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.
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 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,
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.
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 have started to work on a new piece. It is a portrait of a young single mum of 4, who lives in a privileged district of Lagos, called Lekki.
I have started to build up the underpainting using several layers of paint and washes of colour. The next stage will include experimentation with ‘washing’ the under image off. This is a part of my reflections on discussions with Jonathan during my most recent tutorial.
I have also created an extensive mind map of the possible meanings of ‘washing’ in order to embrace the full message contained in this powerful word in a variety of contexts.
Currently, I am working on unstreatched and unprimed canvas. Therefore, I will be able to use varies chemicals and the washing machine to replace the old blasting process.
I will loose more control over and what remains on the canvas following a washing cycle will be purely accidental. The plan includes using different lengths of the washing cycle, varying temperatures and a number of washing powders including stain removers.
I have tried to experiment with a wide range of approaches to painting and communicating through the visual language. Initially, I explored possibilities of using the already established process of over-printing a painted surface, which is subsequently blasted off with a water jet. This method was gradually developed and extended further. Additionally, I became more interested in the size of my work and started painting on smaller pieces of unstretched canvas. My creative intention was to differentiate between micro and macro environments and consider the pieces in terms of their size, scale and impact.
This is significant in terms of the quality and energy of mark, which I am able to achieve. The image ‘handling’ process is also diametrically different. The smaller size of canvas makes the blasting process much more dramatic and devastating. It is also less precise in terms of the amount of control I have over the tool and its power.
Some of the images below, were almost totally washed off by the jet of water. However, the brush marks were much more powerful and distinct; making the entire composition more abstract and almost unrecognisable. The pictorial content was fully covered and the underneath layers of paint were totally invisible.
My images have started to become very fragile. I had to use the process of digital scanning in order to recover some visual aspects of them and save important details from being erased and permanently lost.
Perhaps, the next stage of my experimentation will include working on lighter colour backgrounds, thinner fabrics and using materials, which are much more delicate and fragile to enhance the possibility of happy accidents and increase the imperoding process of blasting.
When working on upstretched fabrics, I can also consider using bleach, Vanish and other chemicals. I will replace the water jet with a washing machine.
This should give me a completely new and alternative path as a direction for my experimentation.
I am really excited about some recent developments in terms of my painting practice. I have worked on my recent canvas with a great range of colour layers and washes. The glazing of the underpainting, which is in turn blasted off with a jet of water, creates a sensation of unusual depth to the work.
i am hoping to achieve a greater complexity of the surface quality. I am also experimenting with a juxtaposition of hyper realistic portrayal and random and accidental marks created by the jet of water. However, this process is more than just a mere accident. I am also slowly learning how to control the nozzle of the pressure washer in order to achieve an effect, which i particularly desire.
In technical terms, I have also extended on my typical use of brushes and started to include working with sponges and cloth.
I have spend most of the day experimenting with the established process of continuously over-printing and blasting the newly applied colour layer away with a strong jet of water.
While documenting the work progress, I have started to alternate the use of video material and photography of relevant stages and refinements.
The screen developed for this image is based on pomegranate. This fruit is a national symbol of Azerbaijan. It is also associated with wealth and prosperity. Most Azeris regard pomegranate as a culturally and historically established object of desire.
i particularly like the ambiguity of the composition of pomegranate seeds. The screen is mysterious and non-descriptive. This lack of exactness and visual identity make it more uncertain and, perhaps even nervous,
My creative intentions were to make images, which are more ambiguous and undefined by avoiding using realistic colours. I have experienced a lot of trouble trying to photograph these paintings. I had to bounce the light of a screen to avoids unnecessary reflections and other visual disturbances. The idea was also to reject the use of Photoshop as a tool for enhancing images. I wanted to get photographs, which are untouched and unchanged – a la prima.
What is really important to me is the use of accidents, which are wholly unpredictable. It is also about visualising anxiety and uncertainty of “things going wrong” and simply destroying my own work before giving it a chance to appear and develop. I am fascinated by the layers of paint and ink, and the accidental tears breaking up on the surface. Punhane has started to develop references to images of Madonna, or perhaps, coffin portraiture and paintings executed in encaustic..
The next stage will be to leave this piece to dry and than, prime its surface with diluted PVA in order to be able to restart the entire process again.
I have started with the painterly process, while preparing an under painting for a new piece. The inspiration has come from my experiences in Azerbaijan, especially in the capital Called Baku.
The image below is of a young Azeri girl, who was my guide around the “Land of Fire”. We have spent a fair amount of time together, while exploring the local culture and became friends.
On the last day of my visit, I managed to interview Punhane. She gradually opened up and revealed her secrets to me. She was very nervous and hesitant. I recorded her short monologue, which appraises her uncertainties and anxieties.
I questioned the concept of happiness. This somehow upset her. She abruptly responded – “I have already told you – at the end”.
Ultimately, the recording will accompany and support the digitised version of a more refined version of this work.
All finalists painted live in front of an audience.
There was a lot of interest in my work and I have received plenty of encouraging comments.
This is a portrait of a young, beautiful and idyllic-looking Haitian girl
playing with butterflies. I met her during my travels through Haiti,
where most people survive on less than 1$ per day.
She is totally oblivious of her origin.
She does not understand, why she is consistently ostracised and
bullied. Her skin is white, and her eyes are baby blue. She definitively
stands out!
She has never heard of Poland. Her home is on a little island called
Petit Goave.
She is a descendent of Polish legionnaires, who were sent to Haiti by
Napoleon to suppress an uprising of slaves. However, having realised
the extent of exploration and abuse, the Poles changed sides and
fought in support of the oppressed indigenous people. Subsequently,
most of them were punished and slaughtered. A few lucky ones
managed to disperse to the islands.
Waiting is a complex and multi-dimensional concept. Perhaps, we could attempt our identity by using a metaphor to the dreams, aspirations and desires we are all hoping for. In Haiti, it could be a few grains of rice to survive, while in the West…a cocktail called Porn Star.
This piece is on outcome of a collaboration between a painting and a video.
It question the idea of identity in the broader context of external dynamics and stimuli.
Our dreams, ambitions and aspirations are formed by brutal and vulgar contrasts between the opulence and status of the privileged and the suffering of the starving underclasses. This powerful contrast is charged with a broad range of associated high level emotions and feeling, such as jealousy, anger and a total lack of understanding of the reasons behind one’s faith.
HYPNOTIC REPETITION 