I feel that the exhibition went well. Despite these 6 weeks being mainly experimental, and doing tasks that you wouldn't normally think of, it's helped in certain ways. The piece at the end turned into something I would normally create anyway, which is good. The reactions I gained from people viewing my work were mixed. Some said it was good, some didn't, some laughed, some looked confused, and I even got "i think it's just pretentious" which I love. Any reaction is a good reaction.

full exhibition piece

text piece

As well as the five framed pieces on display, I had a small piece of text, also. Displayed at the bottom left corner of the wall, near the floor, I didn't feel many people would notice it, however, this was not the case.

By using a series of techniques to manipulate words, I ended up with a series of pieces that no longer have an obvious attachment to the original. Original text for this exhibition piece being "Sculptures Are All I Make". (Play on words since I was placed in a 3D pathway with no intention to make any sculptures).

My work over the past six weeks or so has still been heavily based on text work and reaction. With manipulation being a main interest, I used that a lot to create work.

CSM Degree

Since starting my BA HONS Fine Art Degree at Central St Martins- London, I have taken part in a six week experimental project (entitled the 'mini degree'). After completing a series of tasks and group activities to get a body of work, we had worked towards a 'degree' show.

subversion

I wanted to try introducing colour back, to create a stronger subversion. Contradicting what the words describe, with the background colour.

Other responses

These texts in themselves describe something to the viewer, which makes them create an image in their minds. It's this which I find interesting to play on.

Responce 1

By gaining a response like this from random marking on a piece of paper, I can begin to contradict what they see, with what is described.

more pieces

After creating these pieces, my next step was to gain responses from them..

Form over colour

After gaining people's responses directly from colour and things associated with colour, I wanted to focus more on form, as that's what the audience tend to do anyway.

I decided to start playing around with oil and water on perspex- to create these possibly confusing images.

Foundation Completed.

After completing my Foundation course, I decided to continue the project I had been working on. I still feel I am interested in human response and reaction, which is what more work will be based on.

I thought about displaying my work in a confusing way, however:

By simply starting with a colour, then getting a responce, followed by adding a contrasting colour, subvertion within colour has happened.

...Hence no need to confuse and subvert within the display method.

I will print onto A1, displaying in a white frame, on a white wall. This will draw more attention towards the text.

By playing around with the scale of the text on the paper, I wanted to have it small in comparison to the size it is printed onto. By having the empty space surrounding the lettering, your eye is imediately drawn in to look at what is there.

By having the original hand writing, and changing the colour to contrast the writing (purple) a final piece is created.

By having the background coloured, I feel it is too distracting from the words themselves. A more subtle way of conveying the colour would be to colour the actual text.

Also, after experimenting with different texts, I felt that the best thing to do would be to keep the handwriting that each thing was originally written like. This imediately gets rid of audience recognition to specific texts.

If I take a random specific word from the responces I've collected ('Nebuli', which originated from the colour purple) and display this on a contrasting background (blue, for example), a subvertion can be created.

This can be done for all of the words and phrases I have.

For the phrase 'Boggy Ponds' (which originated from the colour green), I wouldn't be able to use green as a background colour, or blue (as blue can directly be associated with a 'pond', so the subvertion/ confusion wouldn't be as clear).

As the words I've gained relate back to a certain colour, if I display these words on a different coloured background, subvertion could be created.

The reactions which I feel are strongest, and most valuable, would be:
1. Brains
2. Nebuli
3. purple foetus'
4. toxic waste
5. troll snot
6. alien faeces
7. aerial forest
8. Boggy Ponds
9. Jealous life
10. like I'm bleeding
11. outsider
12. so so far away
13. I can not do anything about my situation
14. is this too long now?
15. I think I might have something wrong with me
16. shadow puppets
17. became soothing
18. 'are we going to sing happy birthday'

After gaining everyone's responces and feedback from my work and experiments I had done, I became interested in the text itself.

