CONTEXTUAL REVIEW
Contextual Review – Catarina Dias Silva
I believe my experience of Part 2 of the course was extremely productive and beneficial towards expanding my creative process.
The later and more extensive projects allowed me to deepen my understanding of fashion experimentation and design development and I definitely also felt more in control than in Part 1.
Damien Poulain’s work ethic interested my group and I majorly and, personally, I was very struck by the concept of wearable banners and later on the course, I developed mock-up pieces for the Bianca Saunders Project, to include on my portfolio, as both the FDM and PDP courses align very well with the term of wearable art.
After the Habit/Habitat Project, I felt very prepared to start a longer and solo project. During Reuse I was able to concentrate on different fashion design developing strategies as well as collage-making and sample-producing.
Once again, I felt very comfortable with extracting research from the objects I searched for and drawings I had done. I noticed that I was getting better at visualising my primary and secondary research as experimental work rather than just research. For example, when I developed a series of alien-like figures in moulding material in order to inform my research on discomforted spines which captured my relationship towards a rough period of time in my life and heartbreak.
Upon reflection and self-critique, I realised I could have developed a lot more drawings at the beginning of the project if I wasn’t too precious with what I draw on my sketchbook and I redeemed myself in the Inwards/Outwards Project, where most of my initial research was expressed through drawing and not just decorative mark making.
The work that inspired a lot of my experimentation work during the Reuse Project was Tracey Emin’s “My Bed” piece, Felix Gonzalez-Torres Untitled work dealing with the loss of his boyfriend, Frida Kahlo’s Spinal Plaster Casts at the “Making Herself Up” Exhibit at the V&A and other several artists from the Dark Romanticism Era such as Francisco Goya and Ingres. I was also very inspired to produce collage-work using my own primary research on photographed spines, rust and bedsheets surrounding me, as well as the video I produced on a combination of it all.
In terms of sustainability, I was always very aware of the type of materials I was obtaining, from making my own sketchbook, which I found quite difficult to do but I definitely will be trying again. In addition, I used the materials and fabrics that I had found or already had.
A great example of something I developed, during the project, based on the idea or reutilising items is my Content Diary. It’s an A5 sketchbook, made from an old planner I didn’t use with textures from my day-to-day surroundings. I try to add a texture every day. I found that it helps me immensely to find specific colours that relate to my projects.
The Progress tutorial I had with Alice was extremely beneficial because, at that point of the course, I needed some guidance over my projects. She highlighted my lack of drawings on my sketchbook and how they could deepen the strong research I have on Workflow.
Over the Christmas holidays, I worked in my Inwards/Outwards Project. My primary research was mainly drawings on my experience of the underground based on some research I made about people’s perception of me. I deepened that research through some secondary research on books such as Transit by Marco Brambilla and Exhibitions such as Other Spaces at 180 Strand.
I found this initial part of the project really exciting, as I took Alice’s advice to add more drawing as it would enrich my research.
In my opinion, my fashion development work for the Inwards/Outwards Project can still be much more explored as I didn’t develop further on my draping exercises due to time restraint.
Building my portfolio was an intense experience because I felt really unsure about the work I had produced, although, once I had finished everything, I felt really proud of the outcome.
I believe I was cautious with how I laid the information on the pages as well as what it said about the projects and myself as a designer and artist. During the interviews for both Fashion and PDP, I felt very confident talking about my work, specifically my Re-Use Project as it was the one I enjoyed the most.
I was also very proud to include some illustrations I had produced for Ben Sumpter, as a collaboration for his colleague who recently asked me to collaborate on the zine she’s making of Ben’s latest graduate collection.
REFERENCES:
Brambilla, M., 2002. Transit. Booth-clibborn
Baal-teshuva, J., 2015. Rothko. Taschen.
Eliasson, O., 2004. Olafur Eliasson: your lighthouse : works with light 1991-2004. Hatje Cantz Verlag.
Martin, A., 2019. Seats Of London. Safe Haven Books.
Clay, J., 1983. Romanticism. Chartwell Books.
Janet., B., 2004. Rubber!: Fun, Fashion, Fetish. Thames & Hudson.
Bertacchini, G., 2003. The Official Point of View. Enorme Film Arts.
Kenneth, C., 1974. The Romantic Rebellion: Romantic Versus Classic Art. Harper & Row.
Jan, D., 2006. Freaks: The Pig-faced Lady Of Manchester Square. Npi Media Group.
Turpin, N., 2017. On The Night Bus. Hoxton Mini Press.
