#performanceart

Week 7 .The making of the eyes/Artist Manifesto.

| harussell1

I decided to further develop the eyes taking them to a whole new abstract/surreal level.Inspired by some of the surreal elements of Shana Moulten’s whispering pine video’s.And also some of the characters from ‘The mighty boosh’

https://images.app.goo.gl/eLYFvnUxV9Q8krJ86

I used a coffee cup holder to create the eyes along with packaging foam that was also used in the wig to create the eyes.I also used that same packaging foam to create an attachment for the head.At first I noticed that the eye mask was slopeing too far forward with just having the foam band attached to the sides so i decided to attach a band to the middle of the front and the back in order to pull it up and back a bit.I also cut a hole to allow room for my noise.Altho i found this a little uncomfortable so i may add some padding to that part.

This week i was finding it hard to get motivated but found it helpful that i had left notes for myself last week guiding myself as to what i was doing.I feel this is something that would be quite useful in the future considering the circumstances and only being in the studio for a day and a half a week.

During my one to one i had mentioned to my tutor about potentially being able to sit in on costume tutorials and how i would go about doing such things as i think it might offer a great influence to my work having some techniques to add.

I would also like to add some more inspiration in regaurds to 17th century hair and make-up.

https://images.app.goo.gl/VRLEYKG64GsJgvng6

https://images.app.goo.gl/NqpABZcQxhTJkEH19

Artist’s Manifesto

We were asked to write an artist’s manifesto and to create it in any such way we pleased but then told how to structure it and what we should listen to and read before we write it; and that it would help us ‘realise the artists we are’.

I find this completely absurd because at this level in your education you should not be ‘discovering’ the artist you are, you should know who you are as an artist and your values, morals and principles. I also feel quite offended by the fact that I’ve entered this level of education at 32 years of age and get given information which tells me or should ‘inspire’ me to write my own manifesto.

I decided to write a spoken word piece inspired by my viewpoint on the establishment which I feel has leaked into the university. I was mistaken in thinking that DJCAD wouldn’t stand for such things but i have been proven wrong in the consistent lack of diversity from the speakers programme.

My manifesto comes from a place of honesty, truth, passion and justice for all artists no matter what their class, race or religion.

I have never performed spoken word before, only written poetry so this was a first time for me and this video is just a draft performance as i know i still need to edit parts and i also plan on trying different ways of performing this. One way i have considered is by having a Farmfoods bag on my head whilst i perform it and taking it off when it comes to the last line. My only issue is that due to my dyspraxia my short term memory isn’t the best but I am willing to give it a try and hope that my nerves don’t distract me!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n0GYKFcFz4qGNRfPE3w0xHMbyBrqk_tB/view?usp=sharing

Bibliography

Hughes A. (2011). 10 Incredibly Minor But Hilarious Mighty Boosh Characters. Available: https://www.toplessrobot.com/2011/05/10_incredibly_minor_but_hilarious_mighty_boosh_cha.php. Last accessed 29th Nov 2020.

Pininterest. (2018). 17th century make-up. Available: https://images.app.goo.gl/VRLEYKG64GsJgvng6. Last accessed 22 November 2020

Pininterest. (2015). 17th century hair and make-up. Available: https://images.app.goo.gl/NqpABZcQxhTJkEH19. Last accessed 22nd Nov 2020.

Week 6 Character and wig development.

| harussell1
A further development of the wig using more wadding that I found in a fruit and veg box.Added knitting needles, found cables, photos of things of class I believed the character of the wig would like.After my one to one with the artist Erica Eyre we discussed the further progression of perhaps the wigs character and taking the act in more of a surreal direction. I played about using stop motion with mouths/noses/buses etc and added voices i believed that wig would talk in to the speed of the stop motion. Characters that i believed would be very superficial.

I plan with the video’s with the rotating mouths to put some superficial chit-chat over the top of them trying both an american and an English accent.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWf0oPn0zYj0schF3NbmHTUEPsT3LEqz/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWf0oPn0zYj0schF3NbmHTUEPsT3LEqz/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIoSjFnr2ziNdpVeOw87j2BYRoCB3el/view?usp=sharing

This video i think lays the foundations of the surreal path that the wig follows and having a life force of it’s own.

I wanted to take a close look at some of Grandma’s peculiar tastes. What does she get up to in her spare time? Erica had mentioned looking at why she hates Louis so much and recreating the scene that happened between these two on the bus but I feel that what makes the character so surreal and funny is the fact that the audience don’t know why she has such a particular hate towards Louis. So I feel that this part is best left as a mystery for the audience.

