Although this love does not necessarily have to be romantic, it is a part of the human condition that connection with others is an essential part of our survival and emotional fulfillment.

"According to Greek Mythology, humans were originally created with four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them in two different parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves.

- Plato, The Sympossium. (370 BCE)

Set in our very own universe, including all of the things we experience today, with one small difference: All humans have four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. Each human would be physically connected to their soulmate, we would never separate, and that one person who we spend our lives in search of would be right next to us for our entire lives. Humankinds power would be like never before.

Inspired by Patricia Piccinini's "Making Kin Not Babies: and Haraway's "Making Kin Beyond Babies. (Mimosa, M. & Nor A )2020). Along with The Imaginary Worlds Podcast, "Making up creatures" (Molinsky, E. 2020): I will aim to create a final piece which captures my thoughts on what we as humans would look like if we were attached to our one true love. Through using mediums such as sculpture and materials like wire and paper mache, I will endeavor to create a 3D sculpture which not only apprehends what people would look like, but also how we would feel. I aim to portray this through body language and facial expressions.

Further inspired by Seligman's novel, "The Thinking Medium", I will target my creatures' thoughts through their positioning in the sculpture. "A vehicle for expressing and recording thoughts, and itself a kind of thought process: a medium of thinking in." (Seligman, I. (2016).

Secondly, I am greatly inspired by the Symposium, Plato (370 BCE) and the authors ability to use creativity in telling a story. Plato expresses his great love of wisdom, and I will aim to channel these ideas within my work. I am also inspired by how Plato speaks about love. Particularly love in Greek Mythology. The following quote captures his story telling abilities perfectly.

"And when one of them meets with his other half, the actual half of himself whether he be a lover of youth, or a lover of another sort, the pair are lost in the amazement of love, and friendship and intimacy."

- Plato, The Sympossium (370 BCE)

My goal is to show humankinds appreciation for true love through my final artwork.

Lastly, I am also inspired by Seligman's novel, 'The Thinking Medium' (Seligman, I. (2016) and aim to capture thought within my artwork. What are the creatures thinking and what are the viewers contemplating when viewing my artwork?

This trial was originally inspired by a quote from Platos, The Symposium which reads: "Love is born into every human being; it calls back the halves of our original nature together; it tries to make one out of two and heal the wound of human nature." Plato, The Sympossium. (370 BCE)

I think that considering this was a blind contour drawing, that my bag is represented quite clearly in it's true form. Perhaps the slight imperfections of the bag in the illustration pay tribute to the experiences the bag has seen in the past year, and it has become warn.

I wonder if more shading could have been added to create further dimension within the piece.

I think that it is quite obvious that this is a blind contour drawing given its messy nature, however this could be because it was quite far in the distance from where I was drawing this picture.

I wonder if this object was closer to me if I would have depicted smaller details better and if the illustration would become more clear.

Dalgarno, P. (2017, March 31). Beautiful and unsettling: The world of artist Patricia Piccinini. Unimelb.edu.au; The University of Melbourne. https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/beautiful-and-unsettling-the-world-of-artist-patricia-piccinini#:~:text=The%20figure%E2%80%99s%20constituent%20materials%20%E2%80%93%20silicone

Molinsky, E. (2020, June 1). Making up creatures. Imaginary Worlds Podcast [Podcast].

Patricia Piccinini - Exhibitions. (2023). Patriciapiccinini.net. https://patriciapiccinini.net/

Seligman, I. (2016). Introduction: The ‘thinking medium’. Lines of thought: Drawing from Michelangelo to now (pp. 10–31). Thames &​ Hudson.

The Symposium Quotes by Plato. (2020). Goodreads.com. https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1488719

I think that although this piece did not end up looking exactly like the mask that hung in the classroom where I created this work. The tones and colors used in this piece give the object character, almost a personality of its own.

I wonder how the piece would have looked more realistic if I had of used less paint to make the paint strokes slightly more prominent.