180 Strand (2019) Other Spaces. London. The Store X
Victoria & Albert (2019-2020) Wonderful Things by Tim Walker. London. V&A
Illustrations for Ben Sumpter's Graduate Collection
I was messaged by the photographer Natalie Fay, who saw my work at the CSM Foundation Instagram.
She has recently shot Ben Sumpter's graduate collection and she asked me if I wanted to collaborate with her to develop some illustrations for her zine regarding the collection.
reflection: 16th of january
Today was the crit day for the Inwards/Outwards Denim Project.
I felt that my layout was quite simplistic yet effective.
The feedback I got from my peers surrounded the illustration I put up and the collaged research throughout my sketchbook.
I felt that the sketchbook could have been better explored since the BA tutors were visiting as well.
Ben Sumpter Illustration Workshop
Images
draping workshop: 14th of january
Today, I tried to re-did the draping workshop and attended the metal workshop to do so.
I used a different shape from one of my drawings of a secondary research photograph by Olafur Eliasson.
I was much happier with the results of the draping and I'll definitely develop it towards design development through drawing and collage.
mood-board workshop: reflection 9th of january
My group's mood-board before and after rearranging by another group.
My own mood-board:
My research is definitely broader than the research on my mood-board. I feel like I could have done a better job at portraying the mystical and heartwarming feeling I get when riding underground. I could have done so by enlarging the picture of the stranger and use less pictures of the underground that don't connect clearly to my project.
I found this quite difficult as most of my research involves movement for it to make sense. Maybe the constant rectangular shapes and lack of shapes and textures are restricting the essence of the mood-board.
I'm going to draw the mood-board in different techniques so that I focus on what I want within each image.
I also need to include my denim research on my mood-board so that both projects link in clearer ways.
group crit with chris: 6th of january
On today's group crit with Chris, I talked mainly about my work and research on the inwards/outwards project over the Christmas holidays and how I would include the material of denim over it.
Chris seemed very content with my work and his main feedback was to develop more on how I could integrate denim on my project, mainly through the denim fading factor that I mentioned that resembled the fading of the underground seats.
inwards/outwards: reflection on detox
My detox plan was to travel to places by underground through a different route, without any help of Google Maps and without any headphones so that I could immerse myself in my surroundings as they are rather than my own perception of the world.
I had already done something similar by drawing people on the underground but again, I was doing so by analysing them carelessly and simply sketching their impression on me.
Having to experience underground trips without any security blankets made me feel self-aware and uncomfortable, at first. I drew and analysed things as they were but once I started to got over the withdrawal of my headphones I started paying attention to people's movements, facial expressions and connections a lot more and it made me feel more at home.
I documented the process through photographs and drawing on my sketchbook.
For example, when my friend and I got lost, I used linear work as a way to represent that but when I felt in control, I did observational drawings that were less contemporary.
alex crowfoot: the future of fashion
re-use: reflection: 5th of december
I today's crit we analysed the importance of differentiating stages during the design development.
For example, at the beginning of the design development process, one is simply creating shape, it has to be clear that that is your main focus, the style of drawing changes once you start to delve into the details of the garment and for the illustration, one should prioritise the whole atmosphere of the garment and project through more abstract depiction of your most successful garment.
To improve, I'm going to try to refine my drawing style in each stage by creating more designs developments and more final illustrations. I'll also draw and add at least two more garment details that I have in mind, this way I can really start to refine my designs and their essence so that I can move into draping and pattern cut with those ideas.
Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my small sculptures to present during the crit, that would help to create a treasurable and fragile atmosphere that I wanted to portray within my project. Other than that, I received positive feedback on my presentation and project altogether.
I feel like at this stage of the course, I should start thinking about other creative ways I can present my work, rather than just presenting it on a table with a clear background.
FDM being my first option of BA, I need to start taking the presentation of my work more seriously. That's why I will be making a second presentation of my work, which I am happier with.
The Post-It notes I got:
"Good experimentation throughout sketchbook and textile swatches in the small notebook." (My Content Diary)
"Amazing Illustrations and references to other artists, I would explore further into those abstract illustrations and seeing how they can work like clothes"
"Love the little book" (My Content Diary)
re-use: contextual practice: designing in the context of our ecological crisis
Notes made during the talk with Carol:
Planetary boundaries
Living Planet Report 2018 - WWF
Sustainable Development Goal 12 - Targets
What is Circle Economy - Take, Make, Reuse, Recycle, Upcycle:
16 Principles for a circular economy:
1. Design with a purpose
2. Design for longevity
3. Design for resource efficiency
4. Design for biodegradability l
5. Design for Recyclability
6. Source/Produce Locally
7. Source/Produce Without toxicity
8. Source/Produce with efficiency
9. Source/Produce with reservation
10. Source/Produce with good ethics
11. Produce Services that support long life
12. Reuse/Recycle and compost all remains
13. Collaborate well and widely
14. Use, wash and repair with care
15. Consider real linen, second hand or redesigns
16. Buy quality as disposed to quantity
Suzanne Lee - BioCouture - No heavy metals used, therefore no toxicity but its downside is that it dissolves in water.
