STATEMENT

This project aimed to explore and create work that is influenced by death, be it in now outdated religious dogmas or personal reflections on how death affects us all and in different ways. Death is not the easiest topic to choose because a lot of different opinions are casted onto it; take the ‘skull’ for example, perhaps the most iconic relic of death. It can be an extreme image to some, downright morbid to others, while others still embrace it as a reminder of our own mortality, to choose life and live better for knowing that life is short so to make the most of it while we’re here.

 

 Mitchell Watson

you're really lovely, underneath it all

   After making and looking at the idea of revealing bones/ parts of people especially with 'girl exposed' I thought of Russian rolls, how the layers reveal another doll until the smallest one has been uncovered. 

Again, I wanted to be more light hearted and not make a dark macbre piece, 

What better than what is traditionally a children's toy? Also how I've spoken about mis conception and interpretations of death, a child's type thing seems quite apt as it strips it back to the basics. 

Revealing the person done to the skeleton and then the last doll being a doll, suggesting something after death whatever your belief. 

As I said about a traditional children's toy I wanted to simplify the depictions especially on the muscle layer doll and the skeleton, without being too graphic.

Unmasking Heath

From the previous piece of 'girl exposed' 

And the Elmo hood playing cards, I decided to take a similar path combing the two ideas to make this. 

I painted the 'skull' pink to create contrast with the sepia tones of the photograph and to make it look playful and more contemporary. 

Elmo hood

 

Elmo Hood is a London based artist whose art made out of playing cards is reasonably simple but intuitive and clever.

His use of playing cards has made me rethink how I can use the photographs I have to manipulate them and change them.

Girl exposed

  After creating the distorted photographs it made me feel that the defaced ones were exposing the untouched ones of not just death, but what's underneath. 

This led me to create this piece. Surreal, a girl lifting up the top half of her face as if tipping a cap to reveal her skull. 

I did this for a few reasons.

One, to show the mortality of us all underneath - sort of the beauty is skin deep saying. 

Two, to show the juxtaposition between life and death in a light hearted way.. I've felt as if some of my work has been a bit dark and wanted to break away from that for a bit - yellow background. 

Three, often in society we see women as objects, project sexual desires onto them 

And I felt making the woman not wear a lot of clothing - revealing quite a bust aswell - whilst revealing her skull creates 

a feeling that un veiling flesh is nothing unveiling what is within us is more important. 

Distortion

I created this by stitching together photographs and alternating them to create a distortion of the duality between life and death that all photographs are have frozen within them. Captured moments frozen in time. 

                      Detail.

                      Detail.

    The top photograph in the piece all the faces have been defaced with skulls. 

This was to represent that everyone will eventually die, I felt using family photos was apt to depict this. 

For the rest I mixed defaced photos with un defaced photos to convey the distortion. 

Compositions

Using different compositions of how to arrange the photographs. 

Also using photographs that I haven't drawn over fusing them with ones that I have - creating a distortion between life and death and also the duality of the two.

The bottom photograph above reminds me of the advertising billboards that turn to reveal different advertisements by the rotational properties of it. As if it was stuck between advertisements in a sort of frozen limbo that photographs sort of are, captured moments frozen in time.  

Consume or Die

Again, I'm trying to simplify my ideas. 

I made this one with the "consume or die" mantra in mind. 

I wanted to convey how we can sometimes put to much value on things that aren't really important that we buy into the consumerist ideals too much in life. 

I kept the box I made, white so the viewer is not distracted by what I wanted 

to show. I used a strip of yellow ( which can give a feeling of joy and hope to some people) and a strip of black ( can give a feeling of death or the unknown) to  create a juxtaposition between the two emotions. I also feel that it makes the sculpture stand out more. 

I used a Jean Paul Gaultier bottle in the shape of a muscular mans upper/middle body as I feel that it glorifies one of the consumerist ideas that if you wear this aftershave you will become more desirable like the bottle. I then painted the bottle (and used a manikin head for the skull) to create the skeleton and scratched into the paint with my finger nails making it less desirable as if the flaking paint is stripping away the 'beauty' to reveal ones true self that we will all become. Also the appearance of the distressed paint reminds me of body paint that has become wet revealing the true person underneath. 

I used a broken comb as 'wings' to emphasise that we almost idol worship our materlistic needs. If we buy things it will make us feel more complete (an angel being a symbol of divinity) 

Also I used the comb as I had bought it and probably paid too much for such a thing only to discover it had snapped in my bag one day. It reminds me to not buy such things that I don't really need myself. Also written across it was "lifestyle elegance" which I thought pretty much sums up what I'm trying to convey about putting that on such a thing as a comb. 

Neither one particularly appeals to me

   

  I tried to simplify this piece as the last piece I made could be considered 'busy' 

I used smiths lyrics again from the song 'nowhere fast' 

"I think about life and I think about death 

And neither one particularly appeals to me' 

"A fabulous line that describes how I feel sometimes. I may be bored with life but I certainly don't want to be dead. I think that line really sums up how apathetic one can get about life" 

That was a quote from 'All Men Have Secrets' that I felt really summed up how I feel about the lyrics I chose. 

