would only describe myself as ‘an art student’. When asked if I were an artist, I would reply, ‘not really, I am just an art student’. Then sometime during the last two years and I don’t remember exactly when, I have started to talk about being an artist. I had not noticed it until my friend pointed it out to me and I am pleased to say that I feel comfortable about referring to myself as an artist now when I was certainly very hesitant two years ago. I believe it’s the MA course that has given me the confidence and encouragement to do so.
Another comment came from a photography tutor. I have attended a few one-off photography workshops locally and have got to know the tutor well. Earlier this year, she asked what I was planning to do after my MA and at the time I said I wasn’t sure – it was before I created the above MindMap and I was considering doing another taught MA. She said, ‘I am sure you are going to do something because you can’t waste an MA from Central Saint Martins.’ That really made me reflect on what an opportunity and a privilege it has been to do this course (in fact, to do further education of any kind). I do not have ambition to be a famous artist or to have gallery representation, that was not what I came here for. I came here to develop myself and to learn. I have thoroughly enjoyed the course and I am loving making art. So I am just going to keep on making and be true to myself in my art – as David Bowie said, ‘don’t make art to please other people’. I hope that is enough to not ‘waste’ this excellent learning opportunity that I have had the privilege to enjoy.
LEARNING
In addition to making art, I will continue to explore how I can use ‘my voice as an artist’ and I hope the MindMap plan will help me with this. I have always wanted to broaden my practice to examine societal issues so I plan to build on my ‘News’ art – my ambition is to make large scale industrial-style ‘News’ art installations. I am excited to see where all these will take me.
NEXT STEPS
– Follow the MindMap plan after graduation – revise it if needed. But always have a plan to maintain the rhythm.
– Explore how I can use ‘my voice as an artist’.
– Continue to make ‘News’ art – scale up.
– Keep on making art, be true to myself and keep on enjoying it!
Since my recent re-evaluation of my art practice to enable me to respond to what has been happening in the world, I have been making a new body of work – ‘News’. I feel the urge to show my new work at my MA Degree Show. This blog is about the development of ideas and a plan for the Degree Show.
METHOD
Firstly, I wanted to explore if combining multiple sheets of ‘News’ would make a good composition. Since each sheet was made as an independent painting, I needed to see if they would ‘make sense’ together. So I stuck together a few paintings and put them up against two glass doors to see how I felt. I was encouraged by what I saw and felt there was potential in the concept. I then proceeded to design the installation – how should the paintings be presented?
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Below are some mock up ideas that I prepared to discuss with my tutor:
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After discussing with my tutor, we felt that the first option had the most potential for the CSM site. So I proceeded to think about how to create one large painting by combining multiple newspaper paintings together that would be appropriate for the Show both in demonstrating the concept and that is robust enough for a public exhibition.
My tutor showed me an installation by a previous student who stitched together pieces of paper to form a long drop. I liked the idea of stitching together the pieces rather than just taping because I think it would be more robust and also reflect my wish to mend what’s happening in the world through my work – somehow.
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I then tried out different ideas on my sketch book and decided a narrower long drop (rather than a wide one as in the original idea) could work well to resemble how newspapers are printed and processed in the factory. Working so intensely with newspapers and examining newsprint so closely has reminded me of my time as a young engineer working on control systems for newspaper printing presses including many Fleet Street titles. I remember vividly how exhilarating and awe-inspiring it was to see the newspaper webs flying at high speed between feeder rollers around the monumental machines (see example image below). Since my art practice is about exploring my identity and engineering has been such a large part of my life (35+ years), I wanted to make an installation at the degree show that incorporated elements of my memory from those days.
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I experimented with the ideas of using three tubes to represent parts of the printing machine. Initially, I looked into buying used feeder rollers from printing press refurbishment companies but they were costly. Then I considered using mild steel tubes (not stainless steel as they would be too shiny). Below is an initial design idea which I used to get some costing. A key objective was the ease of installation knowing how busy the build up would be with such a big student show.
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Then I wondered if three tubes would be too many and considered a two tubes design. In all cases, one or more flood lights would be used to illuminate the artwork from behind. Here is a two tubes design:
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After further discussions and advice from my tutor, the final design was to use 3 x copper plumbing pipes as the copper colour would complement well the Financial Times’ salmon paper. The second pipe on the floor would be placed behind the painting giving the look of the newspaper feeding into the wall. I considered using two small flood lights, but I might go with a dimmable flood light instead because I have found that the back-illumination light level could be critical – too bright and the images became saturated and if too dim then the reverse side images would be hardly visible. Hence a dimmable unit would give more flexibility for an unfamiliar site with unknown ambient light level. Here is the final design:
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The next task was to test out the stitching and the wrapping of the newspaper around a pipe to see how the paper behaved. Also to determine the optimum pipe diameter to use.