Mycelium - Mushroom - Feeds, eats and is able to turn to another material
Research into Ecologyc Studio - Algae
Research into Marin Sawa - Printing with Algae
Research into Fernando Laposse - Totomoxtle - Regenerative Design
Final Notes to take from the talk:
Reduce, Redesign, Regenerate:
Focus on decreasing impact, recycling and up-cycling
Redesigning system and material flow, Circular Design, Transition Design
re-use: reflection: 2nd of december
I really enjoyed today's lesson as it was a very enticing way of experimenting with the research I gathered over the last couple of weeks.
I find collaging a simple yet effective way of merging and creating links between artists and the primary research pictures that I took of spines, rusting and textures.
My most successful collage from the day is the one below, where I included imagery from Tracey Emin's "My Bed" piece and the close-up photograph I took of rusting. The combination of these two elements portrays the roughness of the texture against the softness of the bedsheets, in which together create a bond that I want to experiment more on. I found that the use of negative space, as Ben Sumpter also mentioned, works really well because it balances the information across the page and highlights a sense of distance into the work.
I think that if I want to develop further into these collages I have to include more of the colour schemes I researched on during last week as well as utilising the photographs of the spines and the video that I made which is on my Digital Outcomes page.
re-use: reflection: 1st of december
When making the sculptures of the creatures, I reflected over some problems such as the type of building material I'd use and where could I find it, whether I would take the shapes from my Tate Modern observational drawings or would I take structure and shape from my the response to those creatures, which were more abstract and therefore more interesting.
I ended up choosing from the more abstract shapes with a small resemblance of the initial primary research as it allows the audience to take their own perception of the sculptures and their own meaning to the work.
For the materials, I ended up using the remains of other students' building clay, plastic bags and other materials that resemble both my creatures and the textures within my project such as the rusting and the wet textures.
re-use: reflection: 25th of november
Today's class was really successful because I concentrated on the shape, texture and colour of my research images which helps me to portray visually what I want to say through my concept.
My final colour scheme was a mixture of red and orange - creating this dark blood orange hue as well as a pale mint green that breaks down into grey and really light pink.
I found that this colour palette describes the essence of my project really well because it depicts the passion and emotion as well as the fragility and weakness of my teenage years in regards to that relationship.
At the beginning of the class, we also did a small task where we had to describe one of our research images to someone and they had to draw it, based on our description of it. Everyone will perceive my work differently if I'm not clear enough of what it actually constitutes. That's why having a really clear colour scheme is important as it allows the person to feel exactly what I'm feeling.
This is what Shaw drew when I was explaining my research photograph on spinal devices.
re-use: project brief description
Project Brief Description:
"For this 3-week project, I want to concentrate on physical fragility, mainly caused by a past relationship I had and how it has affected me and the ones around me, mentally, through my teenage years.
The objects were purposely chosen to inform the experience I had with that person and so was the research I’ve explored on Dark Romanticism and the avenues that the art movement led me to.
I’ll be using the objects’ functional and emotional meaning as a response to any development work on fragility."
re-use: reflection: 21st of november
The Crit with Patricia was extremely helpful today, although I really enjoy working independently, having a second opinion from a tutor or even a colleague allows me to expand and refine my ideas.
Patricia advised me to have a concrete theme for my project and that it couldn't be as vague as the words "narrative" or "violence". I believe that the word that characterises my project the best is physical fragility. I want my project to be all about how I can portray physical fragility through the three stages of each week.
My objects are very delicate and when they are not, they are associated with instability of the mind. I definitely need to take the historical context of my objects into consideration to inform my concept and not just the relationship I have with them.
Although the emotive side of it is good for the observational drawings I made in the past, in order for my project to evolve from feelings and things I cannot see, I need to incorporate more practical manners of interpreting the objects.
With Aaron, we had to make project brief descriptions after we've described and gave feedback to each other on our project and find artists and words that were helpful. Working briefly with him during the morning made me realise that I need to deepen the concept of my project so that it isn't as brief as a "love story gone wrong".
re-use: reflection: 18th of november
Observational Drawing Session at Uni and Barbican Centre:
Today's observational drawing session in the morning made me aware that my most successful drawings were made when I knew the feeling that the object transmitted, in relation to the project's concept and to me personally.