She had also mentioned that I should perhaps reconsider the use of the crutches in case it offends. I have worked with people with disabilities for 12 years and crutches aren’t used for long term disabilities. What I find particularly interesting about the woman that does use them is she seems to use them in place of walking sticks.

An artist mentioned to me by Erica of particular interest was Shanna Moulton. I like the fact that the character she portrays in whispering pines is in fact her alter ego; and is drawn from the hypochondriac traits that she often displays. I like the very surreal turn that events often seem to take.

Ryan Trecartin

His characters seem to be very superficial and I think would be good inspiration for the character of the wig.Sometimes the filming can be really dis-orientating which i quite like and there is a lot of repetition and a lot of use of body movement in order to take a microscopic look at character.His characters remind me some of some of the Australians comedians Chris Lilley’s characters in ‘Summer heights high’

Mike Sherry I really like some of Mike Sherry’s assemblages especially the textural elements and how they are collated together.I also like the children’s toys he has created which have a sinister feel behind them. It made me think of the old lady’s wig and how it had a soft playful element to it with the texture but in the video’s where it moves it becomes sinister.

https://images.app.goo.gl/YUmiNEmtYVB6jSzd9

https://images.app.goo.gl/13G8GwnBV4kjg3bz8

Bibliography

Mike Kelly. (2014). Art jouet,les arts,art sculpture. Available: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9e/2e/a4/9e2ea40dc4d76a4891197fc39ed4f163.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.pinterest.nz/pin/328059154102777182/&tbnid=xzs6k_wPpg6mqM&vet=1&. Last accessed 15th Nov 2020

Moulton Shana. (2004). Whispering pines 3. Available: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=whispering+pines+shana+moulton. Last accessed 15th Nov 2020.

Ryan Trecartin. (2013). Center Jenny. Available: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=center+jenny+ryan+trecartin. Last accessed 22 November 2020.

Youtube. (2013). Mike Kelly by Stedelijk. Available: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bgcSt-5UIuw/maxresdefault.jpg&imgrefurl=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v%3DbgcSt-5UIuw&tbnid=3uo6elwcWXPg_M&vet=1&docid=rvmuYS7jDbYizM&w=1280&h. Last accessed 15th Nov 2020

Week 5 ‘A terrifying night’

| harussell1

I decided to put together a video where the ‘bus-shit crazy old lady’ appears completely out of context.I hope this to be one film in a series of many. I plan to film other short films with her quirks etc before looking back at how she became the anger riddled/bitter old lady that she is today.

  • 'a wig and cross crutch'I thought this was very similar to a skull and cross bones and could potentially be used as a flag.
    ‘a wig and cross crutch’I thought this was very similar to a skull and cross bones and could potentially be used as a flag.
  • When filming i somehow never realised this picture was behind me untill half way through!And that was when I decided the camera should pan in.
    When filming i somehow never realised this picture was behind me untill half way through!And that was when I decided the camera should pan in.
  • The wig has sculptural face like qualities of it's own.I have ideas of the wig taking on it's own personality and coming alive at night or talking to her (This is also a future scene i'm planning to film)Aswell as a tiny bus driving around her head and going into her mouth.I want the character to be as absurd and surreal as possible like a Monty Python sketch.
    The wig has sculptural face like qualities of it’s own.I have ideas of the wig taking on it’s own personality and coming alive at night or talking to her (This is also a future scene i’m planning to film)Aswell as a tiny bus driving around her head and going into her mouth.I want the character to be as absurd and surreal as possible like a Monty Python sketch.
  • This still looks quite sexual which wasn't esactly what i was going for but you don't get to see Louis face this close due to the camera angle when filming anyway.
    I like this still ,but it looks too sexual which obviously isn’t what I’m going for.
  • I decided to take some stills from the filming and I didn't realise that one of them had turned out this way due to a hand tremble.Even tho it was an accident I feel like this technique could be useful in the future as it has a really atmospheric feel to it.
    I decided to take some stills from the filming and I didn’t realise that one of them had turned out this way due to a hand tremble.Even tho it was an accident I feel like this technique could be useful in the future as it has a really atmospheric feel to it.

