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Adding ceramic elements pt.2 - ???

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Adding ceramic elements pt.1 - Mood Clock

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The mockup of the layout and the process of getting it all together. Tried to fill the gaps in the space by adding black shapes into the composition, proposing that there will be much more painted.

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CRIT

List of the suggestions I got from the crit after presenting a rough layout of the outcome:

-abstract shapes could be added to the background -the stand itself could be designed differently, add more intricate shapes -adding real objects could be very moving -the text is very moving -great use of colours -MORE NARRATIVE, connected and sequential things, use the advantage of your ability of showing emotion thorigh characters -it could be even more vibrant and colourful - then the constrast with the message could be even more striking -take stuff that you previously done and put it in that context -play with the order, probably focusing more attention on the center of the composition -move things around and see what else could work

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All of the artworks I have at the moment. Working hard on adding as many episodes as I can, thinking about more things that are:

abstract

textual

really small

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This is the amount of work that I can produce in about 5-6 hours.

Still not satisfied with the level of detail and complexity. Going to spend 1 more day painting only and then will start to combine the pieces together in various ways.

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A wonderful animation by Uncle Ginger.

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Working.

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Edwin Pickstone and Jockum Nordstrom (suggested by WG, regarding the exhibition presentation).

Connections, corners, angles, simplicity.

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Yoshitoshi Kanemaki Great use of sequential emotional change.

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Tutorial w/WG

Speaking to William really helped me with my mindset regarding this project: it is important that I focus on the content and the emotion of the pieces that I create in full, not worrying too much about creating something interactive and/or immersive since the actual artwork will be strong enough.  There were a couple of suggestions on how to arrange the paintings together, mostly, using blocks of text or color as connecting pieces. I also think that a couple of abstract sculptural things may help them all come together. The process of arranging everything will be quite lengthy, however, I’m sure I don’t need to worry about it too much at the moment. My top priority now is making as much work as I can.

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The paintings I have so far.

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Stuck-unstuck

I was struggling to figure out the exact sizes of the smaller paintings because I approached it trying to plan the whole layout beforehand and it wasn’t leading me anywhere.

I booked a meeting with Evgenia to find answers. Her suggestion was really encouraging - basically, to just start painting. Having a layout might restrict too much and make it feel stiff, slowing me down. So, my strategy for the last bit of the development was to gather as many plywood pieces as I could and begin painting the episodes that I wrote down + adding something abstract and 3D (non-figurative ceramic pieces probably) in the process. 

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Change of perspective

I haven’t been able to update my blog for a while since I have been dealing with my broken hard drive, losing all of my important files. Gladly, most of them are now recovered.

So, the main issue with my process at the moment was that I couldn’t connect all of the interviews and research that I collected. In one huge painting, at least. So I have made a decision to focus on making a lot of smaller pieces on plywood sheets and connecting them in a layout, with a slightly larger painting in the middle as a focal point. Basically, I have written down a list of episodes that I want to certainly illustrate in my outcome. 

1) euphoria turns into misery through anxiety: mania turning into a depression, the energy stays but the emotions grow darker.

2) vice versa: depression transforms into mania: no energy, but the happiness is overwhelming.

3) depression and mania as two entities fighting over a person’s true self.

4) shame as a defense mechanism, trying not to get hurt, concealing emotions from people.

5) how words physically hurt a person (lettering is used as solid object in an artwork).

6) “So much fun it makes me SICK”

7) inner self: a small playful child being protected by and adult.

8) “I AM NOT ENOUGH”

9) “The world will end if I blink one more time”

10) time moving slower.

11) “I can’t even imagine or remember how it feels to be happy”

12) “You’re alright, you just love to suffer”

13) having no skin

14) different undiscovered aspects of Self.

15) gathering personality like a broken vase

16) when depressed - mundane tasks could take all day

17) “You’ll get locked away at a nuthouse, they will poison you with medecine”

18) try to show: depersonalization, a panic attack, suicide attempt, substance abuse.

MAIN EPISODE: Several fluctuations between the moods, maybe add some time indicators.

MANIA -> DEPRESSION transitions: kick in the gut, gradual and slow, sudden realization - trying to go back, insane energy staying with the feeling of sadness taking over.

DEPRESSION -> MANIA transitions: silent euphoria - passive happiness, gradual and slow, getting hit by happiness, looking around and throwing away everything horrible (possibly being overgrown by plants?)

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Gizem Vural still stays one of the strongest inspirations for everything I do for this project.

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These are the sketches that were made just before the tutorial mentioned in the previous post.

My goal was to made rough paintings with the material that I will mainly be using (acrylic paint and markers) and see how I can illustrate the very basic emotions and feelings. The immediate issue with these was that I was trying to force the presence of some kind of space in every single sketch and found it very unnecessary. My initial concept was collapsing in the process and I was scared to make a wrong decision.

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Tutorial w/EB

Sometime after the presentation crit, we had a group tutorial with Evgenia Barinova that helped me quite a lot. I created a couple of sketches in the medium of my choice - acrylic paint and markers (however, painting on paper not to waste any plywood). This was the feedback I received:

the character seems to be very general and sloppy

it would be good if they transform with the mood

the environment is also the character since the places you are showing are not real

viewers should recognize the space in some way, however - showing a generic kitchen or bedroom

adding timestamps could be helpful if you show these mood swings in one day

basically, this character should look like how they perceive themselves at that moment

add pieces/paintings that are not a part of the main composition

use quotations in the artwork - not spelling too much out with the illustrations, sometimes text could be the focus

if providing any printed materials, make the text easy to access.