I also found it very interesting to get another person's perspective on one of my objects: Amelia and Abbie to describe the small shoe sculpture that I was gifted at a market, some time ago. I felt that that object, although not made of plastic, carries a lot of history to it and the words used by them to describe it was:
- Dainty - Fragile
- Intimate - Textured
- Detailed - Miniature
In the afternoon, we all went to Barbican Centre, which coincidentally, I have a lot of history at, for the concept that I'm exploring for this project:
The boy I fell in love with, whom I'm basing the project around, used to take me to Barbican Centre various times and we'd talk for hours near the pond. Visiting Barbican made me feel very nostalgic of such time and I felt like my drawings encapsulated that grief and fragility I felt.
The object I found at Barbican wasn't necessarily interesting, it was a small cylindric-shaped plastic container and inside it contained very small bits of water and dirt. When I tried to link it to my environment, I saw that the colours and placement of the dirt actually resembled various parts of the Centre. I photographed them next to each other so that I could then edit them and make a clear link between the two.
The inside of the bottle itself also resembled the sitting near the pond.
I'm going to improve my drawings by looking closer at the relationship between the environment and my objects.
habitat/habit: reflection: 14th of november
Today, my group and I photographed our banner on the body and used the stereotype of our sun sign so for example:
Amelia and Ida were expressing themselves like lions through screaming (representing the wilderness of the jungle) as well as cat-like poses. Because my sign is Taurus, I had to represent the Bull, in which I grunted and stomped my feet.
Later on, we all went to the Kings Cross Campus and Ida and I displayed our work on ourselves. I really enjoyed the way our work was seen by other people and we even received some compliments on the symbols within the banner.
If I was to develop on the project, I would have hand-sown the symbols instead of using interfacing because we noticed that some of the letters were not sticking as well as they were before the photoshoot.
As a team, it would also be really intriguing if we were to develop a variety of banners for each astrological sign, this way we could invite people to wear them, which would link to the way Damien works, by inviting communities to interact with his work.
habitat/habit: reflection: 12th of november
In what way have you been inspired by Damien's work and how has this influenced your own work?
Damien has inspired us through his way of responding to communities and themes. His positive energy has made us hopeful towards humanity therefore we translated that through our use of symbology, for example: the stars, representing constellations could be taken positively to represent passion, such as the heart and flame underneath.
What community does your work target?
We want to speak for the people who are both awakened and not awakened to the possibility of a better world. Horoscopes could be an opportunity to do so when an immense amount of people use astrology to guide their emotional life.
How does it bring people together?
We believe that the banner has many conceptual ways of bringing people together, for example through the the heart veins merging with the flame underneath. Overall, the concept of the banner is welcoming to all kinds of people, whoever their beliefs lie.
habitat/habit: reflection: 11th of november
Today, my group and I were deliberating on our project's concept and ended up by researching on horoscopes/spirituality:
Society has diminished the value of astrology by reducing them to three concepts that people look for the most: Love, Career, Success instead of looking at the higher purpose of things in life. We have also categorised this three topics into the colours we were obligated to use:
Love - Red, Success - Blue, Career - Yellow
My group and I - Ida Immendorff, Amelia Hitchcock and me, answered the following questions:
What is the most important issues to you?
Personally, I want to highlight the importance of spirituality through meditation, palm reading and simply being connected and awakened to the fact that life is so much more than what society expects of us.
What is the most important issue collectively as a group?
For us, the most important issue that we want to highlight is the fact that society is so restricted to the themes of career, love and success within horoscopes instead of concentrating on feeling happy and connected with themselves and the world, spiritually.
What message do you want people to understand from your work?
We want people to understand that the world could be a much better world if we weren't so focused on this competitive-driven society.
How do you want people to feel when they look at your work?
We want to make people feel safe, at ease but we also want our work to be thought provoking through our use of symbology and colour.
criteria: feedback on presentation
pairs project: 6th of november
Studio Practice and Crit:
The crit for the project today helped me a lot to recognise points in which I believe we could have developed in much more interesting and creative ways, as well as interesting ways we could have presented our ideas.
When presenting our work, Savannah and I thought about using the wall and table to lay our Timeline piece which we found that worked really well.
Due to time limitations, we weren't able to print the photographs that we had taken of us wearing the headpiece that we made. This would have been a much more effective way of presenting our work because the viewer would have a clearer understanding of where the pieces that we put up would go on the body.
