“Art is the tool for innovation that can create real-life impact and is essential to the new creative economy. Creativity and innovation are now the core tools in a global economy dependent on growth. The booming art and design industry confirms this – creative industries contribute billions of dollars to Australia’s economy. Progressive, imaginative thinking is in demand across major professional fields, like education, health, commercial/commerce and entertainment, and artists are playing important roles in shaping creative endeavour in these areas. Being creative makes a significant contribution to contemporary art and culture, nationally and internationally as artists, craftspeople, visual thinkers, and cultural managers. This semester is about really developing WHO the student is as a creative thinker and WHAT do they want to express visually.” – VIS3020 course content overview

This semester’s approach was a research-driven process of art practice. It was comprised of 3 artistic outcomes that were informed by a personally determined concept formed around the research on artists, theorists, philosophers and creative thinkers. As I am a queer person, discussions around queer theory, queer creators, gender performativity, and phantasms arose as the primary topics for the outcomes I produced.

Rather than modules, this semester’s content was a selection of 6 topics, from which we would select 2. For each topic, we were to produce 3 resolved works, along with our journals and experimental works. From the topics provided I pursued Polytych Paintings, and the Everydqay Act of Painting. The purpose of the former was to produce a work cromprising 4 separate panels, the individual panels being at least 2 different styles (I elected for 4). The latter tpoic was to develop a separate visual diary that was filled with experimental paintings. These experiments are then used to inform the 3 resolved paintings.

Polytych Painting

I elected for 4 separate styles; Art Nouveau, Baroque, Rococo and Monochrome Abstraction.
The resolved work was a queer reading on tradition, religious art, exploring the ruminations that occur with one’s inner monologue. I made a point of incorporating the hanging convention into the compositional design of each work

Everyday Act of Painting

Contrary to the Christian imagery of the prior topic, I explored folkloric creatures from Europe for this topic. I developed a sort of rudimentary field guide, with descriptive vignettes for each portrait. From this I produced 3 semi-sculptural works, depicting a dryad, spriggan and leshy. I created a cardboard clay to act as paper mache, designed specifically for the inevitable rot the cardboard will experience. The works explore conservationism, cycles and balance.

A Narrative Told Through Esoterica

The art of Tarot card reading is a form of cartomancy, wherein the cards are used to gain insights which are then interpreted by the reader. Some use it as divination for past, present and future, while others use it in search of answers to questions of varying magnitude. A deck is traditionally made up of 78 cards which are split into two groups, the Major Arcana (greater secrets) and the Minor Arcana (lesser secrets). The Minor Arcana is divided into four sub-groups that embody their own core concepts and are each associated with their own symbolic element. Each card is rich with visual symbolism, and I have found the ritual of reading the cards results in the development of a personal relationship with the individual cards and their messages. Further increasing the complexity of the symbolism, each card holds a different meaning if read in reverse, creating a nuanced conversation for each different combination of cards.

My Tarot practice does not serve as a means of predicting the future or learning hidden truths about others, but rather it serves as a thought exercise tool, wherein I use the messages of the cards as a means of interogating my internal dialogue and external experience. In essence, each card spread (a particular number and arrangement of cards) acts as a narrative reflective of my (or the inquirers) experience, illuminating things already known but that beg consideration and reflection.

Through the mindful selection of 4 Tarot cards, this project serves as an esoteric examination of my own lived experience. It is a candid self-exposure, communicated in a way that is purposefully ambiguous. With the descriptions of the cards that follow, I encourage you to consider what greater and lesser secrets I am sharing.

The Four Winds Spread is informed by Rob McGregor’s interpretation of the Inca Medicine Wheel. Particpants will have access to the four cards that the scultpures are based off of, which will be placed face down. They are invited to select cards at random, placing them on a notated display of the above spread. This gives each particpant a different experience of the installation, compelled to consider the narrative that the cards they drew are telling them.

• Position 1 (South) – What do I need to let go or leave behind?
• Position 2 (West) – What must I stop hiding from and instead face with courage?
• Position 3 (North) – What must I know?
• Position 4 (East) – What can I achieve?

Exerpt:

A narrative in 4 cards.
Each Tarot spread is a personal narrative made manifest. Each individual card holds a specific meaning, which is transformed when presented in reverse. Before you is the opportunity to engage with a curated experience of a Tarot spread. There are 4 cards, which should presently be face down. Before you proceed, consider the positions of the Four Winds Spread before you begin. Then select a card at random for each position and place it face up. Keep in mind, it is perfectly normal for a card to be reversed, so feel free to change the orientation of the card before flipping it face up. Allow yourself to consider the relationship between these cards as you go on to explore the installation. Finally, ensure you return the cards to a face down position in the centre before you leave the exhibit.

