Project Introductions: Edgelands and Ruins

It's been a busy few weeks! I realised with so many other posts I haven't had the chance to explain my current project on here so I'm currently in the middle of my first personal project entitled Edgelands and Ruins. This is something I started over the summer, working on mindmaps, initial research and figuring out the direction I want to take with this project. 

My main aim was to utilise this project for exploring a new theme and processes. Moreover, working on story ideas and bringing them into realisation. Instead of a final outcome, I want to create a body of work that reflects the theme and shows a different side to my practice, focusing on mark-making, texture and monochromatic imagery. I enjoyed working on this over the summer, taking the time to do more printmaking and trying new mark-making techniques.

Much of the work I've produced so far have been illustrations responding to artist research and research of industrial structures. This included Bernd and Hilla Becher, a collaborative duo who travelled Europe and the US through the 1950s. Together, they photographed industrial structures that can no longer be found today

Through my prints, I've created a series of industrial monsters and stories of discovering a long lost, abandoned pottery mill to make into a children's book. I plan to continue experimenting with monochromatic imagery, inspired by research and primary imagery taken in Portugal of the rustic old villages on the edge of more populated towns. I like the idea of this juxtaposition, looking at how places change as you leave the centre and journey into the unknown. Over the summer, I produced a large body of practical work so in the next few weeks, I plan to expand on the ideas generated and create some kind of finished outcome. This could be an experimental zine incorporating all the prints I've produced with a narrative linking them together. I like the idea of a boy journeying out of the city to find a forgotten land with industrial structures.

Bernd and Hilla Becher, Winding Towers, 1966

Linking to the idea of producing a zine, it could be interesting to utilise the Risoprinter, creating layers to print in different colours and opacities with industrial shapes. This idea reminded me of the title sequence in Monsters Inc (2001). The abstracted doors all flying into the foreground and fractured monster shapes coming to eat them. I love how playful this is and it represents what I want to achieve through this project. 

Targets for this project:

• Stay experimental, looking at how the theme can be approached in different ways. Whether it is a children's book narrative or collection of prints I want to continue improving my skill set and think about alternative creative solutions.
• Taking inspiration from trips like Yorkshire Sculpture Park, past holidays and finding local pottery mills for primary research. I think it's important to incorporate contextual elements to make the project both personal and relatable for the audience. 
• Utilising a longer time frame. This allows me more time to explore concepts as the initial planning and development stages always take time away from practical work.
• Producing a portfolio of work rather than a final piece; all work that can be included in my portfolio website and be a good addition to my portfolio book next year.
• Using primary imagery from Prague, Portugal, Iceland looking at the edges of cities and the idiosyncrasies of everyday life that could be incorporated. For example, catching the tram in Prague.

The Museum of Modern Art. 2021. Bernd Becher, Hilla Becher. Winding Towers. 1966-97 | MoMA. [online] Available at: <https://www.moma.org/collection/works/136060> [Accessed 24 October 2021].

Artofthetitle.com. 2021. Monsters, Inc. [online] Available at: <https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/monsters-inc/> [Accessed 25 October 2021].