After receiving some feedback, we also came to the conclusion that we should have had some writing with our names and a small description of the Timeline Outcome piece so that it would have been easier to navigate around the space.
When looking around at other people's work, I noticed that some groups were far more comfortable with their partner at sharing and executing their ideas. I found it a bit devastating that my work wasn't receiving as much attention as others but I understood why: The way they presented their work was compelling and visually pleasing as well as the concept and ideas. within the projects.
The photos below are from a project that really stood out for me due to their presentation, the use of the sketchbook and the way you could see both personalities through the outcome sheets and sampling.
In my opinion, this was a very effective collaboration. Their response to the exhibitions was clear, thorough, intriguing throughout the whole project and it was really interesting to see the project so fashion-led.
In the other hand, a project that I found that could have been more developed visually is the one below:
The table could have been used more effectively, in order to inform the viewer of what the project was about etc, as well as that, I found that the sketchbooks had potential but was missing a narrative flow that most projects had.
pairs project: reflection: 5th of november
Studio Practice:
1. Make a realistic list of what you aim to achieve by Thursday AM in your pairs:
- Knitting samples - resembling shape and colour scheme from mark-making at the exhibition and our installation.
- Explore sampling with dissolvable - sew to the exhibition sounds or sounds from our way home etc
- Laying samples on body/draping - use scale.
- Use the white sticks to create shape on the body so that it informs our final outcome.
- Sketchbook - Use my failed attempt of knitting as primary research - Use the outline to create prints and mark-making.
- Draw our timelines in large sheets of A2 - Abstractly and conceptually.
- Design and make a final outcome that involves knitting, our personal styles and play about with duality and how we could connect us two.
2. How are you going to merge your ideas together as a collaborative project?
Right from the beginning, Savannah and I made sure that we went to the exhibition together and that we shared all of our ideas together instead of keeping them to ourselves.
We also decided to switch places for our preferred skills. For example, I tried knitting and finger-knitting and Savannah tried drawing at the exhibition and later on in our big A2 sheets of mark-making timelines.
3. Is your exhibition who you used as a starting point in your sketchbook?
Yes not only did we photograph and included some of the most important photographs on the sketchbook but we responded to them, on the spot, by analysing and drawing the prints of the pieces to the sound of the pieces themselves.
4. How are you going to visually communicate your ideas to an audience on Thursday afternoon?
We want to make a structured piece, using knitting and wire that could go on the body or our face that would represent our relationship to line and sound. As well as that, we'd be presenting our sampling, sketchbooks and the A2 sheets of our timelines to portray our project more personally.
draping workshop: 13th of january
Today's draping workshop didn't go as I planned.
I got a specific shape from the oyster photocard (Photo 1) and made an A5 acrylic moulding of it (Photo 2) to analyse the potential of the shape itself without the body.
I thought the shape was interesting although when I moulded it into plastic sheets and wood, I realised that it was too small and my draping exercise wasn't as effective because of it.
On Photo 3 and Photo 4, you can see that I achieved some shapes that could become interesting as they could translate into an oversized and dislocated Peter-Pan-like-collars or a seat-like shape on the lap area of the body yet the sizing was really underwhelming.
#1
#2
#3
contextual practice on portfolios 8th of january
Notes taken on the C.P Class: with Julia Dotson.
Have 15 to 20 pages.
Introduction, Development of ideas, Further Development, Lineup, Final Outcome.
Start with an old project so that you aren't as attached to your favourite work and therefore take on a less impartial perspective.
Interact with the work - Include original work.
You want to pull people in. Include elements that lure people in. Physical texture.
On Interview have 1 to 2 sketchbooks as a backup to your pages in order for the tutors to see how your mind works.
Portfolio sheets are more important - Put Photocopies of samples on sketchbook.
Continuity of a project is very important. Have elements that represent that.
The rule of three - 1,2,3 and proportion - odd numbers attract people. Research on the study.
My take on an initial research page for the Re-Use Project:
#1
I realised that the page wasn't very attractive because it was lacking information and the positioning of the images weren't cohesive and seemed rather rushed.
or an updated version #2
I liked this page better because I was able to explain my research on spines and comfort.
My research image of the Grande Odalisque painting connects through colour to my primary research photography of a spine. but it is partially concealed and seemingly extended by the black collaged bed.
To further improve this page, I'll include an original sample rather than the photocopied version and include original mark-making based on the texture of rust or draw the spine straight to the page rather than have a photocopy of it.
collage workshop: reflection 7th of january
Collages made by lunch:
2 collages combining 2 images and 1 cut.