I think that this ballerina looks contemplative. Or perhaps it could be argued that she looks concentrated. Making sure she applies discipline to her practice. Perfect movements and moves, a complete opposite to the brush strokes that make her come alive.

I wonder what the dancer is thinking about. Does she enjoy what she is doing? where is she dancing and who is she dancing for ?

I think that this work is strangely beautiful. The use of different sized and shaped lines to depict different parts works together to create an image that is surprisingly cohesive.

I wonder if this cohesion would have continued if I had of added to the body to make it complete. If I added a face, arms and legs, would this picture still make as much of an impression on the viewer?

I think that I have grown a real liking to the way fine like looks over the top of watercolor. It really extenuated the plants drawn. I like that the work has an aspect of messiness to it.

I wonder what the piece would have looked like if I was more meticulous with coloring in the flowers exactly with the paints.

I think that this piece worked out well and that the use of watercolor to depict creatures who live in the ocean is very fitting. The imperfections of the water marks on the bubbles depicts the flow of the water that surrounds these creatures perfectly.

I wonder how I could add to this piece to further show viewers the environment I imagine the jellyfish to be in.

I think this piece is beautiful in its simplicity. So much emotion and soul is portrayed through a single line. I think that it is amazing how a piece of art, this uncomplicated can achieve such a thing.

I wonder If this is what I believe soulmates to look like, if this is the sense of peace I wish to portray in my final work. Is it the faces of the characters that I would like to draw the most attention to, or maybe another aspect, such as their bodies.

In this particular trial, I purposely kept out the bottom halves of the characters bodies to make us question whether they are connected that way. Forever in a loving embrace with the one that they love the most.

I think that the use of the charcoal was a great was to include simplicity in a sophisticated way. The charcoal is not smudged at all to create contrast or shadow, but simply there to portray an embrace of love.

I wonder If I should apply this model to my final. Perhaps have two lovers facing each other in a loving embrace depicted in my sculpture.

I think that this idea definitely could have been achieved in a way that provided more clarity, the hands do not look completely realistic and require more work.

I wonder if I will include the holding of hands in my final piece. This could be an important aspect to include when considering true love, as the holding of hands represents many things included under the umbrella of love, such as showing affection, or safety/ protection. Maybe a lack of letting go.

I think that the things that I didn't prepare for such as the marks in my illustration made by the floorboards make the work all the more unique and beautiful. It truly shows where I was when I created the piece and does not compromise the true color and shape of the song from showing in my work.

I wonder how long I could have continued to add to this work before it came unclear to me what I was listening to in relation to the art I was creating. I wonder how my work would look different practicing this exercise while listening to different songs. Or perhaps if I listened to something like spoken word poetry while completing the exercise.

I think that the overlaying nature of the leaves compared to the fence really draws attention to the individuality of the leaves and all of their different qualities.

I wonder that if there were more objects around me at the time of creating this illustration how it would be different.

I think that the quality of taking a kind of abstract approach to this drawing enabled me to capture the beatidul qualities of the tree and the country I was on whilst I was drawing this piece.

I wonder where the person who was walking under the tree was off to, perhaps they were taking a stroll appreciating the beautiful parts of country and appreciating them just as I was.

I think that although this creature may make some individuals feel uncomfortable, that it is important for viewers to sit with this feeling and question the abnormal.

I wonder what inspired me to make this particular creature, why was it so that I took interest in the bird and the human features, had I seen something like this before? maybe in a dream??

I think that this sort of bird / creature looks quite realistic and not very farfetched from our reality today.

I wonder if I could have used more elements in creating this work and whether this would have made the creature more interesting in it's form.

- “Human nature was originally one and we were a whole, and the pursuit of the whole is called love.” Plato, The Sympossium. (370 BCE)

Love, especially true love is something that is constantly on my mind. When will it happen? Why does it happen? and how differently does it look for each individual?

I am extremely excited at the prospect of exploring this in my artwork.