Using a sewing machine for large sheets of paper could be challenging because unlike fabric, the paper could not be bunched up to fit around the sewing machine body. Hence I rolled up the newspaper around a plastic tube and held the roll in place with a large paperclip so that it could be fed into the machine without damaging the paper. The two sheets of newspapers were held together using dressmaking pins just like I would do when binding fabrics.
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The machine settings were as follows with the stitch size fairly small for strength but not tiny as it might rip the paper:
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The paper was then fed slowly into the machine for sewing. Two rows of stitches were made to ensure strength of the bind:
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Completed sewing and with paper hanging vertically:
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Below are close up images of the stitching and how the paper wrapped around the tube. This tube was of 40mm diameter and the paper wrapped well around it:
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I tried wrapping around a smaller diameter tube (22mm) and it felt too tight and obviously would require more revolutions of wrapping and I felt that would introduce more risk in the paper not aligning and looking untidy:
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Another example of paper wrapped around a tube. This time with painted paper only as an experiment because the installation for the Show would only use unpainted paper to wrap around the tube.
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Since I am planning to create a painting size of 2 x double page spread broadsheets, that is approximately 1.36m wide and it would be difficult to feed into the sewing machine in one go, I created the following stitching plan to do the stitching half way, then turn around and do the other half from the opposite direction. I might try to do it all the way with some spare newspaper as an experiment to start with.
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Final selection of eight paintings to form a composition for the Degree Show:
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Mock up in front of flood light to test concept:
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REFLECTIONS
I started to re-evaluate my art practice just before the Low Res in March and I started to make ‘News’ art at the end of March which is less than two months ago. I cannot believe how much has happened and that I am planning to show this new body of work at the Degree Show. During my recent tutorial, my tutor said that everything I have been doing as well as my commitment to interrogation have been leading to this and it does feel that way to me. I am feeling a momentum that I had not felt before and I am very excited (and somewhat nervous but in a good way) about showing this work at the Show. I do not know if it would work out or if it would present itself as I imagined. But I take confidence from what David Bowie said in this video where he was giving advice to artists:
My main takeaway from Bowie’s video was when he said, ‘…Always remember the reason you initially started working, you felt there was something inside yourself that if you could manifest it in some way then you would understand more about yourself and how you co-exist with the rest of society… If you feel safe then you are not working in the right area. Always go a little out of your depth, when you feel your feet are not quite touching the bottom then you are just about in the right place to do something exciting.’
I sincerely hope that Bowie is right and I look forward to finding out!
Another point that I have been reflecting on is that this new body of work is aesthetically and topically very different to my last body of work, The Cheongsam Series, where I was making oil paintings on dress-shaped canvases to explore my transcultural journey.
Much of my work in the last two years have been about my transcultural identity, but I knew that at some point I would want to go beyond just talking about my transcultural journey onto issues about society – issues that are still related to me, my lived experience but about other aspects of my identity. I mentioned this in my Study Statement from Unit 1 as my intention, but as I was making my transcultural work I have at times felt bounded to that topic and I was unsure of how to progress or transition onto the next body of work without seeming incoherent. Then when the ‘calling’ came to make work about the rapid change in world order and how people close to me were being affected, my urge to move onto the next body of work felt like a natural progression. Of course, there was much time spent on reflecting, agonising, experimenting, observing and reflective-writing that led me to making ‘News’ art. I am very pleased that I have gone through the transition process from one body of work to the next while I was still on the MA programme. This is because I felt safe and secure in trying something completely different in a supportive environment and I made it happen. I have learnt that I could do it and it wasn’t as scary as I thought it might be. Guided by my reflective process and taking it step by step meant that I felt in control of the transition – not necessary in control of the making but in control of the change process which gave me a solid platform to take risks in the making. This learning experience has been very important for me as I now feel confident to do that again independently after the course. I feel I can move onto the next body of work when the next ‘calling’ comes. I know I can rely on my instincts guided by my reflective process to make it happen. I expect I will return to my transculturality work at some point because there is still much to explore and I certainly have not exhausted the subject yet – far from it.
LEARNING
I have learnt that I now feel able to transition from one body of work to the next and take risks along the way. I will follow my instincts and use my reflective process to guide me. This has been an important realisation as I go forward to develop my practice.
