Summer Exhibition Review

I went to a series of exhibitions this summer in order to contextualise my work and learn and be inspired by works that later triggered what I wanted to explore and depict through my designs. I visited the BP Art award at the National Portrait gallery. At the gallery a variety of portraits are selected by artists worldwide and are displayed at the gallery for a fixed time. A series of paintings I saw really moved me and displayed evidence of augmentation and in some cases restriction. Geert Scheels work in particular a photo realist painting really stood out to me. It featured a woman central to the composition with a bin bag over her head. The bin bag extends her height and the width of her body as it appears to be devouring the subject. As the subject’s identity is hidden the only suggestion that the figure is female is due to the subjects clothing of a skirt and tights. Augmentation is generally used in positive instances  in order to increase superiority by making something or someone appear  bigger or taller but in this case  the bin bag demeans  the subject merely  using her  as a host in which to live; restricting our view of the subject  and the subjects own view of the audience.

The female figure remains almost isolated and excluded from the painting. It appears that the bin bag is tightly wrapped around the female figures upper torso blinding the figure and also restricting the free movement of the figures arms. It is almost as if the figure is held hostage and is trapped unable to seek refuge. Alternatively, the bin bag can depict a visual metaphor of self-loathing; the colloquial expression’ feeling like rubbish’ comes to mind. This painting is beautiful and evokes the idea that explores the depiction of how an individual can remain unrecognisable as a portrait because of the absence of the face which makes the figure become a sinister microorganism a soulless being that has lost their identity. On closer inspection    the female figure is further tapped by a large dingy background that seems to be personified, slightly creeping its way forward enclosing her in the foreground. The monochrome palette largely based on the colour grey implies misery and depression (the often temperamental British weather comes to mind).Looking at this painting it forces you to think and then challenges your own thoughts to dig deeper in order to empathise with the negative feelings of sorrow and pain that the artist is trying to convey. It is a wonderful painting and looking at it I feel comforted and content.

Furthermore, I also visited the Imperial War Museum in order to view the various missiles and weaponry that were used during the WW1 and WW11. I was interested in how simple leavers and mechanism worked together in order to instigate pain. I felt that such research would spark an idea relating to augmentation the guns and the pistols I viewed were like extensions of the hand that can inflict pain far more incredulous than any mere human hand could do. Fascinating! The silenced pistol in particular had a long tube like column body and a short pump range and with the mere grip of the trigger a mechanism inside would thrust a bullet forward potentially causing a fatal wound. This immediately inspired design of a hand extending mechanism that can grip and retrieve things much like a hand but from a further distance. I also liked the anti-splinter mask it looked threatening despite this  it was also proactive as the leather mouth guard and the shielded eye ports  restricted vision but also concealed and protects the individual beneath. This sparked the idea of featuring restrictive elements in my work, a shield that barricades someone from the external world outside. I really enjoyed visiting the museum I was able to think about what I saw and channel  and focus my thoughts in accord to the summer task  which enabled me  to associate  war and conflict  with caution and self-preservation which were themes that definitely inspired my final design ideas.