CREATING A 3D PAPER BRAIN?

Following feedback from the last tutorial I have been looking back at my research to imagery of the brain, being the place memory is contained for new ideas.

There is something about these images of CAT scans that keep drawing my thoughts back to them.

Continuing to use paper and pattern to create an installation, instead of having my work suspended in no particular order I am going to experiment creating the work in the spherical, globe shape of our brain. Resulting in a clearer reflection of stored memory. Looking at these images, and how they are negatives, I can imagine this big sphere of floating memories, to be in a dark room and lit up, so only the sphere is visible alike the scans above. Instead of projecting light through it as I have been doing already in my experimentations, I might need to look at having just one light in the centre of the sphere so that the light is filtered outwards from the centre instead.

COLLECTION

By placing all my images on a smaller scale next to one another, I have created a collage like collection of my imagery. This has allowed me to see visually that these illustrations work with one another. The work is similar in that it works as a set, but at the same time each piece is illustrating some thing very different to any of the others. When creating an installation this is a layout that I would look to use, especially through projection so that I can project every illustration at once. I am trying to find ways of showing memory as a mass of floating, intertwining, images stored in our heads.

MEMORIES 2

CHILDHOOD PHOTOS

My parents have got hundreds of photo's that have been taken over the past 25 years, and many of them are images showing glimpses of my childhood. Looking through these brought back many memories I have of growing up. Some of these photographs are quite old and I love the retro, matte look that they have. These are a selection that I have pulled out that document memories that I have recorded. 

SUSPENDED

Focusing on the patterns I use on my illustrations I have been playing with layering to make my work more interesting and dynamic, from creating work on paper and then showing it in a 3 dimensional form makes for more interesting and conceptual outcomes. This is what I can imagine memories looking like when stored in our heads - a swirling mass of thoughts. I have light to reflect through the patterns creating even more shapes and across the plainer paper cut outs. By placing my illustrations amongst the stenciled patterns I have been able to scatter the floaty, dreamlike patterns across my work all in all creating that mass of memory's imagery. Using a mirror I have been able to reflect the work, which when setting an installation up like this in a proper studio, exhibition space where there is limited space, will create more impact as the size of the piece can be double visually when reflected.

EXPERIMENTS WITH PAPER,PATTERN AND SHADOW

PAPER INSTALLATIONS

These are images of existing installations that I have come across during my research. In the last project I experimented alot with shape and using 3 dimensional shape in my work. I want to continue working in 3d but not directly with shape. The images below are great inspiration for creating texture, layers and pattern within work. Light has also been used to create reflection through the different layers, mirroring the work onto the surrounding walls. 

MEMORIES 1

THE MEMORY BOOK

I have got a small book in which I can record all my memories that I think of, and that come to me triggered by different things, like song lyrics, numbers an object or a smell etc, this way I can retain them all in one place and illustrate them from this book. 

TEXTILES

I have previously used textiles within my illustrations, which has proved successful, giving my work a more intricate and interesting edge. This is something that I would like to experiment with further and add to my work for EMP.

BEACH SHOOT

A NEW APPROACH

After collecting a number of memories from a variety of different people, I have tried to divide them under the headings of music, shape, colour and speech, logic and math and am finding it extremely hard to place them under these titles by looking at the memory written down on a piece of paper. I was aiming for this project to be broad by being based on memories across a variety of people some of which I don't know creating diversity in my work. 

I want this brief to allow me to produce work that freely and in doing that gain a project that shows my best skills as an illustrator. I want to show that I am able I can develop my style to any brief thrown my way as I believe that being versatile is something that will be invaluable in the industry. I will have to be flexible to meet my clients demands. Throughout the last project I limited myself to only illustrating around one topic, using the same imagery over and over. So rather than produce a body of work that is very similar I want to be able to show a variety within my work.

Although Memory is the topic that I am basing this project on I have decided that by illustrating many different memories, with each memory being a separate piece I will show that I can work from many different texts. As I have progressed to this stage in the brief I have discovered that I have the opportunity to make this a more personal journey of discovery. Part of the feedback from the last brief was that I could have used the last brief as a more personal exploration of genetics. 

So instead of using a variety of other peoples memories to complete this project I am going to focus on my own memories. Memories of my childhood, earliest memories right up until the present newest memories. Where I am finding it near impossible putting other peoples memories under the catagories of shape, music, colour, logic, math and speech, from guessing what triggered these memories from the memories I have written down. I will be able to do this easily with my own memories as I will know what has triggered them as soon as I remember them. 

I will be illustrating these memories as they come to me, as a certain smell or colour reminds me of something. These memories can then be written down as they come to me, so I can go home and illustrate them. I will end up with a complete variety of probably quite random, interesting and strange pieces of work, but that have meaning and are personal to me.

TUTORIAL

Following this weeks tutorial there alot of areas relating to my topic that I haven't yet explored throughly enough. 

After showing the group my 6 images, 3 of which focusing on the side of the brain that controls memory focusing on shape, colour and music, and the other math, speech and logic. These are very basic, experiments allowing me to find ways of portraying these themes through memory's. 

I explained that I was aiming to for my work to have two visible different styles, dividing this project in two, into two halves representing either side of the brain controlling memory. It was suggested that does every illustration need to incorporate all three themes or could you just when necessary just one theme in each illustration? This would in fact make it easier to divide the memories I have collected under these topics rather than trying in place them in all three.

It was also suggested that I explore further into these topics of colour, shape, music, logic, math and speech looking at visual imagery already existing. By focusing on creating imagery I will then build up a substantial body of imagery which I can then present in final outcomes. 

SPEECH, LOGIC & MATH

SHAPE, COLOUR & MUSIC