Dreaming about The Island Girl
“Her messy hair a visible attribute of her stubborn spirit. As she shakes it free, she smiles knowing wild is her favourite colour.”
The Island Girl
Dear Island Girl,
Will you go beyond the horizon?
Where the oceans meet the sea.
Where the waters are immaculate;
And the adrenaline is high.
Pearl Twink. The New Madonna.
Heaven can only be with you in it.
Wherever you belong…..
You’re not the girl with long hair, oval eyes, luscious lips and perfect teeth.
You don’t look like the girl on the magazine cover or runway,
Hell, you might even be straighter than an arrow.
But you’re the most beautiful.
The way you love hard, laugh with abandon, push your glasses back to your face, wipe the sweat off your forehead, the way that crown dances on your head.
Sure, you’re a queen,
Of hearts, of love, freedom, beauty, wisdom.
Your huge heart is large enough to hug all the children of the world.
you refuse to be undermined and wield your sword in the fight for truth.
WCW’ by Maryam Atoyebi
The Bathing of Pearl Twink – The Process.
This is my last blog entry and one day before I am due to fly out to Thailand and ultimately travel through Myanmar. I am planning to gather a broad range of primary sources for a further experimentation with the newly initiated process.
I have edited a number of documentary recordings of various stages of the washing process. The creative potential is definitively there and I will continue to question the metaphorical meaning of the uncertainty of the washing process.
A video and a GIF below, document the process of my work and thinking. There is also an intriguing dialogue between the resistance of the fragile image and the brutal and violent machine intervention.
Washing In
Washing Out
The Bathing of Pearl Twink.
I have just started the next phase of the long planned process of experimentation with machine intervention. I have alternated individual washing cycles with the overprinting and refreshing of the image. When the ink was dry, I used the washing machine again and programmed different lengths and temperatures to maximise the effect of uncertainty and unpredictability. Cold washes had minimal impact on the image. The screen-printed text started, however, to become softer and softer. Therefore, it appeared to be more ambiguous and difficult to decipher. The surface of the painting itself, became damaged and populated with watery holes and creases. This change to the texture and integrity of the piece has started to create an impact on the dynamics of the painting.
My plan is to continue with this process in order to find out, how far it can be stretched. What I would like to establish is the limit of uncertainty. How far can this process be taken to before the inevitable becomes the obvious, predictable and very certain. I am fascinated by a dialogue and interdependence between both contradictory perspectives and the testing of the boundaries.
I have managed to record several interesting images depicting this new to me method of working.
The Magic in the Ordinary
The brief was to manipulate an everyday object in order to alter its meaning and purpose.
I have chosen a pocket version of a dictionary, which used to be a symbol of all important and desirable knowledge. Frequently, it was the only source of finding answers to questions.
I have produced this piece as a part of an induction project with my new Foundation Art students. My creative intention was to communicate the fact that, in the contemporary times, not many people read. Published books have slowly become obsolete and replaced by online editions. The gold coloured wax is also of significance, because of its associated status and meaning,
Dialogue with Pearl Twink (with sound)
I have made some final improvements to this piece and increased its authenticity.
I used some original Nigerian music from a recording in a nightclub in Lekki, Lagos in Nigeria.
Dialogue with Pearl Twink
Final proposal for my submission to the Interim Exhibition.
This portrait is hypnotically hovering behind the text – emerging from the writing and vanishing again. The model is looking down with pride and confidence. She is emerging through the messages and remains deadpan – a distant observer.
The video instigates a sense of a dialogue between provocations and her responses to them. Despite the attention, she remains undisturbed.
The piece tries to question the presumption within our prejudice and allows us to understand the contradictory point of view – the opposite perspective. Therefore, forcing us to confront and reflect on our own behaviour in the context of making judgements without thinking and appropriate analysis. We simply devalue the status of a person from a different culture. Labelling and categorising removes individuality and creates a climate for a lack of our responsibility towards them.
The patterns and colours echo the culture of her native Nigeria. They are vibrant and dynamic, reflecting the power of pure Chroma highlighted by the tropical sun.
Earlier versions during the developmental stages were jumpy. I felt that the portrait did not interact well with the messages.
This is a smoother and more refined version in Premier. However, there is a jump at the end, which makes the looping disjointed.
Initial attempt at frame animation in Premier.
First experimentation with. Photoshop Gif
Screen overprints of the initial portrait.
Development of printing text.
Revision and Update to My Research Statement.
Reflection On Action.
1. I have just completed a long and painstaking process of reading through and reviewing my entire blog. I have also supported every post with relevant and appropriate Tags. This was suggested by Jonathan during my most recent tutorial. The idea behind this is to organise my work and have an overview of what has been done and achieved so far. Any gaps in evidence may become apparent and, therefore, can be addressed.
2. Review and reflection on progress.
This is the fairest major review of my entire output up to date.