I think the video was far more sucessful then I had envisioned,the red lighting really gave an atmosperic feel and I think the video was the right level of dark avant_garde humour.I’d say for my first time making a comedic performance and not a serious performance art piece it has turned out well.I must admit it was a lot of fun to make and coming up with ideas. Alot of laughter was involved in the filming of this and I hope it it brings laughter to everyone that watches it especially in these dark times.

Medusa has been a very obvious choice in terms of the hair altho Granma sadly doesn’t have the power of looks to entice people in with!

I was encouraged by my partner to watch some of the Monty Python sketches as they may be somewhat of an influence to me.And I just so happened to occur this sketch called ‘hells grannies’ which obviously coincided really well with my project.Altho bus-shit crazy old lady is obviously alot darker I love the thought of grannies rebelling and doing what society doesn’t expect of them.I also think that in a way we all know some old person who rebels like that. I allways remember being in total awe of my friends granny as she looked so sweet but swore like a trooper and would allways be flirting with old men,especially one that used to bring her a paper each day.

A few illustrations of ideas for further filming.I feel that drawing the ideas helps the development of the process and helps them come alive.It also felt natural to use the paper used for creating the wig in order to draw on it.This connection just felt like part of the process.Writing some dialogue also helped with the characters development.I felt that using continous line gave her the most character.

I feel that the prison shot would be a good shot for when she gets caught after all the ‘cable murders’.

A look at giving the wig a personality of it’s own after discovering last week that it had it’s own sculptural almost facial like qualties.I also drew some drawings of potential personalities with added to dialogue.I don’t know if prehaps this would be too much work alongside the character of Granma herself but I am willing to see where this takes me as nothing ventured,nothing gained.

I have the idea of a stop motion where the knitting starts to knit on top of her head and down her face and round her into a scarf.The only issue would be getting the needles to stay upright especially when they are meant to be moving.

I watch alot of murder doccumenties which inspired the idea that every time she creates a murder ‘The cable connects’ appears as she obviously uses this to kill.

I decided to make posters which will be put about town with the hashtag ‘what is the last stop’ so that without people even knowing it she is getting inside there minds as they take a photo and use the hashtag which then connects the image to the internet.So the public become almost part of the performance but without realising it.

I was encouraged by a fellow classmate to watch ‘Commedia dell’Arte.I find it interesting how they talk about ‘moving through the emotions of the character using the body’ as opposed to speaking and this is something I think i will try to take into future performances.

Bibliography

Comedia dell’arte. (2011). Character Shape. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJEwuurzDe4&t=38s. Last accessed 16th Nov 2020.

Youtube. (2010). Monty python-Hells grannies. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmzMzmnB-iQ. Last accessed 13th Nov 2020

Week 4

| harussell1

This week I started to create the wig for the character as well as creating the character herself. I also came to the decision that as the character develops so will the wig.

After some quick development sketches, I got to work creating the wig. The initial starting point was to use a mop-head but the one I had was too small for my head, so I decided to use sheep’s wool and stretched it out and attached it to the scrap material I had used to cover the top of the foam headband. The sheep’s wool didn’t give the desired effect as ‘bus shit crazy old lady’ has really big, almost foam like hair; so I decided to use some wadding mixed in with the sheep’s wool and super-glued it together which was very effective in giving the exaggerated look I wanted. I then took a pair of old glasses and decided to cover them with red collage and the word ‘bus’ at the top; I wanted the character to look like she had walked straight out of a story book with parts of it still attached to her.

  • Altho i liked the effect of the sheeps wool it wasn't the effect i was looking for and reminded me more of the character 'Jaquerline MCcafferty' from the Limmy show
    Altho i liked the effect of the sheeps wool it wasn’t the effect i was looking for and reminded me more of the character ‘Jaquerline MCcafferty’ from the Limmy show
  • I wanted to give the impression that her glasses were part bus too
    I wanted to give the impression that her glasses were part bus too
  • I wanted the glasses to look like they still partially belonged in a storybook and to be completely surreal yet comical.
    I wanted the glasses to look like they still partially belonged in a storybook and to be completely surreal yet comical.
  • The glasses had a much better effect once the eyebrows were added to them.I was inspired by a devil mask which I felt fitted in well with her character.
    The glasses had a much better effect once the eyebrows were added to them.I was inspired by a devil mask which I felt fitted in well with her character.
  • sculpture become really eerie and took on a life of it's own after adding a mouth to it.Considering adding more human elements
    sculpture become really eerie and took on a life of it’s own after adding a mouth to it.Considering adding more human elements
  • Wig and cross crutch.Becoming a warning flag of it's own
    Wig and cross crutch.Becoming a warning flag of it’s own
The wig had started to become a free forming sculpture/character of it’s own. It amused me to think of her wig crawling off her head at night and going on adventures of it’s own. This is something I hope to work on in the near future. I was also lucky enough to acquire a pair of crutches from Tayside re-users which is perfect as the character uses these.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fgmtv8k9MhXCOrxnlCxPODYscCiBIG5z/view?usp=sharing

Some quick sketches/scribberlings on how I was planning to develop the wig further/eyes crutches etc.