 Before creating my final piece of work, I undertook some research on Greek Mythology to thoroughly address my question and found myself apprehended by Plato’s ‘The Symposium’ (370 BCE) and how this ancient Greek philosopher spoke of love at its core.  “Love is born into every human being; it calls back the halves of our original nature together; it tries to make one out of two and heal the wound of human nature.” (Plato, The Symposium, 370 BCE). I then began to imagine what these creatures would look like, if two humans, who loved each other, unconditionally would look like if they were one. Haraway’s ‘Making Kin Beyond Babies’ (Mimosa, M. & Noe A (2020), along with Patricia Piccinini’s work ‘Making Kin, Not Babies’ (Patricia Piccinini – Exhibitions, 2023) were prominent research tools in inspiring me to create a creature that may not be conventionally pleasing to look at but is still beautiful in an unconventional way. I thought that this would be important in fully addressing my research question, and portraying love in its fullness, and uniqueness. I began my final artwork by trialing materials such as clay and wire, I used airdry clay given that there were time restrictions in place and began to sculpt these imaginary creatures. I was also intrigued by wire and created outlines of lovers with one piece of wire to demonstrate soulmates whose individual love for one another is intertwined into one, following the idea that soulmates were born into one body, one piece of wire connecting them into one entity. Additionally, Molinsky’s ‘The Thinking Medium’ also aided my endeavors into my final work causing me to think critically about the environment I was creating my artwork in, making sure it was appropriate, and caused me to wonder what it was about my daily environment that caused me to become to fixated on the idea of true love and soulmates. I am certain that the environment of my childhood and the perfect example of love that my parents were able to provide me in my formative years have allowed me to think positively about love and believe in soulmates and the possibility of true love. However, I am aware that others may not have been so lucky. This was very helpful to recognize while creating my final piece of art. Walcot’s paper on ‘Romantic Love and True Love’ (Walcot, P 1987) was additionally useful in understanding while working on addressing my research question. This paper analyses love. Why people marry, and the difference between romantic love and true love.

Through undertaking extensive research both before and whilst I was creating my final piece, I was able to create a clay sculpture in which a human is contemplating love and imagining their soulmate, their thoughts visible through wire silhouette of lovers, naming it ‘souls intertwined’. Addressing my research question and further enabling the viewer to contemplate what their ideal love looks like. Encouraging them that their dreams of this love may well become reality.

'Making Kin Beyond Babies' (Mimosa, M. & Nor A (2020),

'Making Kin, Not Babies' (Patricia Piccinini - Exhibitions, 2023)

the Symposium, Plato (370 BCE)

Seligman's 'The Thinking Medium' (Seligman, I. (2016)

Molinsky, E. (2020, June 1). Making up creatures. Imaginary Worlds Podcast [Podcast].

Walcot, P. (1987). ROMANTIC LOVE AND TRUE LOVE: GREEK ATTITUDES TO MARRIAGE. Ancient Society, 18, 5–33. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44034969

I chose to present my final work on this particular plinth/ shelf as I believed that by being able to show the work upright, and on a higher level (slightly above eyeline), the ethereal nature in which the question stemmed from would be appropriately represented. As the bottom of the sculpture (chin) was not flat, I was able to use blue tack to hold it in place. Upon reflection, I would have considered this more deeply in the creation of my work, and perhaps made the bottom of the sculpture flat so it could stand up on it's own.

I chose to add the black paper behind my work in presentation as not only did it provide contrast to the silver wire, allowing the silhouettes to really shine through. It also contrasted to the gold acrylic paint, and tied into the black lowlights in the sculpture, allowing a perfect balance of contrast and clarity in presentation.

Through indulging in an extensive amount of research into this particular topic, I have come to the conclusion that although my imaginary world in which soulmates are connected physically into one body is, at least in the modern world fictional (depicted in the wire sculptures); I have come to the conclusion that there is some sort of soul tied connection between soulmates which subconsciously caused me to additionally portray this in my final sculpture.

The phenomenon of yearning for, or missing someone you are yet to meet, or in turn, finding the one who you feel to have known for your whole life, is a connection that cannot be explained. So therefore, I truly believe there to be some truth behind this legend.