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Francesco

 

My exhibition explores the representation of emotions in human subjects. The main subjects in my artworks are portraits and human features. The exhibition explores the different ways in which each emotion can be exaggerated or emphasized through alterations in images. The exhibition retains the focus on visualizing emotions, which cannot be fully captured through photography or real world observation. My exhibition is predominantly artworks using acrylic or digital manipulations, to distort and alter reality, exploring portraits through distortion using Adobe Illustrator. 

All my pieces are based on photographs I have taken, mainly of people within social situations that emphasize their emotion and expression. ‘Window’, ‘Grasp’, and ‘Hazy’ are more figurative and use blurred or tonal representation to achieve effect and emotion. These pieces approach expression through a subtle visual manner, leaning towards a realistic representation. Taking inspiration from Francis Bacon who explores the expression of fear as an emotion, I explored the visualization of fear in pieces such as my digitally created series with monochromatic backgrounds, ‘Deception’, and my charcoal drawing, ‘Grasp’. Pieces such as my sculpture ‘Perspective’, ‘Deception’, and my figurative painting using magnified mouths, ‘Smile’, express emotion in a much more surreal manner in surprising combinations of imagery where some pieces take on a more pop-art style inspired by Andy Warhol in order to emphasize emotions. In other pieces, I have focused on and exaggerated different human features for an emotional purpose, where in others I experimented with large blocks of color to reinforce the emotion represented and highlight the main subject. 

 

The exhibition is formatted in an L shape with two angled panels, separating itself thematically between an expression of fear and happiness. Having two focal points through two large format paintings, this guides the audience through my pieces as both pieces juxtapose each other. In this aspect, this allows for an intriguing assortment of works through this juxtaposition. The exhibit has a focus on distorting reality, my figurative painting using exaggerated human features and my photorealistic charcoal drawing are presented together to juxtapose the real against the unreal, representing the range of the work. My sculpture exploring perspective is presented individually, allowing the viewer to explore the different angles of the piece. In all, my exhibition aims to visualize different emotions through a playful representation based on graphic design, allowing for a different perspective that goes deeper than just the surface in how we perceive emotion. 

 

 

Deception (June 2022)

Digital Image

42 x 178 cm 

Deception is a series of digitally made compositions with the use of my own photographs using Adobe Illustrator. The name derives from the attraction of inviting figures in the background, along with the halo hovering the main subject, where the main subject contrasts these aspects through distortion and grim characteristics. Deception takes inspiration from Francisco Goya and his distortion of human faces and figures, using the same surreal aspects but in a digitalized form.

 

 

Hazy (February 2023)

Acrylic Paint

120 x 120 cm

Hazy, a large format piece that depicts a photograph altered into two faces amongst darkness. Distortion plays a large part, taking inspiration from Gerhard Richter, famously known for his representations of unfocused images. Hazy has a darker aura due to its dim colors. The blacked out background highlights the subjects, capturing the emotion of the moment by limiting what is interpreted in the background.

 

 

 

 

 

Perspective (April 2022)

Wood, Wire, Acrylic Paint

51 x 33 x 30 cm

Perspective combines a series of small pieces which combine through one viewpoint to create an image of an eye. This was inspired by Micheal Murphy’s fragmented 3D structures that construct images from certain perspectives. As each piece holds no significance in itself, this allows the viewer to freely explore the piece, and see it come together through one perspective. The harmonious color scheme assists each piece to come together and create the final image.

 

 

 

Smile (March 2023)

Adobe Illustrator, Acrylic Paint

30 x 42 cm 

Smile is a photograph turned into composition using Adobe Illustrator. Smile emphasizes the emotion in its subjects through a distorted caricature of facial features, taking inspiration from Al Hirschfield. The portrait structure and the use of color in its background takes further inspiration from Andy Warhol, utilizing plain colors to further emphasize emotion within the piece. Through this, an exaggeration of the subject's emotion is achieved, being able to elucidate the emotion of glee.

 

 

 

Grasp (February 2022)

Chalk, Charcoal

50 x 65 cm 

Grasp is a photorealistic piece based on my own photograph. Its significance is found within humanities grasp and obsession over death. Using chalk and charcoal, Grasp is able to encapsulate the photograph through focus on lighting and shading using chalk and charcoal. The contrasts between light and dark creates this piece, making the bone the subject of the piece. The combination of skeletal figures aside the human body takes inspiration from Otto Dix and his representation of humans in war.

 

 

Window (November 2022)

Digital Image

30 x 123 cm 

Window is a digitally created piece using Adobe Illustrator, taking great inspiration from Andy Warhol and his use of color. Window, through a series, highlights the true emotion of a scene through its alteration of reality and experimentation with color. The colors overlapping the subjects in each composition emphasize the emotion encapsulated by the original photograph, contrasting the monochromatic background. The piece had been constructed through the use of masking and a variety of effects.