  • Decided to put lace on top of the image to see if it encouraged the 'malificent spirit' image I so desired.
    Decided to put lace on top of the image to see if it encouraged the ‘malificent spirit’ image I so desired.
  • The character frightening small children in their beds.(inspiration taken from the Babadook)
    The character frightening small children in their beds.(inspiration taken from the Babadook)
  • Quite liking the effect of the watercolour pen with the fine liner on brown parcel paper.It makes the colour more vibrant and noticable then if it was on white paper.
    Quite liking the effect of the watercolour pen with the fine liner on brown parcel paper.It makes the colour more vibrant and noticable then if it was on white paper.
Some illustrations with character scenarios/descriptions/dialogue.

https://images.app.goo.gl/UK8FjggNLorZhA3C6

https://images.app.goo.gl/mENtGa1UMJpnu6xEA

https://images.app.goo.gl/P8QADcV9GrT5LLCG9

https://images.app.goo.gl/EuHvASDRkW6Wvsp38

https://images.app.goo.gl/6cWAeLTgLtTFQ7zP7

https://images.app.goo.gl/N65CiYmH6sDAqoxA8

https://images.app.goo.gl/Lhz24SHW9o7xvMUW7

https://images.app.goo.gl/3UAjyD9DdZyJJs8a9

I also decided to change the name of the character to ‘bus shit crazy old lady’ in order to stray away from any kind of connection with poor mental health and the from the person that she is based on.

Bibliography

BBC. (2005). BBC 2 Limmy show.. Available: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/640×360/p01h0dpg.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00z1jhd&tbnid=J1gp-oPjjxQDVM&vet=1&docid=RqAgySpN3GORRM&w=640&h. Last accessed 16th Nov 2020.

Pininterest. (2003). Cindy Sherman on photography. Available: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://i.pinimg.com/originals/cf/57/c3/cf57c3a8c975e2ae00ba978fcd42db82.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.pinterest.com/pin/383720830743465016/&tbnid=djECbq6PtMhvGM&vet=1. Last accessed 3rd Nov 2020

The Third Eye. (2003). Jack Smith and the destruction of Atlantis. Available: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.thethird-eye.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/the_third_eye_jack_smith_destruction_of_atlantis_02.980×0.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.thethird-eye.co.uk/jack. Last accessed 8th November 2020

Walliams D. (2003). Gangsta Granny in North. Available: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://www.clipartkey.com/mpngs/m/115-1157304_gangsta-granny-in-north-gangsta-granny-david-walliams.png&imgrefurl=https://www.clipartkey.com/view/ooimRw_gangsta-g. Last accessed 5th Nov 2020

Wikipedia. (2003). Isa Drenann Still Game. Available: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/stillgame/images/c/ca/Isa.jpg/revision/latest?cb%3D20110822195522&imgrefurl=https://stillgame.fandom.com/wiki/Isa_Drennan&tbnid. Last accessed 9th Nov 2020.

Youtube. (1996). Aunt sponge and Aunt Spike scenes:Dinner. Available: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nAiWhT5ysVo/maxresdefault.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DnAiWhT5ysVo&tbnid=511QepWbgS2ikM&vet=1&docid=ny2r0EdKBPl2TM&w=1280. Last accessed 8th November 2020.

Youtube. (2015). Mrs Doyle’s best bit’s.Father Ted compilation. Available: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RSW6oDckOjo/maxresdefault.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DRSW6oDckOjo&tbnid=c2aua3LTT2nhtM&vet=1&docid=nG6OdfL8ZLWFUM&w=1280. Last accessed 9th Nov 2020.