I also used a bottle containing pills/vitamin tablets and skull heads to show the duality of the life and death line in the lyrics. 

    For this piece I tried to use more symbolism. I used images from various well known paintings with 'Christina's world' by Andrew Wyeth being split into three sections. The helpless woman in the vast field looks frail and appears to be facing towards the house. I put a wire 'fence' over that section to convey that that is no longer an option for her. The other section with the barn, I painted small grave stones to hint that this is the woman's only fate. 

The Essential Joseph Cornell

I got this book the other day "The Essential Joseph Cornell" by Ingrid Schaffner. I've yet to read it but looking through the pictures of his work really inspires me. Since my sculpture teacher recommended looking at his work after her seeing mine, I think I've found my 'favourite' artist. I love the 'found' materials that he uses and how he puts them together to create little scenes/worlds within boxes. Something seen as disposable and throwaway is transformed into wonderful works of art 

    Medici slot machine. 1942 stained hinged wood box with glass pane containing painted glass, metal jacks, photographs, printed papers, wood cubes, wrapped in printed and coloured metal, papers, glass and wood marbles, wood game pieces, mirrors, and compass mechanism. 

15 1/2 x 12 1/4 x 4/38" The Menil collection Houston. 

What I want to portray to the viewers

   In my studio space I put up some of the work I've been doing and put the smiths lyrics above it.

I used letters/words from out of a newspaper in the 'ransom note' style I did this to make the words appear anonymous, just like the long forgotten people in the photographs. 

In my drawing crit, a few of the group interpreted my work in different ways.

Some found it "creepy" others found it "humorous" while a few found it poignant and understood what I was trying to get across.

I fear that death as I've touched upon earlier that it is wide open to different interpretations. My lecturerer, when asked for my turn to say things about my work stated that I put my reasons across very well. Perhaps I should focus more on how I want to get my work across. 

The group also saw the bibles I've been working on and suggested that I could develop more of the photos " within boxes etc" 

    To display the bibles I decided to use glass plates so they can hang like picture frames.

Studio practice

     A few more cdv's I've drawn on 

Hollowed out bible no. 4

With this one, I modified a little statue painting over the face, hands, feet giving it skeleton features. I was more influenced by the catacomb saints for this particular piece. Using a vibrant floral background (which was a clothes tag) and also the skull beads with paisley patterns on them. I was also influenced by Mexican religious folk art whilst making this.

Hollowed out bible no. 3

I'm trying to make each hollowed out bible piece original and individual while keeping them as an obvious collective. 

For this I used an orthodox icon in  brass with a card depicting mary and Jesus' face/hands being visible. I gave mary the skull characteristics that tie in with my CDV pieces. I chose not to do that to the baby Jesus depicted as I'm not intentionally trying to offend anyone (with him being the saviour to millions) and as told in the bible he's immortal anyway. 

Hollowed out bible no. 2

19 c. Pendant with skull beads.

I liked the frontis piece in this bible so I decided to work around it. I like how the sun sits directly above the crucifix as if offering enlightenment through death.

Charnel piece ideas

    sketch idea of a piece 

I've been thinking of making sculpture based pieces inspired by the charnel houses.

With the photographs I've been using being around the 19 c. I thought I could perhaps hollow out old bibles that I have from around the same era in which to make my pieces. 

I know some May not approve of "defacing"  bibles for religious reasons etc. But the way that I see it is these books are falling apart: I'm giving them a new life, an extended purpose. Also it emphasises the Christian inspired old holy practise of my work/research into the charnel houses and how they are within holy places. 

    19 c. And early 20 c. Bibles that I own.

Photographs

        Partial section of photographs.

I bought over a 100 Victorian and early 20th c. Cabinet cards and CDV's.

Carrying on with adding skull characteristics over the faces, I think having a wall full of these photographs could make for an interesting piece.

I think the more photographs they are emphasises the inevitability of death and a humanistic side as all of these people were real people. 

Smile for the camera

      I like the juxtaposition of the family/group photographs: they're all sat really formally and quite stiff and they don't smile, that is until I draw on the Skelton grin- I think it's quite unnerving.

This one I used a cut out print of a skull (from my Rothwell visit ) influenced more by George Grosz - I like the result but as I'm hoping to use a lot of photographs I find using a pen allows me to be less restricted in depicting  the skull faces as I can work with the faces in the photographs which I think flows better. 

Like this one for example.

Pose for the camera

To keep in with the theme of "death" I've drew skull characteristics over their faces, I think this will create different feelings within different viewers as I've discussed earlier that death is a very subject thing to the individual. Also skulls are inexplicably linked with death: take the poison symbol for example with is a skull and cross bones.