2 collages disrupting the narrative by removing information - painting or cutting depending on my research and story.
2 collages disrupting the narrative by adding information - painting, stitching, print etc.
Also, make a collage on Colour referencing - Colour blocking by pixelating.
(Simplicity, when removing information, can be key:
Rubbing/painting/erasing/stitching away what you don’t want)
Collagists to research on:
John Stezaker for 1 cut collages - surreal, disturbing, disrupting.
Seb Patane for removing information through painting.
denim project brief
denim brief: reflection 6th of january
Notes made during the brief explanation.
Have different processes for the final outcome - draping, 3d construction but also textiles work.
Document design ideas and material manipulation - thru drawing and photography.
Concepts/People to research on:
Denim fades - Underground seats fade
Boro Textiles Mending, Reworking, Adding on - Somerset House Exhibition.
Marques Almeida AW11
Demin mill - Bossa, Demin mill - Isko, BCI - Jeans School
Nigel Cabourn
Faustine Steinmetz
Ian berry - using it in his environment, gallery - underground - could be interesting to reference
Bradley Sharpe
inwards/outwards: reflection
A lot of my favourite things to do involve having to commute to places, for example, when I edit videos I have to, firstly, travel to the places in which I record videos at.
I'm also fascinated by the journey process because I tend to get really inspired when I'm on the tube as I'm able to reflect and analyse my surroundings really well. I like to write, draw and develop on ideas on my personal Ideas Diary.
I always listen to music when I'm commuting, it motivates and inspires me.
I've noticed that whenever I forget my earphones at home, I tend to disassociate from my environment and at the same time,m I feel very self-conscious of my own existence and people's perception of me, negatively.
I could maybe detox myself from my earphones and force myself to live without that security blanket I've developed.
I could concentrate on the journey to certain places, instead of the locations themselves.
I will sketch and annotate my journey such as bus stops, the barriers, underground stations, the seats/poles, people/animals, clothes, mark-making/textures, noises as well as my perception/feelings of them.
my carbon footprint
https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/#/
My carbon footprint is of 99% of my target impact on the world when measured against the 2020 target set by the UK government. The 2020 target is of 106% so I am already doing well although 99% is still too much. Therefore I looked further into why that is:
My biggest problem is "Travel", taking up 40% of my carbon footprint. Which I only do by public transport or sometimes cycling.
To put it in perspective, my travel consumption I'.,d equal to 3 medium-haul flights, based on flights longer than 5000km. Even though there isn't much I can do within that subject I'll try to lower the number of times I take the bus, if there's an opportunity to walk or cycle.
Taking up 23% of the chart is "Stuff", which is my consumption of goods and the tips that WWF recommended were to buy 1 expensive thing instead of buying a lot of cheaper ones and to buy second-hand items. I've been practising this for the past year so this was only reassurance of so.
re-use: reflection: 3rd of december
Reflection Questions:
How has today's design development process informed your project?
I felt like the way we were taught the design development today helped us to break down and separate information and building it back again in a new and interesting manner. The smaller versions helped me to understand the shape of my designs and what that says about my work.
The boxy shoulders on most of my designs are a representation of tension in both my research and my experimental work throughout the weeks.
The draping of the material links the suspension/tension to comfort and fragility.
Why did we ask you to draw garment details?
Drawing garment details helps to visualise my designs in a more fashion-wise manner. Introducing them to our designs in different scales also plays a big part in what I'm trying to convey with them. I used the elastic gathering of bedsheets as one of my garment details. When I placed them on my designs, I used them in the merging of two different fabrics, all extended to its full elasticity, in order to convey the pressure and roughness of my research on spinal devices.
What is the relevance of scale in today's class?
Scale had a big role in today's class because it allocates different areas to different times for example:
When designing on a smaller scale, I concentrated on shape and structure and when we enlarged the designs we were able to experiment with colour and details a lot more.
As well as that, the sections of the collages in which we were taking the designs from, varied in scale, which makes up far more interesting designs.
gary colclough tutorial: 30th of november
The tutorial with Gary Colclough today was extremely interesting and it made me realise how beneficial it is to use the resources that are available to me.
He gave me feedback on my UCAS application, my Workflow and my idea development for the Re-Use project as well as some artists and resources that I could look into that would help me expand the concept of my project.
Gary advised me to include more reflection on the problems encountered throughout the weeks, on Workflow so I'll definitely include some of my thought process into Workflow from now on.
Gary also told me to look into the artist Felix Gonzales-Torres and his untitled piece of an empty bed. The piece delves on the death of his lover and the bed is a photograph of Torres own bed, the day Torres lover passed away. This piece is definitely going to lead to me to produce really great response because it is filled with visual imagery that I could use similarly in different methodologies.