Youtube. (2015). The Babadook.A visit from the Babadook. Available: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://i.ytimg.com/vi/O4pZH9Miew8/maxresdefault.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DO4pZH9Miew8&tbnid=40I97q4MFXJk0M&vet=1&docid=eA4RDM1RrtMLgM&w=1280. Last accessed 8th November 2020.

Graded unit.Experimentation/Research

| harussell1
‘Ophelia’ By John Everett Millais. This pre raphaeite painting I felt connected well with my theme due to the model’s dream like connection with nature.Altho the meaning of the painting has a darker turn as the painting is based on Ophelia from Shakesphere’s Ophelia who sang whilst floating down the river before drowning. I quite like the sinister turn of events as i feel this fits well with my theme.

After collecting a sucession of various items from the abandoned village I decided to make some ‘ready mades’ and then draw continous line drawings from there.Some of these ready mades were a mixture of natural and non-natural found items.As I felt this was important considering that one of the themes is one of people going back to nature and it kind of shows that transition or partial transition through use of materials.One of the ready mades included a corroding saucepan lid and the inner tube of a bike tyre.I felt encouraged to use both these items as I felt they were representative of hobbies that people may be rediscovering currently or doing more of since their infrastructure has crumbled.

After making a dream catcher like item from the inner of the bike tube in order to make a connection with the native Americans i then decided to transform it into a pagan like headpiece by adding pieces of bark and wild flowers.

My partner owns a gas mask which I decided to use whilst wearing the headpiece as i felt that it connected well with the surgical masks people are currently wearing but also to an era where people may of been feeling emotions similar to what they are feeling now.Such as fear,vunerabilty and numbness.I also created a stick which I tied a plastic cable and bolt to which i found in the woods my ititial reaction whilst creating it was thinking of the spirit stick a Native American may of used during ritual/ceremonys but during the photo’s it had a different effect and started to look quite threatening and more like a weapon. Also getting feedback from peers and a thought i had myself is that i feel like the clothing either needs to go or prehaps experimentation with symbolic marks on the body using the red clay like mud which is very much present in this part of scotland.

Initially i took the photo’s with a stone wall in the background but I realised that the headpiece was soon being lost to the background as the colours merged too much and i felt that we needed greenery in the background in order for it to ‘pop’ and it order for the idea to better connect to nature.On the day of the shoot it was really sunny so much so that at times it was hard to get the right angle without the shadow of the photographer falling onto the model.What I did like tho was the rainbow like effect that was brought on by the sun.Also the angle my partner shot the photo’s of me from wasn’t the angle i was looking for but worked suprisingly well as due to his height it looked like I was being looked down on and gave quite an intimidating effect.I then decided to follow on from that by walking round the model and getting my partner to walk around me whilst filming.I felt that this gave the feeling that there was something out there watching you that you have no control of and yet it controls you just like the panidemic has done with many people.

In the first video you will noticed I have left me talking to my partner (Louis) in at the beggining of the video as it has quite a muffled yet eerie effect which I like.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nlQfDJWrLeyYTyRbe7ZW7yMPA7Jjrs-H

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ncR28kCXrYl6HOxosolxmbmC5dJQ4j3J

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1n7I5YORRb-L3KPCSIE6i90rz56DW5GFi

Photo’s of the headpiece also worked quite well within nature.I also decided to capture the slight breeze moving which moved the headpiece ever so slighy on video and to create a feeling of intimidation by walking around the model

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nO-NmXnGPJtbXbClo2ThJDgKadTy-YaO

I have started to experiement with line drawings of the photo’s and what i hope to do is pick out shapes from these line drawrings and try to connect them with shapes within nature in order to make some kind of symbols out of them.

  • The pictures have a surreal ‘trippy’ like quality to them
  • I think this is my favourite as I really like the shape of the mask from the side

Whilst shooting photo’s in the woods I found stones by the river which had very primitive looking marks on them.I found this very interesting and it has given me inspiration for using a stick with some of the afore mentioned red clay mud in order to make similar marks.

  • Primitive looking marks.I think i will come back to look for these stones at a later date to use for further experimentation
Aboriginal cave painting which uses similar markings as thoose found on the rocks.

I then discovered what turned out to be a rats skull. (It’s jaw lay seperatley) I hope to experiment with my use of this.

  • Rat skull (missing it’s bottom jaw in this shot)
  • Mixing the sightly with the unsightly,Inspired by scenes from Midsommar

‘To age is not a crime’ Major project developmental work/refined work then final piece

| harussell1

I started to bring together the images of the chicken I had created with some new performative pieces.