The initial part of my research was conducted in response to my observations and experiences from Haiti. My visual experimentation resulted in the production of several portraits of local people, who I met and developed a rapport with. They all had a story to tell and this underlying narrative was of primary importance. I initiated this process by manipulating my primary source photographs and edited them as video pieces and Gifs. Some of these explorations were supported by sound recordings, voice messages sent via WhatsApp and commentaries. The essence of this stage of my project was to communicate feelings of uncertainty, suspense and waiting for change. My creative intentions were to express the idea of fragility of life and, how one deals with this phenomenon. What has become important was to explore, how we view other people trapped in anxiety and a fight to survive . Frequently, my critical analysis of ‘waiting’ leads to portraying this passive motion as the only option available and the ultimate solution to sanity.
Additionally, I started using water jet as a way of expressing this instigated by circumstances ‘torture’ . The additional creative intention was to make my work less certain and, therefore, more thought provoking. I have started to develop my thinking further and made a paradigm shift from producing work ‘of something’ to developing a project about my chosen theme: Waiting. The Uncertainties of Tomorrow.
The apparent vagueness of these images increased the element of interpretative questioning, which in turn, had led to a claim of knowledge, visual discovery and innovation.
It has certainly forced a deep reflection upon me and made me realise how ephemeral the life can be. The force of the jet wash created movement and made the surface look distressed, as it was telling a story. Accidents and risks played a crucial role in this process and became the key ingredients of my developing visual language. Despite the procedure being repetitive, the outcomes were always unique and unpredictable.
With this experience, my ideas have moved forward to the next stage of experimentation with pieces, which appeared to be even less certain. I have decided to include a form of a machine intervention. My plan was to travel to various destinations to gather meaningful data and experiences.
To make progress with the project, I have already planned the next trip to Thailand and Burma. I want to record and experience, how other people deal with their existence, cope with their worries , while waiting for something to happen and initiate change in their lives. I would like to gather new and exciting primary sources for further development in the studio.
The current image I am working on is titled Pearl Twink. This is a portrait of a young mother of 4, who lives in a privileged yet very dangerous district of Lagos called Lekki. The are used to be one of the biggest slums on in he world. The locals used to call it ‘Morocco’. Currently, the entire area is very diverse and contains ultimate wealth as well as absolutely poverty and humans desperation in the dramatic fight to stay alive.
The image below is of Pearl Twink with an overlay of my provocative text.
Pearl Twink. Waiting For An Uncertain Response.
I am very excited to have started working on an alternative direction of my project. My new piece is a portrait of Pearl Twink, a girl I met in Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria.
The concept for this piece is to instigate a dialogue between my reflections on her definitively uncertain life, and interweave them with her responses to my provocative statements. The plan is to use a range of processes, including painting and screen printing. This will be possibly extended and developed through video and Gifs. The narrative element continues to be very important. It reinforces the ambiguity of the message I am trying to communicate and questions it’s place in the broader contexts.
The previously overused blasting process will be now replaced by a machine intervention. I will experiment with using a variety of washing powders, temperatures and lengths of cycles to remove the under image and the overprinting layers of text.
All my new work will be created on unprimed and unstreatched canvases. Currently, I am using Calico and synthetics. However, during my forthcoming trip to Burma, I intend to collect a variety of materials and appropriate, locally produced fabrics, to increase the element of authenticity of my project.
I have already started to develop an under image. It is still a recognisable portrait of Pearl Twink. This part of the process is associated with deep reflections. My thoughts are jotted down all over the piece as rough notes and the most important content is just below the image.
Subsequently, I have refined this text and its content. I wanted for my message to be more provocative as well as form a discussion between her ideas and my judgements.
A copy of the refined text is below. I have also experimented with different ways of making the text less readable and partly invisible.
Subsequently, I was faced with a dilemma: should I use a handwritten text on top of the under image or develop a typographic silk screen?
The screen idea has worked very well and the inking process was very fulfilling. I felt that this process has began to work as I had intended.
Additionally, the overprinting has started to take shape and created fine details and a sense of layering.
The message containing Pearl Twink’s response is also ready to be transferred onto a silk screen. As soon as this is done, I will initiate the overprinting process, which will be subsequently washed off by experimenting with machine intervention.
This is intended to reinforce the element of uncertainty and waiting in anticipation; worries and anxieties of what will happen during the ‘washing’ cycle. There is no stopping it whilst the process is started. All I can do is to wait to see the result and assess the accidental value of my risky approach. The potential of loosing it all is real!
As an alternative idea, I am also considering to develop an animation, or perhaps, a video piece, and include the flashing and alternating of individual stages of the overprinting process and the messages.
I could not resist to record the last attempt of blasting the ink off to reveal the content of the screen and its message.
I feel very nostalgic!
HYPNOTIC REPETITION 