Gary told me to use the magazine "The Cabinet" which is filled with very detailed information on various topics. This is a great resource as it contains a lot of historical and practical information on various subjects. I'll be looking into the Bones Issue 28 as well as "Perchance to Dream" article from Fall 2008, "How to Make a Monster" article from November 2019 and several "Colour" Columns over the years.
Felix Gonzalez-Torres, “Untitled”, 1991, Billboard:
The Cabinet Magazine, Bones, Issue 28, 2008:
re-use: reflection: 26th of November
Colour wheel: What colours make me think of and feel:
RED: Beginning of life: womb, blood. Colour of love and aggression but also tenderness depending on the shade.
YELLOW: Jealousy and humanity. Yellow makes me feel motivated.
GREEN: Green makes me think of nature and tranquillity but darker shades of green make me feel sad because of connotations I have to it.
BLUE: Colour of transparency. Blue makes me think about intelligence and awareness.
GREY:
BROWN:
PURPLE:
WHITE:
PINK:
Colour Scheme through found objects/trash on my Content Diary:
My Content Diary is where I insert textures and small swatches of materials that I find in my surroundings.
I used the pages from a 2019 planner that I stopped using instead of buying a new clear notebook because I found that it helped me to create a more personal touch to the diary.
I try to do this every day and I try to use it as a way to help inform my projects.
re-use: contextual practice: materiality
Today's conversation with Ben Sumpter was extremely relevant towards this week's project. I feel like I am becoming more and more conscious to my shopping habits as well as the way I purchase materials for my own work.
Ben spoke about his work throughout the years and his journey towards becoming and building his sustainable image and brand.
One of the key moments throughout his talk was when he talked about his use of rusting to portray the textures on his grandfather's sheds, which he made some of his projects' concepts on. I found this peculiarly interesting because he created his own rusting which he then layed on his samples. Similarly, I'm too looking into rust as it is seen on one of my objects, the cutting knife. I found the texture really interesting and I am thinking about developing my own rust prints. To help me with that, I've taken out the book ''Rust'' by Jean-Michel Rabate.
Water and Vinegar is one way I could make my rusting prints by removing the rust from rusty objects.
Something else that I found really interesting during the conversation is that Ben works a lot with fully fashioning patterns by crocheting and knitting, which allows him to create zero waste garments. I was reminded of Suzanne Lee, a fashion designer that concentrate on the future of fashion. She is developing material formed entirely out of bacteria and what's also really interesting about that concept is that the bacteria can make any shape, depending on the container that it is in. This is another way in which one could create zero waste pieces.
I want to research into BioCouture in more detail for this project, I took out from the library the book ''Fashionopolis, The Price of Fast Fashion & The Future of Clothes'' by Dana Thomas.
re-use: reflection: 19th of november
Tate Modern Observational Drawing Session:
Today's session on observational drawing was extremely useful and it allowed me to look at my objects in a more in-depth manner:
For example, when I was looking at Rebecca Horn's ''Berlin Exercises: Dreaming under water'' 1974-5, I immediately associated it with my cutting knife because in the performance, Horn cuts her hair in a forceful and frustrated way, her tense expression along with her dried tears makes me reflect on my experience with self harm. It is representative of the way I felt when cutting because s portrayed the shame and desperation really well. I then sketched various drawings on the relationship between the art work and the objects.
As well as Horn and other artists, I made several small sketches on an A5 notebook, seperated from the A3 sketchbook, on creatures inspired by the paintings across the exhibition that related to my concept on dark romanticism.
The practicality of today's lesson made me really value observational drawing because it allowed me to deepen my research and ideas.
re-use: "true cost" annotations
True Cost Documentary: Notes:
Globalised production all of the making of goods is being outsourced to low-cost economies where wages are kept very low:
Those at the top of the value chain get to choose and switch where the product is made. Therefore we can’t blame developing countries for Western’s countries constant disregard for poor human rights at those factories.
Only about 10% of clothes that people give to charity is actually sold, meaning that the remaining 90% is given to third world countries. As the amount of second-hand clothing coming into places like Haiti, the local clothing industry has disappeared. This is another way in which Western countries are erasing culture in Non-Western countries.
damien poulain presentation: 11th of november
Damien talked to us today about his practice and how he was expecting us to work for this week's project.
I made some notes on the interesting commentary throughout the Talk:
Age - Numbers and Numerlogy (Symbols?) - Doesn't correlate to one's way of thinking - Being wise/awakened is not dependable on someone's age.
