Ben Cove Workshop
We were given the opportunity to work with renowned artist Ben Cove in a 3 day workshop at the University. We had to create a response to what we thought of when we thought of Coventry. Coming from a Rural town I have struggled to adapt to city life, disliking the noise, the pollution and above all- the litter and dirt. So I chose a well known building- 'the elephant' on Cox St and created a piece of work which showed the building being swallowed up by the rubbish and mess in Coventry. The crumpled up papers are each photographs of graffiti and litter I took from a short trip around the city centre.
Detail of Piece
While I like the idea of Urban Decay as a concept, I feel I am not ready to explore this yet, I want to focus on a positive I have found in Coventry- the cloud formations are beautiful. So I started off by creating some observational shots to see what I could capture in photographic form.
I then decided to try and incorporate some of these images into a painting, using elements of the photographs themselves.
I like how these images have turned out, they are artistic while keeping a figurative base, this I appreciate within my artwork as I struggle to personally understand abstract style pieces.
Professional Practice Module
At this point I decided to undertake my Degree as a just Fine Art, this is because I felt I could put more into the degree if I only had one aspect to focus on.
As part of this academic year we were obliged to undertake a module concerning professional practice, mainly, organising, preparing for, and running an exhibition be it in a group or solo.
I feel it is now the time for me to explore Urban Decay as a subject, as it has always been something that has interested me. I always try and find the areas in cities missed by the developers, no longer well painted and modern. These places tend to reflect the true character of a city not the faceless non-descript window covered tower blocks that we now associate with the high flying city life.
I chose to draw inspiration from the photographs I had taking in the Ben Cove Workshop, and found that they can be perceived in very different ways by people just using some imagination, for instance this image is merely a cigarette packet on the floor, whereas my friend could see a farmhouse, surrounded by farmland.
It is this idea that caught my attention, if images can be seen in many different ways by different people, then maybe I can try and influence how people perceive my work, to try and sway their thoughts and make them see what I want them to see. I felt that I could explore this by doing more photography.
While accumulating my photographs, I was given the opportunity to attend a Silver Emulsion or 'Liquid Light' Workshop, this gave me the opportunity to use it to develop black and white photographs onto many different surfaces including wood, metal, brick and a variety of papers.
For the workshop I used my dad's old negatives from the 1970's which got me thinking- what if I can reproduce my own images to appear as authentic as these old negatives? Why not use an old camera?
So I used my Diana F medium format camera- which was originally my Great Grandmother's- to create my images.
I decided to focus on a specific location for my photographs. I decided to settle on the Stoke Area of Coventry, particularly my walking route to University. I felt the character of the area was sufficient to be used as a backdrop for the images. I wanted to try and merge my photographs, force one object out of its context and into another scenario, so this is what I have achieved with my Diana, as I was able to double expose a piece of film so it would include 2 shots within a single image.
A&E: Alternative Echoes
I put on an Exhibition of this work with my friend Anthony Williams in a disused shop space in Coventry City Centre, courtesy of Coventry ArtSpace.
The exhibition was really successful and I was able to see what reactions my work received, most of which were very positive, the rest were more curious about the work and asked questions about the work.
I then decided to try and incorporate some of these images into a painting, using elements of the photographs themselves.
I like how these images have turned out, they are artistic while keeping a figurative base, this I appreciate within my artwork as I struggle to personally understand abstract style pieces.
Professional Practice Module
At this point I decided to undertake my Degree as a just Fine Art, this is because I felt I could put more into the degree if I only had one aspect to focus on.
As part of this academic year we were obliged to undertake a module concerning professional practice, mainly, organising, preparing for, and running an exhibition be it in a group or solo.
I feel it is now the time for me to explore Urban Decay as a subject, as it has always been something that has interested me. I always try and find the areas in cities missed by the developers, no longer well painted and modern. These places tend to reflect the true character of a city not the faceless non-descript window covered tower blocks that we now associate with the high flying city life.
I chose to draw inspiration from the photographs I had taking in the Ben Cove Workshop, and found that they can be perceived in very different ways by people just using some imagination, for instance this image is merely a cigarette packet on the floor, whereas my friend could see a farmhouse, surrounded by farmland.
It is this idea that caught my attention, if images can be seen in many different ways by different people, then maybe I can try and influence how people perceive my work, to try and sway their thoughts and make them see what I want them to see. I felt that I could explore this by doing more photography.
While accumulating my photographs, I was given the opportunity to attend a Silver Emulsion or 'Liquid Light' Workshop, this gave me the opportunity to use it to develop black and white photographs onto many different surfaces including wood, metal, brick and a variety of papers.
For the workshop I used my dad's old negatives from the 1970's which got me thinking- what if I can reproduce my own images to appear as authentic as these old negatives? Why not use an old camera?
So I used my Diana F medium format camera- which was originally my Great Grandmother's- to create my images.
I decided to focus on a specific location for my photographs. I decided to settle on the Stoke Area of Coventry, particularly my walking route to University. I felt the character of the area was sufficient to be used as a backdrop for the images. I wanted to try and merge my photographs, force one object out of its context and into another scenario, so this is what I have achieved with my Diana, as I was able to double expose a piece of film so it would include 2 shots within a single image.
A&E: Alternative Echoes
I put on an Exhibition of this work with my friend Anthony Williams in a disused shop space in Coventry City Centre, courtesy of Coventry ArtSpace.
The exhibition was really successful and I was able to see what reactions my work received, most of which were very positive, the rest were more curious about the work and asked questions about the work.
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