For my Research Methodology project, I decided to look at Kingfishers, a small breed of bird that live by running water. They have a vibrant orange and blue colouring which makes them incredibly distinctive. Despite this, although they are not endangered in the UK, few people you ask have actually spotted one in their lifetime.
Whilst observing their behavioral patterns I became increasingly interested in the kingfisher courting process. The male will feed the female of his choice a series of dead fish head first, which I started to refer to as 'the engagement fish'. My visual experiments from this point became about dead fish as a romantic symbol.
For the recent Research Methodology project, I looked at the Jaguar. Whilst trying to get an understanding of the animal, I had some fun with white charcoal on black paper. Obviously at least some of the appeal of working in this way is the immediate novelty- a simple line drawing is an inverse of a pen or pencil on white paper. Beyond this though it's interesting that in tonal drawings you'll only be creating areas that are lighter than the background. So if you intend a conventional image the negative space will become shadow. This makes you think a bit about the surface you're working with, and mixing up working from a light, mid tone or dark surface.
In the end I looked at the significance of the Jaguar to Aztec people, prompted by the difficulty it has in surviving alongside humans today. I produced a series of posters to provide a basic overview of the relationship between Aztec culture and an animal they respected and admired.
For my Research Methodology project I decided
to look at the Red fox. I've always had a soft spot for foxes and I really
wanted to explore the controversy between how people see foxes. I found that many people see foxes as pests and
vermin and are portrayed in a bad light. Although others see the much gentler,
cute side to foxes which is what I see. I also found that foxes can be trained
just like dogs and there are people who actually own foxes as pets. Towards my
final piece I decided to research more into what 'fox' as a word actually meant
which then lead me to the words 'trickster' and 'joker'. I wanted to try to
then show the 2 sides that people portray a fox to be, the Trickster/vermin and
the Cute/gentle side. I illustrated this onto wood to create a sort of 'joker
card'.
For my Research
Methodology project, I looked into moths, a misunderstood type of creature with
many fascinating qualities. My main focus was the comparison between light and dark,
as whilst researching the moth I noticed that this was a common theme that kept
appearing, such as the way they mainly dwell in the night, but have a deadly
infatuation for light. I also discovered two moths that had an interesting contrast
with one another. One was the Luna Moth, a beautiful green insect with an
almost luminescent quality and delicate wings, the other, a Death’s Head Hawk Moth,
the subject of much hatred and a sign of a bad omen, with drab colours, a heavy
body, and of course, the infamous markings of a skull on it’s thorax. I then
started to investigate in to how I could portray this comparison, and
experimented with bleach and ink, black and white, and eventually came to the
art of shadow puppetry and theatre. This art form along with inspiration of the
surrealist film movement, led me to my final stop animation.
From the beginning of the Research Methodology, I knew I wanted research the peacock. People usually associate the Peacock with beauty and pride and I thought I would explore this direction before taking the project further. By researching the Peacock in depth I was able to understand the animal, both metaphorically and physically. It is a very inspirational animal which is presented throughout the media and by looking at people's opinions. I developed my concept of beauty and ugliness.
The Peacock is a very beautiful animal from the from, but once you look at it from the back it is very hideous and scary and I wanted develop this idea and combine it into one image that portrays both the beauty and ugliness of the peacock. Additionally, by looking into the fashion industry and their idea of beauty, I decided that I would make a magazine and exaggeratedly air brush my image to illustrate the media's perception of perfected beauty. Is beauty something to be perfected or is it something that comes naturally?
My illustration for the magazine cover, and the digital air brushed version
For my Research Methodology project I wanted to research hedgehogs. I found them quite gentle creatures that feature often in children's stories as well as being one of the most recognisable woodland creatures in our British wildlife.
('The Fox and the Hedgehog' stop motion animation I created with Helena Sepehr)
Through thorough research I discovered that the hedgehog is declining quickly in population due to many environmental factors, including fatal attacks from predators.
(Created using Charcoal and Adobe Photoshop)
Hedgehogs are vulnerable animals that are only armored by their spines. I wanted to look into how hedgehogs are protected as well as how they are seen in children's story books . This lead me to look into fairy tales and how the Enchanted forest is a place where the vulnerable, innocent character gets lost and found again.
(Pastel drawing of my interpretation of the Brother's Grimm fairy tale, Hans My Hedgehog)
(Etching of a hedgehog and his Uncanny shadow)
I was inspired by the work of Tim Burton and Dave Mckean to create illustrations that narrate the Uncanny and fear that the hedgehog faces in a world where they are weak, and may perhaps be seen as an unusual creature alone in a frightening habitat.
(Final Piece created from acrylic paint print, clay sculpture, photography and Adobe Photoshop)
Minus its funny name, the Sperm Whale is one of the most mysterious marine mammals known to mankind. I chose this majestic creature because it intrigued, fascinated and even frightened me. This is a species of whale that is known to be solitary, lonely and intelligent.
This is a true leviathan. It can grow bigger than 15 metres long and can dive underwater for 90 minutes at a time and can reach depths of 10, 500 feet. The Sperm Whale has been made Famous by sightings of Mocha Dick (real life Albino Sperm whale that has had 100's of skirmishes with whalers back in the 19th century) and the fictional Moby Dick (imagined by real life whaler Herman Melville who was inspired by Mocha Dick).
I had a dream where I saw this Sperm Whale, deep in the briny abyss, open its mouth, a dark hole in the oceanic blue, and suck me in.
I would describe the sperm whale with one word: Ominous.
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