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Gala

The two areas I have studied in my work are sea life and architecture. I chose these two different themes because I was interested in exploring the views and scenes underwater, as well as the environments and buildings that surround us. In many of my pieces, I link both themes, aspects of the sea such as water, fish, and corals, to architectural themes and structural concepts. I developed this idea throughout my work in many ways. For example, through the painting techniques I used, combining the abstract and flowy aspect of the sea, with the more bold and angular shapes seen in architecture. I have also linked both themes in the layout of my exhibition, as well as in the subjects and composition of my pieces. 

My work initially started with a more architectural theme, I created pieces such as "Concertina" and "Blocks" which both display buildings and the concept of varying perspectives. "Whale" is one of my key pieces, as it is the first piece that led me in the direction of sea life and underwater views. Following this piece, I continued to develop paintings such as "Sea" and "Water" which focus on the sea from underwater, and the corals and other small creatures that live in it. 

Texture is a quality that impacted many of my art pieces, and highlights the organic and abstract aspects of sea life. Influenced by artists such as Miquel Barcelo and Jason deCaires Taylor, I used tactile texture in my work to represent how corals and other surfaces in the ocean feel. Rough patterns on my painting "Whale" show the corals and living animals attached to the whale. I also applied a similar technique to my piece "Catfish" and "Corals". Although a majority of my pieces consist of 2D work, I used a wide variety of materials and techniques in my work. For example, acrylic on wood such as in "Sea", acrylic on canvas in "Waves", or the use of multimedia in "Concertina", and "Corals". I also explored 3D pieces through the use of ceramics to create my "Blocks" sculpture, and wooden beams to create a window frame around "Catfish".

"Sea'' and "Water" are two pieces I developed from photographs I took of the sea underwater. Similarly, my piece "Seashell" is an observational drawing from a photograph taken, and "Concertina" is based on a series of photographs I took around Paris. The use of photography in my work is relevant as it allowed me explore how I could show familiar and recognisable environments of surrounding buildings, and seas, from varying perspectives. The use of perspective is a characteristic that not only influenced my architectural works, but also pieces such as "Whale" and "Waves'' in which I used perspective to highlight the size of waves and whales, and how powerful they are. 

My exhibition is laid out in a U shape, with most pieces on the interior of the U, but "Waves" on the exterior side of the U. "Waves'' is the first piece that the audience sees, so I placed it there because it clearly demonstrates both of my themes. The bright colours of "Waves” are contrasted by the black and white "Whale" which is the next piece seen by the audience. This piece occupies two panels of my exhibition, and its contrast with the first piece both show to the audience that this is a key piece in my exhibition. My heavily architectural pieces “Blocks” and "Concertina" are placed on plinths, slightly separated from the rest of the exhibition and on a lower level. By placing my sea inspired pieces on top of the architectural ones, I continue the concept seen in "Waves" which demonstrates houses sinking underwater.  

With my exhibition, I want to convey to the audience the calm and peaceful scenery underwater, with a focus on sea creatures such as fish, whales, and corals. Rather than having the buildings further up than the ocean, the opposite layout of my exhibition makes the audience reflect on what the world would look like if we lived underwater, and what it would be like to be surrounded by these underwater textures, and massive elements of the sea such as whales and waves.

 

 

Concertina (October 2021)

Mixed Media

130 x 28 cm

The intention of this piece is to show the buildings in the environment near me. I took photographs of buildings around the school and then combined them all in a concertina drawing. In order to make the concertina, I used ink, tape, cardboard, magazine photos and gesso to “dirty” the paper. By doing this, the different parts of the concertina are joined smoothly. I was inspired by Karen Stamper’s concertinas and the way that the buildings fold around the paper.

 

 

 

Corals (March 2023)

Acrylic on wood 

63 x 67 cm

Corals is a piece which combines different corals, aquatic plants, and other forms of sealife. My goal with this piece was to continue to combine sealife with geometric shapes. I did this by including some cutouts of rectangular shapes in my piece, which also added relief to the piece. I combined abstract shapes of corals, with geometric relief pieces, and light drawings of fish which can be observed when looking closely at the corals.

 

 

 

 

Sea (June 2022)

Acrylic paint

Sea is a painting of the sea underwater. It shows the seabed, filled with corals and seaweed, as well as the top of the ocean and land. When making this piece, I looked at and was inspired by Ben Thouards photographs of waves and oceans. I wanted to show the perspective of the sea through a camera that was half submerged, similar to how a fish would view the ocean.

Water (March 2023)

Acrylic on wood

52 x 55 cm

Water is inspired by a photograph that I took this summer underwater of the seabed at a beach. I wanted to represent the water and the reflection of light at the bottom of the seabed. I focused on not making the corals, rocks, and other aspects too detailed as to create an accurate representation of the photograph.

 

 

Blocks (December 2021)

Ceramic, oxides and glaze

14 x 19 x 7, 19 x 19 x 7 cm

Blocks is a ceramic piece made out of clay slabs to form two block shapes. Since the two buildings are not stuck together, the blocks can be rearranged in any way to create a different composition. They can be stacked on top of each other, placed upside down or next to each other. This allows people to imagine buildings in another way. An artist I researched when making this sculpture is David Umemoto. Many of Umemotos sculptures consist of separate pieces that fit together like a puzzle.

Seashell  (February 2022)

Chalk and charcoal drawing

54 x 50 cm

Seashell is a chalk drawing observed from my own photograph of a seashell and a coral. The composition of the piece helps represent the scale of both objects compared to the hand. Rogan Brown’s use of detail in his paper sculptures inspired how I represented the shell and the coral, and how I drew the details.

 

 

 

Whale (April 2022)

Acrylic paint

65 x 130 cm

Whale is a painting that represents the astounding size of whales and how their scale is shocking. I used finger painting and a palette knife as painting techniques when working on this. Using these techniques allowed me to add a lot of texture to the whale. The corals on the whale are inspired by Jason DeCaires Taylor's sculptures, as they show the living creatures that usually surround whales. I was also inspired by Miquel Barcelo’s use of texture when making the corals on the whale. 

 

 

 

Waves (October 2022)

Acrylic on canvas 

160 x 73 cm

Waves is a large scale painting inspired by photographs I took. The painting depicts an abundance of houses being absorbed by the waves. The large scale of the painting makes it easier to see the different levels the houses are at, with the houses at the bottom of the painting being much more submerged underwater than the ones on top. Waves is inspired by Ben Nicholson’s use of colour and cubist influence as well as Ernst Kirchner’s painting’s compositions and perspective such as in Red Tower in Halle. 

 

 

Catfish (November 2022)

Acrylic on wood

87 x 40 cm

Catfish shows a fish through a window as if looking into a house, and is surrounded by buildings submerged in the water. The more highly saturated colour of the fish contrasts with the plain buildings, emphasising the importance of the catfish. Zao Wou-Ki inspired the texture of the painting, adding relief to the painting in an abstract manner. The pattern created by the paint represents corals on the buildings, and continues with the theme of underwater buildings seen in some of my other pieces.