As for the Degree Show, there has been a lot to think about in planning for the show and I have really enjoyed the challenge. Especially looking at sourcing the right materials for the installation – I learnt a lot in that process, such as to consider the materials’ behaviour, the aesthetics and planning for a site that I am not familiar with including all the contingencies to consider. It’s all good experience for any future exhibitions. Creating the paintings is only half the work, presenting it properly and all the site considerations require just as much work which is something to bear in mind in the future. Planning and allowing plenty of time is key!
I have also learnt that I needed to introduce a new process of organising my materials – namely the newspapers! Especially considering news has a life span. My ‘News’ artwork needs to be about the here and now and can’t be left on the shelf for too long or the news story would have expired. So I needed to create a system to sort the newspapers so they don’t end up piling up in my studio. I decided to organise my newspapers as follows.
I found it helpful to have a specific topic for selecting the newspapers to paint on. In this case, it’s about the sudden change in world order due to the US Government’s drastic roll out of damaging policies.
So when I get a copy of the newspaper, I sort the pages into the following categories:
– Selected pages for painting – with the appropriate headline, perhaps an interesting image and not too much advertising especially not big dark blocks.
– Spares: top priority / second priority / good for practicing
– Not selected
Out of all the ‘News’ paintings that I have created, they were sorted into ‘possibles’ for the show and ‘not selected’. Then I continued to make more paintings until I had enough ‘good’ ones that I was happy with for the Show.
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NEXT STEPS
Make it happen for the Show!
Always remember Bowie’s advice!
Maintain my confidence, follow my instincts and reflective process to develop future bodies of work.
When I first showed my News Art to my tutor, we talked about the way I photographed the paintings in front of a window and letting the light shine through was a metaphor for ‘holding the news up to the light’.
As the saying goes, if you are ‘holding something up to the light’, you see through and understand the true nature of it more clearly; or you hold something to account. I felt it was a good metaphor and if I were to show my News Art then I would want to hold it up to the light. This way of showing also reveals the images on the reverse side of the newspaper adding more intrigue and ambiguity to the overall composition.
METHOD
To find ways of showing the News Art with light shining through – it is necessary to not rely on having a window or sunshine for an installation. So I created a mock up lampshade frame to test how it would work if the light source was a light bulb.
Mock up lampshade frame
Then clipped the News Art to the frame with the light turned on:
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Tried a few different images:
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This showed the reverse side images were coming through well:
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Then I considered a design for a cylindrical light tower to display the paintings in an installation:
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Some ideas were found online at places like IKEA with floor standing lamps that could be used instead of a custom made frame with the latter being a potentially costly option.
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As an example, for the rectangular shade in paper shown above – it can take 2 double page spread of The FT at 3-high. It has more area than the circular one so would be better. This means 6 double page spreads per lamp. For a 3 lamp installation then that would mean 18 double page spreads in total. The rice paper lampshade could be slashed or torn to represent violence that is happening at the moment.
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However, the rice paper shade around the lamp might block too much of the light. Hence more tests were done with the mock up lampshade and rice paper.
Mock up lamp with rice paper shade
There was sufficient light coming through the rice paper lampshade to reveal the images on the reverse side of the newspaper:
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REFLECTIONS
The experiment was successful in demonstrating that a light bulb can illuminate the newspaper sufficiently to reveal the reverse side images, even with a layer of rice paper in between. This means the IKEA lamps could be used if I wanted a cylindrical installation.
A cylindrical installation means the viewer would have to walk around the lamp to see the whole composition. This maybe fine and could be a good way to install in the middle of a room with multiple floor standing lamps. However, if I wanted a large and flat composition like one large painting, then that would need to be hung on a wall or from the ceiling. If against a wall then I would need a light curtain of some kind to throw light onto the back of the newspaper. Ideally an enormous light panel or light box would be ideal but they tend to be very expensive. More to think about…
LEARNING
The experiments so far showed that a lamp with just one bulb was sufficient to show the reverse side images. Of course it would also depend on the distance between the light source and the newspaper. But the results were encouraging and I will continue to think about different ways to install my News Art work.
NEXT STEPS
Think of different ways to illuminate the art work in preparation for coming up with ideas for the degree show.
After reflecting on the News Art that I made in response to news headlines directly, I decided to be more subtle in the way I respond to the headlines. I decided to explore a more abstract way to express my feelings. What started my creating of News Art was the grief that I felt for the state of the world and my choice of using crows, inspired by the book ‘Grief is the thing with feathers’. So I returned to just painting some crow images as ideas came to me and not to overthink or be too deliberate.
