I’ve begun taking my work in a new direction, while simultaneously revisiting earlier ideas. I plan on screen printing the below images, and incorporating them with other printmaking techniques.
I have taken self portraits, and converted the image into dots, and have blacked out the background. Once transferred onto a silk screen the ink will come through the dots, creating a print of the image, while no ink will come through the blacked out areas.
I then went on to black out parts of the face, these sections will not print either. I plan on creating drypoint prints to over-print and fill in these gaps.
I recently visited the States of Mind: Tracing the Edges of Consciousness exhibition, at The Wellcome Trust, in London. This year long exhibition brings together artists, psychologists, philosophers and neuroscientists, all exploring the terrain between consciousness and unconsciousness. The collection is made up of historical material, artworks, objects, and contemporary art installations.
Part 1 – SCIENCE | SOUL
In my dissertation, I examine the need for art within science, and the first part of this exhibition, ‘SCIENCE | SOUL’, shows how creativity within science has been vital in progressing into the technology and understanding of the human mind we possess today. This part of the exhibition suggests that there are two separate realms within human existence, the external physical world and the internal consisting of our private experience, our own personal perception of the world.
Part 2 – SLEEP | AWAKE
Sleep creates an altered state of consciousness, the allowance of the subconscious to surface? This part of the exhibition centers around the human mind while asleep. While we are dreaming, we are unaware that dreams are dreams, meaning our perception of what reality is, is altered.
The above is a video installation recounting their experiences of sleep paralysis, the subjects of British director Carla Mackinnon’s installation film explain how they are assailed by hallucinations and the feeling of a presence weighing down on their chests as they lie there, still trapped in sleep upon waking. For the time that this occurs this is their reality, and Carla Mackinnon demonstrates there new perception of their surrounding. This is something I am attempting within my own work, to create a series of different perceptions of the world and our surrounding.
Part 3 – LANGUAGE | MEMORY
Research has shown that the development of language and memory as a child is pivotal in that individual developing a sense of self. I found ‘The False Memory Archive: Crudely Erased Adults’ by A R Hopwood particularly interesting, this installation, consisting of 6 light boxes that are based upon a unique collection of vivid personal accounts of things that never really happened demonstrating fascinating scientific research that demonstrates how susceptible we are to false memories. Filling in the gaps of our memories projecting our own perception of a situation, person, reality, etc…
Hopwood’s work is based on the work and research of Elizabeth Loftus, Loftus studies human memory. Her experiments reveal how memories can be changed by things that we are told. Facts, ideas, suggestions and other post-event information can modify our memories.
I wanted to combine my prints in multiple different ways, my first attempt is through photoshop. I have overlayed and experimented with size, shape, colour and composition.
I am pleased with the outcomes, and feel they portray inner emotions, but would prefer to continue through experimentation in the printroom.
The term outsider art was coined by art critic Roger Cardinal in 1972, as the English term for Art Brut. Art Brut was a label created by French artist Jean Dubuffet to describe art created outside the boundaries of official culture. People who haven’t had any formal training within their disciplines, but have managed to create thought provoking, contemporary pieces.
I have found myself thinking about art as a physiological reflex, movements and marks symbols of our inner psyche. Outsider art is a perfect example of this, taking, for example, a mental illness and harnessing their turmoil and creating an outlet in art.
Nick Blinko, is a prime example of art a an outlet for inner turmoil. Once medicated and mentally stable, his ability to create work diminishes. His extremely detailed pieces give us an insight into his mental instability, with often then pieces seeming really noisy/ busy.
JJ Cromer, a once a librarian, became obsessed with drawing in later life, the objects he grew up around, his families collection of rocks, bugs, plants, and animals have all become subject matter for his work. Is this an unconscious move to revert back to his childhood?
In my research into outsider artist, I have noticed a similarity between a large amount of artists. Large scale works, extremely detailed and controlled imagery, usually a lot going on without one single focus point. Is this a representation of their mental state? With each exhibiting similar work, could it be that these outcomes are similar to symptoms?
Moving on from sketches, I have began creating drypoint prints, inspired by microscopic cells found in the human body. I have found the idea of chemicals in the brain producing creativity very interesting, with heightened creativity in those with mental disorders, or suffering with brain damage, or even those with a degenerative brain illness. Some scientists believe where linguistic and other communications tools break down, other ways of expression takes over.
Using a drypoint needle on acetate, I created an A5 plate inspired by the patterns found in human anatomy.
Using intaglio ink, I inked up the plate and using skrim removed the excess ink. I placed the damp paper on the press first, followed by the plate face down.
Enfys Radley 