I wanted to really focus on the distorted view of the eye of the beholder and prehaps someone suffering with Body Dysmorphia disorder and exaggerate that as much as possible.Along with the cycle/construction and horror grim aspect of surgery and the unexpected turn of events in terms of the outcome not allways being what that person wants.

Above are images of the sewn together chicken skin from earlier work which I consider as strong developmental pieces towards the final piece along with some of the work below as it displays the gruesome reality and brutality of plastic surgery.As I said before I would liked to of experimented/explored further with the chicken but due to the current panidemic and shortages in shops I’ve decided to use the image of the chicken in with performative pieces.

I think this photo works great amongst the other developmental pieces as it shows the power play between the surgeon and the client.
  • Pic 1 Leaving some of the skin before surgery revealed.
  • Pic 2 Increasing the gore factor by adding more red parts of the meat to show stages in the cycle.

In these refined pieces I again use the power play between the surgeon and the client, to show the cycle of surgery,she has clearly had surgery but the hand positioning of the surgeon shows that he is further distorting the face and potentially showing the client where there is more room for improvement and thus the cycle continues.I also wanted to ’embrace the horror’ as mentioned in my last crit by cutting and copying parts of the previous chicken images i have used and applying these to the face.

Not being an expert in the photoshop area i understand the images may look a bit amateur,altho timely to complete due to my inexperience,but i feel that it is enough to get across the point I want to make and it crosses the question one of the tutors asked me a while ago in a crit of :’does it really matter if the image isn’t visually pretty?’

Final piece

‘Mirror Mirror on the wall who’s the fairest of them all?‘

In this piece i really wanted to look at the body dysmorphia side of things.The magnifying glass is being held to the eye in order to distort any faults aswell as magnify them.But what the viewer doesn’t know is who is holding the magnifying glass?Is it the surgeon or the client?

I also wanted two different views to show what we see and what the person see’s and once again embracing the horror by adding one of the ‘chicken parcels’ to her head.

I think the worst part of all of this and something I really wanted to bring attention to is the fact that a percentage of surgeon’s are playing on people’s insecurities/mental disorders and by doing this they are going against the hypocratic oath of which they are sworn into where they pledge never to do harm and to save people’s lifes.

I really want this image to play games with the viewers head and to give them the same feeling that someone with BDD may have.

I consider this piece as my final piece as it has been really successful in getting across all the points I wanted to make all tho visually I feel that the chicken piece on the head looks a bit like a phallus.But nobody seems to agree with me!

‘To age is not a crime’ major project

| harussell1

I decided to start working on the construction and reconstruction of the face using the image of Hang Mioku.I decided to record this process using the hyper focus setting

Decided to paint a continous line picture of the 3rd stage of Hang Mioku’s surgery.Then i painted a sheet in cooking oil which relates to the cooking oil she injected into herself.I particulary liked the way the sheet of cooking oil gave an aged look to the painting.I then wanted to create layers and abstract shapes in response to the painting underneath.I then took this abstract image and placed it on top of the previous image of Hang Mioku previous to her surgery.
Continuing the construction of Hang Mioku’s image.I painted an image of her old image prior to the 10 surgeries to fix it and then used this image to layer the current image.I decided to use latex and inject it with oil.And masking tape to represent bandaging.The oil stained the paper underneath but did not have the desired effect which was to make the latex bubble.What I find particulary interesting is how the latex has removed the oil from the paper underneath it.I wanted to use the large eyes again to focus on Hang’s hunger for the surgery.I wanted to use the chicken meat so that people would feel disgusted at the industry.I think this image has been quite sucessful
‘The Broad’ by Jean Michel Basquait. I feel that this painting relates well to plastic surgery as it shows the inner turmoil of the mind and also the patchwork often messy look of after surgery or even botched surgery.
Jenny Savile ‘Ugly’ I like how this painting uses the title ‘ugly’ and presents someone who has went through surgery in order to look ‘pretty’ I think has great irony and hopefully disgusts people the same way i want to with my art.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1_ytbaK8aLlap0CLR4bw5G1lMlzI27ijn