Totem 49', 2009 - A collection of sculptural works - Use of repetition - Habit
Wall of Doors and Possibilities, 2019 - Abstract doors between the village and the wild - unconsciousness and conciseness
Walediam! (Good Morning), 2019 - Using natural elements - Fecal Matter - Resembling of Hermann Nitsch's work on Vienesse Actionism
Nomadic behaviour - Places as a state of mind - Habitat
pairs: contextual practice: collaboration x design: 5th of november
This Contextual Practice Lesson was extremely useful to me. I've recorded the entire conversation between Chris, Paolina Russo and Chet-Lu and found that their journey through the years has been nothing but inspiring.
I also learned a lot about Central Saint Martins as a university and what will be expected of me throughout the years as a student and as a designer.
I'll be going back to this whenever I need guidance in terms of mental health and in general etc as well as the podcasts on Moodle.
In terms of collaboration, I've learnt from this lesson that some of my struggles with it are normal and that the only way I can get more open towards it is by being extremely straightforward with what I want if I'm working with a factory and also flexible if I'm working with companies or other designers as myself.
For the exercise given to us afterwards, we were told to do the 16 Personalities test with our partner for the Pairs Project, so that we could compare our ways of thinking.
Savannah got Mediator and I got Protagonist. It was very interesting to get to know how different we are and how we could translate that into the project itself. We decided to do that through the use of colour schemes.
pairs project: reflection: 4th of november
Studio Practice:
Today, Savannah and I made a mind map of the main ideas we took from visiting the Nam June Paik Exhibition.
Savannah and I felt like this was a great way of encapsulating all of the starting points into one page so that we could explore and experiment and then choose the ones that work best with what we're trying to say.
We also made short paragraphs on our main ideas and how we'd respond to them.
"We want to explain the relationship between line and sound and to narrate our lives through it, in an abstract manner.
We want to portray all different kinds of lines that surround us, in our everyday life: for example sound frequency lines, lay lines, satellite lines, cartography, magnetic field lines and all types of things that connect us that we can’t see.
We would do so by creating knitted samples that we would then lay on the body and in our surroundings.
Knitting, in this case, represents our story, timeline and the lines that bound us together through the use of different materials, type of stitch, shape and colour"
In the afternoon, Savannah and I decided to create an installation made out of black and white string in order to respond to our main concept, in a 3D manner.
We taped knitting strings to two parallel walls and played about the way they intersected as well as the different ways someone could interact with them.
This installation was our way of communicating the relationship between line and sound, people's lives/timelines and other lines that connect human beings together and the different perceptions that people take from travelling through the installation.
I believe we could have delved a lot more with this idea by asking people to go through the strings without breaking them, then filming and editing the footage but unfortunately, we couldn't use that area for a long time as it was a fire exit and we were forced to leave.
We ended up using the photography of the installation as a way of achieving different shapes by collaging the photographs together and playing with the scale to create other similar installations on our sketchbooks.
pairs project: reflection: 3rd of november
Nam June Paik Exhibition at Tate Modern with my partner Savannah Ford:
The Nam June Paik Exhibition was beautifully curated and each piece made us wonder about the possibilities of ideas that we could create with this project.
Because we didn't know each other at all, we asked each other some questions about how what usually inspires us and Savannah said that the theme of nostalgia is something that she likes to explore in her work. She enjoys working on textile samples, more specifically, knitting and crocheting in various neon colours. Because our work is very different, we decided to incorporate both of our working methods and styles into whatever it is that we produce.
At the exhibition, we immediately thought about the constant use of technology even though most of Paik's work was made during the '60s and '70s. We thought about him as a visionary, as he was able to predict what society would be like with technology growth.
We also paid attention to the element of sound in the pieces, which we found very captivating. Sometimes, when the piece didn't produce sound, they would imply it such as the broken piano piece or the photograph with a string attached to the violin.
The final room, The Sistine Chapel was extremely intriguing to us and most likely the room that inspired us the most due to its use of colour, sound and lines.
Line was a theme that we also took into consideration because it was Paik's way of communicating: Through mark-making, invisible lines caused by sound frequencies, lines produced by the distortion of screens etc.
Other topics that we questioned when visiting the exhibit were the distortion of history, feeling and memories, the use of magnets, the use of music to set the scene and how would we be able to respond to all of these themes throughout the week. We thought about using kaleidoscopes and magnifying glasses to distort lines.
At last, we did some drawings in order to respond to the exhibition whilst we were there and we created some beautiful mark-making pieces that helped us take our concept to the next level.