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Yarn (wool) on gloss acrylic sheet 130 x 100cm

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Not sure colours work next to eachother. I like that the painting looks 'real' but when you get close it's a digital print, references how we consume art now

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Need to find a way to mount the fabric, could also try wrapping it and see how this works with the self-portrait. The digital nature of the print adds an extra layer of meaning to the work, from a distance the piece looks painted but as you move closer you realise it is a reproduction. It reflects how we increasingly consume art online. The line between reality and unreality. It sits between a traditonal still life and the digital world we now live in. It is an external movement that has been flattened and digitalised.

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Oscar Maurillo and Rachel Jones 'Mixing it Up' exhibition and the Hayward gallery

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Motherhood (self-portrait)
Yarn on acrylic, 135cm x 100cm

Aims and objectives

At the core of 'on having an outside' lies a duality, can you have an outside without an inside? This friction between the inside and outside and the internal and external are themes I plan to explore in my FMP.

I am interested in using textiles within my art work. As a medium textiles has a long association with women and domesticity, both of which are areas I hope to consider. Mark making has also become an important and expressive tool for me and I hope to use this as a way of exploring the conflict within the project brief.

Influences and development

The idea of motherhood and the self have emerged as significant themes from which I can explore the idea of having an outside. Children can be both internal to you but also external, they are both part of you and outside of you, both part of your identity but with their own identity.

As part of the brief I looked at the work of a number of artists, key to my FMP was the work of Cecilia Vicuña. A Chilean born artist she uses textiles to explore ideas of language, memory and politics. Her pieces are often abstract, using colour and form to tap into larger themes, in an interview with Vicuña she states 'I am nothing and nothingness is truly the best condition that we as humans have. We can be poems, plants, animals, rocks, we can be anything.'(1) I found the idea of deconstructing the self to the point of nothingness, but seeing this as a positive, inspiring. Through this deconstruction can come enlightenment.

Reflective summaries

Through the course of my FMP I have been able to see the impact the past year has had on my personal practice. Key for me, has been the encouragement from tutors to experiment and accept failure as a critical part of the learning process. During the final project I planned to create two pieces of work that were in dialogue with each other; one a textiles based self-portrait the other a painted still-life. However, I have struggled to make the two pieces work together, and currently the initial concept feels slightly forced. However, due to the exploratory nature of the course this no longer disheartens me and instead has become a problem/challenge that I am excited to keep working on. Having been exposed to a range of techniques I now feel able to explore a variety of mediums to help me solve the disconnect. I have moved away from the painted picture and am trying to created a 'painted' textile piece.

Conclusion

Reflecting on the output from my FMP, I am happy with how 'Motherhood, a self-portrait' has developed. The piece works on a number of levels, through its abstract nature, it is an expression of my internal relationship with motherhood, the yarn representing the bond between mother and child, the constricting but also binding nature of this relationship, the struggle and the joy of motherhood. The reflective aspect of the acrylic allows for a literal self-portrait of the viewer, however, due to the yarn this portrait will always be fragmented, representing the breaking and rebuilding of oneself through motherhood. There were a few technical difficulties with this piece, the acrylic I chose was too thin and hard to work with, I would also like to experiment with curved corners so the shape isn't so harsh and I would like to find a way to better photograph my work so it gives a clearer sense of the 3D nature of the piece.

Over the next year I would like to develop the techniques I have learnt such as painting, print making and textiles. I also plan to continue building on the themes I have addressed in the FMP, expanding the idea of wrapping and also including a performative element to the work. I hope by doing this I will be able to build on developing an artistic voice alongside compiling a portfolio with which I can apply for a fine art masters.

Reference

(1) Cecilia Vicuña: The Colour of Compassion, in conversation with Daniel Borzutzky San Francisco, 31 March 2021 [online] available at https://ocula.com/magazine/conversations/cecilia-vicuna/ [Accessed 20 December 2021]

Bibliography

Online
Guardian Rachel Jones, 24: ‘Trying to second-guess what other people want is a recipe for disaster’ [online] interview https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/nov/15/rachel-jones-interview-there-was-nothing-else-i-was-good-at [Acessed 28 November 2021]

Ocula 'Cecilia Vicuña: The Colour of Compassion', in conversation with Daniel Borzutzky San Francisco, 31 March 2021 [online] available at https://ocula.com/magazine/conversations/cecilia-vicuna/ [Accessed 20 December 2021]

Studio International 'Clare Woods – interview: ‘Fragility and vulnerability have always been with me in my work’ an interview with David Trigg 25 May 2021 [online] https://www.studiointernational.com/index.php/clare-woods-interview-great-unknown-cristea-roberts-gallery-london [Accessed 6 December 2021]

Tate 'Cecilia Vicuña' [online] available at https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/cecilia-vicuna-21412 [Accessed 1 December 2021]

