Stage2 developing Specialist Practice

Unit Two

Body and Identities Project

9.11.2020 - 14.12.2020

My initial ideas for the bodies and Identities Unit included how to media portray what beauty is, and how this has influences societies definition of the idea of beauty. I first began by researching the definition of multiple words including; identity, body, body image and distortion, that I thought has relation to the theme of the medias portrays of beauty, as I wanted to see if the definition was a filtered version of the truth or what I believe it to be. To build my brainstorm further I researched Tim Walker, along side Mark Quinn, Jenny Sacille and Wes Naman, this helped my contextualise the research that i wanted to do within this project, and engage in artists ideas and develop them in relation to the themes I want to explore.

Above is the artist research I conducted, while researching these artists I decided a pathway of development for the 'Body and Identities' Project for me would be insecurity, and the impact the media has on the ways people perceive 'what is beautiful.'

I began by conducting Secondary research, using google and magazines. I extracted sectors of a essay about 'The reality of Bauty Standards.'

Primary Research- I created a primary research exercise consisting of two questions. 'What is your definition of Imperfection?' and 'What is your definition of perfection?' The reason I selected these contrasting questions was to allow me to compare the positive and negative effects of the medias infliction of 'Beauty Standards,' and also compare peoples answers. I conducted the research exercise with my peers on my course.

During this photography experiment I was manipulating the concept of features being the key to identity and personality. Therefore I produced four experiments focusing and reducing the features displayed. I found by reducing all features, all identity and purpose of the experiment was lost, but with only one feature being removed like the mouth the concept is developed more.

Encounters Project

4.01.2021 - 13.02.2021

13/01/2021 - Exhibition Research and Brainstorming Ideas

7.01.2021 For the encounters project, I began to brainstorm ideas relating to environmental damage and human impact on the environment. Therefore I began to explore themes that relate to this ideas along with ideas of ways to carry them out. The ideas that I created included statistical research into the impact humans are creating, landfills, littering, and then more natural states such as exposure to light, photosynthesis naturally occuring patterns.

11.01.2021

I carried out some artist research as a secondary form of influence to my ideas I had already generated. Andy Goldsworthy, Chris Jordan, Valere Leonard and Ian Wade are all artists that have relations of nature with in their work. Some exploring waste, consumerism and the mass of material created from these maters, and others using what nature creates to work within their beautiful artwork.

Layout experiment- Exploring layout and the use of negative and positive space through contrasting horizonal and vertical lines.

13.01.2021

As a form of experimentation I wanted to capture the the types of matters that impact environmental damage around us today, everywhere. the theme of the image displays plastic littered. To create the images I layered two photos took individually. Using photoshop.

14.01.2021

This experiment was carried out, as a way of using materials captured in the matter and the content of the image, to add surrealism and a three dimensional aspect. As a way of emphasising the surreal nature I use materials that I have found from other peoples littering, or materials that are daily house hold wastage.