Exploring Personal Narrative Through the Tarot

During this semester I responded to the module tasks by using the Tarot as an anchor for my creative development. The first module centred around the elements of earth, water, air, and fire, requiring us to respond to one of them. When it occurred to me that all four elements are represented within the Minor Arcana suits of the tarot and that they were combined within the Major Arcana card of The Magician, it presented an interesting challenge to construct a piece that presented all four (for an explanation of the basic terms relevant to the Tarot, view my post here). Given the heavily symbolic nature of the Tarot, its personal relevance, as well as the prolific options for cards to recreate (78 individual cards), I decided to make each module a response to a specific card as a means of developing a personal narrative. This process has resulted in an installation project that is both extremely candid and vulnerable, while also being aesthetically interesting but ambiguous to the layperson. So that the installation does not become so ambiguous that my message is not communicated, the works will be accompanied by didactic material that gives a general explanation of each card. This is to give the audience a gently guided experience, while not imposing an interpretation of the meaning of the works when observed as a collection.

Module 1

Empty Your Head

The first exercise in this module was to “Empty Your Head” by producing a number of rudimentary paintings in quick succession. As this was an experimental exercise, I expanded it by introducing a number of atypical surfaces to paint on. Given the rapid-fire nature of these paintings I elected to use acrylics, however, my resolved paintings going forward are rendered in oil. What I noticed about the series of paintings I produced was a focus on eyes and simplified forms with a macabre twist. I feel that it reflects my anxieties around being perceived and how I perceive myself.

Compositional Spacing

I applied the compositional spacing exercise directly to my resolved painting as I knew it would be a significant time investment, being the largest detailed painting I have ever made. The overall image is to be intersected with independent features, meaning that it can be identified from afar but appreciated in a different context when viewed up close. When approaching this painting, I drew from an exercise in semester 1 as inspiration. The initial painting was an exercise with grisaille painting, where I intersected it with bands that resulted in alternating layers of raw underpainting, tonal glazing, and a single pane that was fully scumbled.

I decided to recreate this portrait, continuing the design concept of interrupted layers. Rather than repeat the parallel bands, I thought it would be interesting to interrupt the portrait with a spiral that was similar to one of my Empty Your Head paintings. The conceptual prompt for the modules this semester was “personal narrative”, which historically I have communicated through popular media that inspires me. The figure in my portrait is a character from one of my favourite video games Dishonored 2, being a benevolent doctor afflicted with a second malevolent personality (a Jekyll/Hyde analogue). I found myself representing dualism in my body of work, and an individual with a morbid hidden aspect was particularly appealing. As a result, the spiral that interrupted the primary portrait was a sort of abjectly distorted portrait, blending and twisting features along with saturating and desaturating the colour palette.

To achieve the interruption I applied an underpainting of the primary portrait, which was then masked out with a combination of tape and masking fluid.

A note on the masking fluid: I found it difficult to apply with a brush as I needed a very delicate application for the curve of the spiral. It would dry out on the brush quickly, meaning it wouldn’t apply cleanly and ruined the brush as it dried like glue. I applied it with a palette knife with much success, however this process to around 4 hours. I proceeded to paint the full primary portrait until it was resolved and had hope that it would all come off in a clean layer. This was not the case as the solvents in my oil medium changed the consistency of the masking fluid, creating a sort of tacky substance where the fluid had previously dried. I was able to remove what did not peel off with a delicate application of turpentine, careful not to strip the portrait I had finished.

Rather than mass with the masking fluid or risk stripping the main portrait, I just painted within the boundaries set up by the prior process of masking. What resulted is one of my favourite paintings I have ever produced. I further amplified the theme of interruption with my application of gloss and matte surfaces. Areas that had been glazed presented a gloss finish, as opposed to areas that had been scumbled with raw pigment that had a more matte finish. What resulted was: gloss primary portrait, matte primary background, matte distorted portrait, and gloss distorted background. This combination of gloss and matte elements means that resolved work can be appreciated in 3 dimensions, transforming through the interaction of light from different perspectives. While this does not show as much in photos, the effect in person is striking. Given more time, I would further exaggerate this effect with an application of matte and gloss varnishes.

This semester we explored oil painting methods and materials through a series of exercises. This included tonal values, chroma, colour relationships, and technical approaches to form and composition. I thoroughly enjoyed getting my hands dirty with oils as it is my favourite medium, and I absolutely got my hands, elbows and face dirty.