As the words and phrases gained originated from certain colours in the first place, it's interesting that they could convey that same colour.

As I didn't feel that colour was important in this situation, I wanted to see what happened if I didn't use projection at all. Simply by putting someone in the room, in the dark, for five minutes, it gave them time to think, and movement was minimal (stayed sitting down).

By carrying out each experiment in a different way, I discovered that different situations change the responce, but not the colour itself.

At first I put Zoe in the room to witness the whole slideshow, which I felt had too much going on to get an acurate reaction. Then, I put Steph in the room, with a single colour, which made her very aggitated and bored easily. To see if this was because of the colour, I did the same but with a white light- the results were the same. This made me think that it doesn't actually make a difference what colour is there, it's just the fact that she was stuck in a small room for five minutes.Prior to this, I told Raphi to go in the room, but leave at her free will, whenever she wanted. This got a completely different reaction, in which she stayed in there so long, that she eventually fell asleep.

It's these reactions that I have become intregued by.

By carrying out several experiments within this space, I gained valuable information.

At first, i made a slideshow with several coloured slides, to gain a reaction from each one. I got someone to sit in this room with the projection happening, and got them to document their thoughts on a piece of paper. The issue with this being that the thought was going into their comments, more than they were actually experiencing the colour. Hense, a new experiment with simply one colour, and not giving the person any paper or instructions to think about how they feel. By gaining this information after they left the room for a certain amount of time, I was able to get a more genuine responce.

I was able to get a small white room built for me out of wooden boards, to experiment in an enclosed enviroment. I felt this was appropriate as people's reactions would be different if they were in this situation.

I became intregued in people's responces to my work. I wanted to get a direct reaction from colour, so decided to use light through projection to do so.

The feedback I got from my broccoli piece (without telling people what it was), was generally negative. The responces I gained were 'nuclear waste', 'bile?', 'emerald colour- almost makes it seem valuable/ precious', 'an island', 'fungus', 'airail forest', 'algi' etc. Just by changing the form of something I was able to subvert the meaning. Also, I find it interesting how something as large as a forest can be seen in this piece.

By using green, water and broccoli, I feel I achieved the subvertion I wanted. By adding all these natural things, I created a piece which people didn't relate to being natural.

I wanted to move on from purple and use a different colour. The colour I chose was green.
I gained different people's opinions of the colour, and the most common association was that of nature. With the intention of using this colour, but subverting the association, I mixed the natural colour of green, with a natural and pure substance-water. By mixing the two things, I found that it created completely different reactions, such as 'toxic waste', 'un-natural', 'slimey', 'ew' and 'troll snot'. This created a subvertion.

Royal Purple and Wool Tops subvertion. Scan 1.

By creating the distautional/ illusional image, I hoped to gain people's untainted opinions of what they thought it was. By asking my peers, without previously telling them my intentions, to write down their initial thoughts about the piece, I gained some comments which I found really surprising. I gained comments such as "Purple fetus", "Bouquet of flowers", "Stormy clouds", "Blueberry pie" and "The brain". Having these as possible titles for the piece could be interesting in themselves. I feel this would create a further confusion and distortion, which is what I wish to achieve from my work.

After exhibiting my dyed wool tops at our courses Pop-Up Exhibition at St Martins Church, Colchester, on the 27th and 28th of March, I established that I prefer my work more two dimentional than three dimentional. By digitally scanning these balls of wool, I managed to create illusional images that I am proud of.

Certain colours and what they represent are interesting. I have begun to use a deep purple to convey wealth and royalty, as the colour royal purple suggests. To contrast this, wool tops have been used to convey the traditional association with the poor. By combining the two to gain balls of royal purple wool tops, I feel I have created what was inteded.

I've become interested in the intent to confuse and subvert within my art. By moving out of my comfort zone of black and white work, I wish to experiment with colour theory to achieve this. By switching colours to create a new meaning behind certain things, I wish to gain a confused responce from the audience.