METHOD
Without too much planning or thinking, I painted a few crows in flight using Chinese brush and ink in a free style Chinese painting approach. Then I held the painting up to the light:
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Another painting done in the same way with a similar composition:
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A more close-up view of a crow coming down for its prey with two others in the sky:
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Since I had done quite a few of the crow paintings, I laid them out to see how they would look as a larger composition to get ideas on how to install these paintings as a group:
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I finished by selecting two silhouette paintings that went well together and held them up to the light as one composition:
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REFLECTIONS
I am pleased with the silhouette paintings. I like painting in Chinese free style. Some of the crow bodies were not quite right but overall the wings have worked out well. I feel they do give a sense of movement in flight. I am also happier with the more subtle and abstract approach to the news headlines selected. I also purposely chose the ‘ring of hands’ for the crows to fly through, like an escape route for them. We all need one of those at the moment!
Doing my newly discovered News Art has given me a reason to read the newspaper when I have felt inclined to avoid the news. Looking through the newspaper to pick out headlines to respond to has given me courage to face what’s happening in the world in a way that I didn’t expect.
LEARNING
I feel excited by my new discovery of making art in this way. I am gradually developing a process and as I get to know more about the newsprint material, I feel able to push things further such as how wet I could make it (very wet, surprisingly). I really like painting on the newspaper because it is not a blank canvas and the contents and images on each page give me so many ideas which is great.
One thing to bear in mind is that newsprint is not archival. This would be a problem if I continue to pursue this way of making. I need to look into ways to preserve the artwork especially if I’m thinking about showing these work at some point. Proper research is needed including asking specialists at CSM.
Overall, the main learning is to just keep making more work to explore this way of making. Ideas flood in as I make.
On 3rd October 2023, I wrote my first blog for my MA Fine Art (Digital) course. It was about my intention to structure my blogs in a way that would help me to create a sustainable reflective practice.
In the blog, I talked about my intention to base my blogs on Kolb’s learning cycle and as a result, I have created the following 4-stage structure and I have been using it for all my blogs throughout my MA course:
1. METHOD (Experiencing stage)
– To capture my making process and decisions along the way.
2. REFLECTIONS (Reflecting stage)
– To capture all my thoughts, feelings, reflections and personal insights throughout as well as after the making process. The aim is to think as broadly and be as uninhibited as possible to ‘open up the horizons’ and/or to ‘dig deep’.
3. LEARNING (Thinking stage)
– To bring my reflections back to the context of my art practice – what have I learnt and what does it all mean for my practice? Also to capture any emerging intentions if appropriate.
4. NEXT STEPS (Acting stage)
– To summarise ‘what to do next’ in clear actions to give direction to progress my practice.
Below is my reflective process in a diagram.
My reflective process
It will be referred to as The ‘MeReLeNe’ process for short from here on.
REFLECTIONS
Writing my blogs in this ‘MeReLeNe’ structure during my two year MA programme has helped me to cement a structured approach and develop my reflective practice. I have been an engineer all my life before coming to the arts and I need an underlying structure in order to liberate me to explore freely and safely, knowing that if I ever felt lost or ‘wobbly’ then I could come back to a tried and tested structure that would give me security and guidance. Since this is a structure that I have developed for myself and tested over a two year period, I feel that I can trust and rely on my process to progress my practice making it sustainable as I feel very committed to it. I have come to realise that it is much more than a safety structure… At times during the last two years, I have felt unsure about what direction to take or felt lost about what to make. Then inevitably I would realise that I have not written my blog for my last piece of work yet, hence I felt lost. Without exception, once I reflected properly in my blog and captured my learning in the context of my art practice, the next-steps would then reveal themselves naturally in the process. Sometimes the next-steps could be simply to ‘make some more’ and that simple statement may seem generic, but I would know where to take it as a result of going through the reflective process.
I am excited about having tested and embedded this structure into my practice. It is now such a fundamental part of my practice that I cannot image working without it because I would soon become lost.
Furthermore, in the last two years, at times I have felt unsure of what my ‘process’ was, was it painting with oil, oil and cold wax, making Cheongsam canvases or painting on newspapers? I found it hard to explain to people when asked about my practice, especially for anyone not familiar with contemporary art. People would ask if I painted landscapes or portraits; watercolour or oil. It’s impossible to give a straight answer when my medium and methods would vary depending on what I was trying to say. It might vary from project to project, but writing this blog has brought clarity to what my art practice is about:
‘My contemporary art practice is about exploring my identity and my environment through narratives. I use whatever medium that is appropriate to help me express what I want to say. My reflective practice is my process.’