Module 1

Colour Theory

In this module I produced a colour wheel that combined both warm and cool primary colours to demonstrate how these colours combine and produce secondary and tertiary colours.

Creating an Oil Paint Medium

A medium serves as a form of solvent that thins the paint. This has a variety of benefits, such as colour blocking and underpainting, as a paint medium tendsw to dry faster than raw pigment. It can also be applied as a glaze over preexisting layers of paint to manipulate and transform the colour or tone of the piece. It is reccomended that each subsequent layer of glaze be thinner than the last. There are a variety of different premixed mediums, however I now have a receipe for a DIY oil medium, which I have found I prefer. It is a 7 part solution composed of:

• 1 part Damar Varnish
• 1 part Refined Linseed Oil (or Stand Oil)
• 5 parts Artist grade Gum Turps

Underpainting

The following exercise explores the process of underpainting known as Grisaille. It is a monochromatic “dead colouring”, when a single colour is thinned with medium, with depth of tone being acheived by a higher proportion of pigment in the glaze. Raw pigment can also be scumbled onto the canvas, which is when little or no medium is used. I have painted a multi-layer portait, with a burned sienna dead colour base, which I then applied diagonal strips of tape. Most of the visible sections were painted with a thin glaze of black and white, to demonstrate how a glaze can impact the layer below it. Finally there was a single strip that was painted with a full pigment to show a sliver of a resolved painting.

Module 1

The first module explored linocut prints, where a single image is printed from at least 3 separate segments. After carving the entire lino block, it is then split into individual “jigsaw” pieces. I started my folkloric concept with the Green Man, a figure seen as an architectural motif alluding to a pagan past. I wanted an element of symmetry, so I drew only half the face, which I then transferred to the block. The series of prints were intended to show a transition of seasons.

Module 1: Memories, Stories & Recycled Materials

Preloved Objects

Task: Pre-loved Object Storytelling

In seeking out a preloved object I attended a local Op Shop, where I found a literal bin gull of old Barbie (and similar) dolls stripped entirely of their original attire. This bin made me think of the innocence associated with childhood toys, how easily they are discarded as the owner grows out of them, and how abjectly contrasted these naked, featureless dolls appear compared to their original purpose.

Task: Experimenting with deconstructive and reconstructive processes to create recylced art arrangements and assemblage work.

There are 2 main ways I explored deconstructive processes with the dolls. The first was the literal dismantling of the objects, along with a fake floral arrangement, with the second being the shaving of the head and chemiccally stripping the paint on the face so that it could have a new face painted. Using a later exercise process, I created a coffin to display the assemblage as a memorial to childhood.

Task: Experimenting with joining and assemblage techniques with recylced materials to create assemblage works and beyond

The aforementioned coffin was constructed with cardboard joined with plaster bandage, then lined with felt and mounted on an old wine holder (another nod to developing maturity). Plaster became a core material used in my experiments going forward.

This initial exercise informed the works in the following modules, and also to my other studios this semester. I began by exploring the concept of gender perfomance for young and mature women, which then developed into an examination through a queer lens.

Module 4 – Combined Ceramics and Sculpture Resolved Work

This module tasked us with combining our studios. I created a (mostly) anatomically accurate left arm skeleton and articulated it with wire. It was then placed in a pot full of rescued petunias (they were going to be thrown away!) and covered in moss. This follows through the theme of decay and growth that I pursued during this semester.

Module 1 & 2 Ceramic Experiments

This course offered the opportunity to explore creating freehand constructions of ceramic forms. We did not use a wheel, or spinning in this course, rather constructing all pieces by hand. The objects were push pots, bowls, cups, jugs and a jug with a disrupted form. As I engaged with the material I found that a couple of visual themes emerged. Both are representational of organic forms, however they diverge into;

1. Naturalistic forms and colours. These pieces display fungi taking over the pieces, present offcuts of logs, or infer a plant form with brown and green tones. This series links together through the use of brown, green and lavender for it’s colour palette.
2. Aberrant “flesh” forms. These pieces imitate the texture and colour of flesh, muscle, bone and bodily tissue. They rely on pinks, reds and purples for their colour palette, and highly dependant on overglaze to create the “wet” look of exposed living tissue.

Greenware: Unfired

After creating forms out of raw clay, once they are bone dry they are considered greenware as they have not yet gone into a kiln. It pays to be mindful that they are very fragile, even bone dry. Keep the clay damp by storing in a damp bag or in a cool, humid room if wanting to continue to manipulate the clay. If allowed to dry, it will be too late to add any additional features that would require slip.