You tube 'Cecilia Viuna:Hugo Boss Prize 2020 Nominee'[online] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL_7MDuT8Xk [Accessed 1 December 2021]

You tube 'John Bergman 'Ways of Seeing' [online] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pDE4VX_9Kk [Accessed 28 November 2021]

Books
Flower: Exploring the World in Bloom, Phaidon press, London, 2020

Nature Morte: Contemporary artists reinvigorate the Still-life tradition, Michael Petry, Thames & Hudson Ltd, London, 2013

Oscar Murillo: By Means of a Detour, Kettle's Yard, Cambridge, 2021

Vitamin T: Threads & Textiles in Contemporary Art 'Cecilia Vicuña', Phaidon Press, London 2019

Exhibitions
'Mixing it Up' Hayward Gallery, Southbank, London, 2021

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Printed fabric, I like the intensity of the piece, the colours don't fully work with the self-portrait, if I had more time I would work on a better colour match

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Decided to paint on acrylic, i like the thickness of the paint, I am going to transfer this image to fabric and have it printed

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Close up of painting, I transferred this design to fabric but it didn't have the overwhelming impact I wanted

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Experimenting with oil sticks and mono print

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Trialing removing the vase and filling the page with flowers, also feel a textile element might work better with the self portait 

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I can't get this piece to work, it doesn't have the overwhelming feel I wanted and the colours don't work with the self portrait. I have over laid some yarn

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Tissue paper, oil pastels, acrylic, graphite, pencil on paper 83 x 25cm

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Enjoying the energy of the mark making, but feel the smaller prep piece worked better. Think the tomatoes need to be more abstracted and not sure spacing is working. Need to experiment with different glue to stop paper wrinkling. Rather than masking the area off, I drew a faint box which I tried to work within. I like this as the marks can slightly break out of the box giving a sense of movement on the page.

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I would love to include a performative element to the work in future and could also see the work becoming collective, with women taking it in turns to wrap.

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The process of wrapping the acrylic is incredibly physical and involves your whole body, this felt representative of pregnancy.

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I soon realised the acrylic I selected was too thin, it made it really difficult to work with as it kept bending

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I like the mark making and areas of colour but not happy with the composition, feels too cartoon like, at a later date I will try a full abstract

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Further experimentation on paper and acrylic

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Acrylic, Oil sticks and graphite on paper

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Preliminary sketches and artist research Clare Woods

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Recreating a dutch sill life using expressive mark making

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Final yarn and colour choice - see second presentation for reasoning

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Mind mapping colour choices and working on yarn thickness

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Building on the sculpture module I started wrapping card in yarn, I like the idea of what is revealed and concealed 

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Initially I thought that I would find still life boring, but I really enjoyed the positioning of the objects and the way you can bring a story or sense of fun to the pieces. I think the oil pastel pictures need more depth to them, perhaps a layering of marks or mediums.

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Acrylic paint and charcoal on wallpaper  130 x 50cm

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I have never worked on such a big scale before and I loved it. Due to the size, the work felt performative, which I feel brings a physicality to the piece. I am not sure about the colours in either piece but I enjoy the mark making.

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Gerhard Richter
Tracey Emin

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I struggled with the likeness in this module and have a long way to go in regards to that area. I do however like my mark making and I am noticing this is an area I would like to expand.

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Acrylic and oil pastel on paper 42 x 26cm

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Love the vibrancy of colour and combination of oil pastels on acrylic. Not sure the sofa is working as a focal point, could extend the table and get rid of the sofa. Enjoy that the piece is sitting between reality and abstraction

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Patrick Herron early works
Howard Hodgkins use of colour

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Loved the use of yarn in a sculptural setting. Enjoyed the idea of wrapping, what we reveal and conceal. Struggled with the clay and think that is reflected in the outcome, the piece seems generic and lacks an energy of other work. Next steps, experiment further with wrapping and building layers. Also prompted an idea for a piece of collaborative community work, write worries on tissue paper, wrap and hang multiple balls from ceiling.

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Sheila Hicks
Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Anni Albers

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I didn't think I would enjoy this module but I loved working in layers and with different patterns and textures. I also found working within a marked off area liberating. I would like to take forward some of these techniques.

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I enjoyed working with the tissue paper, I have notice layers are an area I'm interested in and using the paper helps me to achieve this. Combining mark making and paper was great, but again I need to find a way to make the paper less wrinkly, will try stretching the paper and also using nori glue. PVA gives a shine which I don't like. Further steps are to take sections of an artists work and use as my basis for an abstraction.

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Joseph Albers
Henri Matisse

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I felt the medium required a small paper size. Watercolours are very unpredictable in their movement, I also found the colours a bit wishy washy and as a result ended up combining watercolours with ink. The composition is also bland and doesn't seem to have a point that draws you in, seems hap hazard in an unintentional way.