LEARNING
I have learnt that I definitely need a structure to thrive in my practice. It provides a safe environment for me to wander and explore freely knowing I can ‘come home’ to this process to consolidate my learning and progress.
The key revelation for me is having the clarity that ‘My reflective practice is my process’. I believe my tutor has allured to this several times recently and I now know what he means.
NEXT STEPS
Continue to use and embed the ‘Method-Reflections-Learning-NextSteps’ (or MeReLeNe) process for my reflective practice.
Start to acknowledge that my reflective practice is my process. Own it.
After the first experiment on weaving narratives (see link below), I decided to do a second experiment, this time with two paintings that were more representative of the different cultural narratives that I want to weave together and also very different style of work just to see what happens. Also, an action from the last experiment was to choose smaller paintings to speed up the experiment.
Plum blossoms, Chinese brush painting – ink on rice paper, cut to size A3.
Paper edges were added to both paintings so that the cuts could be made up to the edge of the image whilst keeping all the strips together at one end in a neat order. This makes the weaving process easier.
Video of cutting the acrylic painting which seemed to have attracted more views on my social media than other work. Also, four times more non-followers seemed to have engaged with this clip than usual.
I enjoyed the cutting process very much. It felt brutal but energising, liberating and renewing. The weaving process was enjoyable for me as it involved crafting with my hands. The delicate manoeuvring of strips of my painting during the weaving felt very different to the cutting process. It was strange to feel that I had to be very careful during the weaving when I have just taken a big pair of scissors to the work minutes earlier. The juxtaposition of the different feelings was interesting.
I am not too excited about the outcome though. I don’t think the woven painting created the interesting or intriguing effect that I had hoped for. The negative space from the Chinese painting introduced a lot of white into the image and obscured much of the harbour-scape rendering it not recognisable but without introducing intrigue.
Reflecting on this and the previous woven painting experiment, I am not sure if I want to pursue the weaving part much further. To really make something of it, I would need to have a good think about how the two images need to come together, how the negative spaces and colour palettes would combine to create a coherent image – even if it’s not coherent aesthetically, it needs to create intrigue or tension. As it is, I feel the images don’t provide enough to engage me, let alone a viewer. However, I feel there is good potential with the cutting process. It was an exciting process that I would like to explore further.
After cutting the paintings into strips, I played with waving or jangling the strips and they danced on the table. That was fun and I liked the images from the movements. However, once they were woven together, the images became ‘flat’ and ‘too neat’. Perhaps I can explore the dancing of the strips and do something with either just one painting or multiple paintings and then let the strips just fall down together and see what happens. Perhaps I can make videos of them dancing and collapsing together. As a metaphor, from my experience as a transcultural person, bringing together two different cultures is rarely neat and tidy, it requires improvisation and often people and situations are just ‘thrown together’ and one never knows what might happen. So perhaps the neat weaving was not such an appropriate metaphor as it seems too restrictive in hindsight.
LEARNING
It has been a good learning experience to weave together paintings. I learnt that I enjoyed the cutting up process, I enjoyed the weaving process but I am not taken by the outcome. The outcome appeared too neat and restrictive for the subject. Therefore, I don’t think I will do anymore ‘neat’ weaving of cut up paintings. Unless I am stuck for something to do in between projects and want to keep busy because it is a good way of keeping busy to enable some thinking time while making. I find the crafting processes are very enabling in a way to create thinking space and time.
What I will continue to explore is the cutting up process because I find that energising and renewing. I want to explore what else I could do with strips of painting, just play and explore and let them dance. I could do some video of their movements and create images from that. E.g. I can pile several paintings together and see how they fall together, or let each strip free-fall individually from height and film their movements in slow motion. It would be good to just to explore without any prior agenda. That can be liberating. I can try a filming project with an already cut up painting (to save cutting up another painting for the moment), I can un-weave one of the woven paintings then letting the strips free-fall, like untangling narratives and then setting them free. I can think about a narration to accompany the video or pair with music.
Think about using the green satin bamboo painting because the soft and light materials could float nicely onto the ground. Think about what background – white cube or outdoors? Perhaps an industrial background from the old Bristol docks? The delicate satin materials could be a good juxtaposition with the old heavy duty cranes by the harbour. The strips could fall inside the intricate metal structure of the cranes.
NEXT STEPS
Pause the ‘neat’ weaving of paintings for now, unless I want to use the process to enable thinking time.
Untangle a woven painting, set the strips (narratives) free in a free-falling way. Film their falling and piling up on the ground, if possible, do outdoors e.g. by the old Bristol dock.
Continue to explore cutting of paintings and see what that could add to my practice.
elizarawlings 