home IG: @_lucyartwork artwork statement
growing pains
Semester 2
My artwork so far in Studio 2 has focussed on different angles of liminality and landed on the developmental psychology of adolescence. Malawi Tribes and Arnold Van Gennep‘s anthropology writings relate liminality to transition through historical context
and psychological theory, leading to my own artwork on adolescence through my own visual analysis on portraiture. My exhibition piece landed on a multi-media painting looking at adolescence as a liminal stage and the psyche behind how it can feel during this time.I intend to look further into the psychology behind adolescence in its own right and how they may separate from the rest of society or feel like they do so. By doing this, I split my research up into four themes and three different branches of adolescence.
statement
My exhibition piece is inspired by the liminality of adolescence- split into three themes of Identity, Bodies, and Incomplete. It is a mixed media artwork with both 2D and 3D elements, with embroidery and a mask attached to the top right. The materials used to create this artwork was acrylic paint, embroidery string, paint markers (to outline the artwork and add detail/vibrancy to the skin), and of course paintbrushes, a needle and scissors, and the 100x150cm sized canvas.
The exposed body, modelled by myself creates a vulnerability explored throughout my documentation identified in the lives of adolescents. Adding texture through stippling techniques with the brushes and paint markers enhances the skin and draws attention to it, also achieved by the complimentary blue and orange field of colour. The cold shadows and blue clothing and outline makes the body cohesive to the mask and embroidered tears. Additionally, these shadows and the hunched body language emphasises the stomach of the girl, drawing focus to the lanky and underdeveloped feelings of adolescents.
The painting of the mask was included to bring distortion and abstraction into the artwork. The mask was added in the top right corner to add to this, while filling empty space. I used embroidery- as experimented with in my work on Identity and signatures. However, I disincluded my signature on the front of my artwork (only signing the back) to remove the objectification and labelling that may confuse my artwork with a whole other bodies issue: surrounding gender.
Ultimately, my artwork explores the alienation and ambiguity of someone clearly lost and searching, ironic in the blacked-out eyes- done so to remove their sense of identity. The painting taps into the psyche of adolescence through their body language, incompleteness, and discomfort.
RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION- Click on the images below.
IDENTITY bodies incomplete colours
Gallery Visits - Berlin FINAL IDEAS- planning and creating my exhibition piece
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In planning the composition of my exhibition piece, I initially drew my inspiration from earlier documentation at the start of my research on Christina Quarles by feeding blue into the negative space. However, following my experimentation with Colours, I decided to work with a darker background to emphasise the loneliness and focus on the colours of the body and skin instead.
creating my final piece- click on the video links below.