I decided to use layers of emulsion then cooking oil and ink to build up a painting which was originally of Hang Mioku.I liked the way the oil ran with the ink and the consistancy of it.I then decided to deconstruct using a chisel which is an instrument shaped similar to an osteotome use in nose surgery.I then thought of the phrase ‘your eyes are bigger then your belly’ in terms of plastic surgery.The want and need for more and more.So I used egg cartons to suggest this then poured oil into them untill it over flowed (see video).I think i like this piece at certain stages but not at others.Particualy the abstract ink/oil stage and when i had freshly scratched into it.I wonder if this is the same feeling people have at particular stages in surgery?I also can’t say that i feel a strong like or dislike towards this piece which i am still trying to figure out why

I visted this exhibition this time last year and found that the size of the photo’s themselves had the most shocking impact.All the different stages of Emin’s surgery learing over you in a very intimadating fashion.
  • The ideal that surgery will lead to ultimate happyness is often wrong.
Decided to use performance art to look at the power play between the surgeon and the client.The client.Thinks they are in control but if they choose the ‘wrong’ surgeon then this can sometimes be completely out of your control leading to botched surgery.
I experimented with injecting oil into an orange and a chicken thigh due to their skin-like texture.I felt that there was something ever so slightly sexual about the way the oil seeped back out again
Viktor Ivanov ‘Meat teddybear’ was a partial inspiration behind me sewing the chicken skin together and making ‘meat parcels’

The deconstruction and reconstruction of the chicken piece.I wanted to show how once flesh is operated on it will never look the same again whether this be in a bad or a good way.I want people to be disgusted by the piece which seems to of been the effect that has happened around the class.

I decided to sew the skin together to give the effect of human skin.I loved the visual effect of how the skin looked slimey and grotesque and also how the inside of the chicken skin was similar to that of human flesh.I also liked the connection between ‘the butchers’ on the chicken pack and how people are basically butchered during botch plastic surgery jobs.

‘To Age is not a crime’ Major Project

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I started looking at replacing the features of the face with cut outs form magazines to show the commercial element of plastic surgery and how people are influenced by it.I used red in the background of the original image as symbolism for danger/warning.

I then started to focus on the continous line drawing I had drawn of Hang Mioko.How could i develop this further?I decided to use cooking oil to paint continous line pictures of her.I found it very interesting the way the oil slowly seeped into the newsprint paper and made it become transparent.

I used this piece by Jonathan Yeo to influence my performance art piece.By using the incisions lines around the eyes to suggest where to cut.I like the mixed media appeal to this painting.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1a5YWqUQ5dozH9V73d6JrQSG47kwoeNEc

  • Stage 1-wanted to show incision lines true to the ones used in surgery
  • Stage 2 I wanted to show the constant cycle/de-construction/construction of the face during plastic surgery

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1a5YWqUQ5dozH9V73d6JrQSG47kwoeNEc

I think the next stage is to start injecting oil into different items to see how it reacts and doccumenting this.

‘Under the lense’ Looking at different elements of the face under a magnifying glass in the same way someone with body dismorphia might.And Also from the point of view of a surgeon.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/body-dysmorphia/

https://www.addictioncenter.com/community/plastic-surgery-addiction/

I think i want to experiment with some more photography/performance art pieces involving the surgeon and patient and play around with the control aspect.

Sour Sop @ Embassy Gallery

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Last night I attended a night of performance art from Embassy members.

Each act was strong and powerful in it’s own way and touched upon a variety of subjects from race,gender and queerness to what we are mediocre at.

I felt that each performance desired a reaction from the audience whether it be that of outright shock/horror or the want to engage with the performance itself.Some performances engaged with the audience and made you part of the act.Such as a particular favourite of mine the act ‘Harbinger’ by Martina Morger and Wassili Widmer. It was a performance which I felt everyone could resonate with as it was about the monster in all of us. The word ‘Harbinger’ means a person or thing that announces or signals the approach of another.

We are asked within this performance as to how we see the world.We are also asked to re-evaluate our cultural assumptions about race,gender and sexuality.Our perception of difference and our tolerance towards it’s expression.We are asked to question why we have created them and if fear of the monster is really a kind of desire.

I liked the fluidity of the movement of the female character and how she engaged with the audience crawling amongst them like a monster and whispering in there ears to shake her hand in 3 seconds time.The interaction between herself and the main monster character was interesting as they mimicked each others moves whilst the female character wore a painted face mask made of cloth.I also liked the use of light which created two shadows of the monster and due to the angle of the light the shadow cast two different images.

What made this performance stand out from the rest was how audience engaging it was making you feel alert and involved and a present part of the performance.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=14D8aaAGqyauLVu2nh-M3WU4zFbx925En