IA2 Project – Inquiry Phase 2 How are underlying messages conveyed throughout works of art used to channel cultural experiences by applying the process of application of technique and objects that depict as metaphors?
FOCUS – INQUIRY PHASE 2 The focus for my body of work is the lost memories in response to the transition of moving from a home to another. Memories that have been lost in correspondence to change, a journey that has departed the cultural connection that wasthere. Memories come in all forms,physical,psychological,cultural whilst family plays a crucial role within the contexts of migration, for memory provides of its continuity of dislocations of individual and social identity,particularly in the country Greece,a nation that is large part formed by migration. Paul Ricoeur, a French philosopher, accounts and argues of the importance of memory from place. He advises that the places ‘remain’ as inscriptions, monuments, potentially as documents, whereas, places memories transmitted only along the oral path fly away as do the words themselves. Immigrants use their place to look back on their safe place of home, the history teaches us that naming a space does not always guarantee the external existence of people and our memories of them, let alone provide safe harbors for ourfragileidentities.
ARTIST STATEMENT
These etchings explore the experience of lost memories and the anxieties of moving to a different place. Each artwork portrays a memory that I have experienced, either through a photo I have taken during my experiences in Greece or symbols that have connected with these memories of myself, parents, and my grandparents. The chest where I have placed the group of objects and artworks have corresponding messages regarding the memories taken away. The old Greek schoolbooks of my mums when she went to school in Greece reflect the dismissing things that she learned and the experience that she left behind. The Kytherian flowers act as a metaphor of where the nature of the home evokes feelings of nothingness on one hand, mixed with feelings of endless memories on the other. The significance of letters that I made have blurred messages of my great-grandfather’s funeral notice in the Greek newspaper, that my grandmother has still held onto. This portrays a sense of holding onto the past. Additionally, the empty bottles portray as metaphors of empty souls, especially when leaving family and friends behind.
RESOLVED COLLECTION OF WORK
A forgotten memory 4 panels Etching
RESOLVED COLLECTION DISPLAY VIEW FROM THE RIGHT
RESOLVED COLLECTION DISPLAY VIEW FROM THELEFT
Annotated details of the resolved artworks
Developing Cultural context – Inspired by my family's roots of Greek heritage and the memories that they left behind as immigrants toAustralia. Goddess Themis is a focus of the work as she portrays the feelings and emotions that my family went through when they fled their homes.They had courage, determination and hope, similarly as Themis does. My focus of ’losing a memory’ was communicated through letters in which I decorated with Greek power of myth that was greatly appreciated in Greece at the time, along with my great grandfather's funeral notice that was held onto by my grandmother.This was communicated through overlapping drawing and imagery to communicate loss and confusion .
Reflecting my visual expression created a layer of confusions by creating gradual layers of objects associated with the etches that capture the ‘harsh’ experience that my family faced. These ‘harsh’ experiences were replicated with the technique of etching, the movement of forward without knowing where your line will end up. These things create motion that my family didn’t know what was going to happen to them whilst fleeing from their homes. The empty bottles replicate that when they fled they had nothing but the clothes on their backs, the camera evoking a feeling of capturing those lost memories, and the books evoking an effective visual that was used in that period of time.
Researching Research influencing my central focus: Deb Moserts overlapping techniques of intricate layers of tone to create dimensions of fading against warm earthy tones. Her creative theoretical domain of contemporary cultural memory has been dominated by European studies which create a formation that explores the absence of origins, the inability to return and suspension of memory and its contemporary geographic locations.
Supporting Evidence
Initial thoughts of graffiti were more as a literal use of metaphor through the incorporation of overlapping memories. This later developed into the metaphor of the assortment of objects. I started to spray-painting a variety of different methods of Themis, a Greek god who presents hope in hard situations, which essentially connected to my family's situation.
I used a cultural context of experiences of when I went to Greece especially last year. I took photos of controversial sayings against economy and other corrupting sayings against Greece's and their struggles. This triggered my initial thoughts as graffiti is seemed to be used frequently in Athens in a way of calling for help. I considered using this strong aspect that seems to be bombarded in Athens to turn it into my work
Experimenting with colour - I decided touse, red for harshness and anger, blue for the purity that the Greeks had orange replicating encouragement
Photos that I took, and quotes which relate to my resolved work
Greek gods and goddesses formed significant thoughts to the Greeks. The Greeks believed to have prayed to these gods to protect them, they also thought that these gods would control their lives. I had reached into how they influenced the Greeks immensely which made me consider goddess Themis who replicated balance, courage and hope. This reflected my family immigrating to Australia. Similarly the textures and compositions of colour that I researched of these gods were significant in creating a metaphor of calmness within a destructive world.
Research of mythology and how it connects to my family heritage A painting of Themis using acrylic paints, considering colour and layers of tone tocreate dimension Deb Mostert, an artist who displays immigrant experience through objects which display conveying messages towards the viewer. The inspiration of Themis influenced my positionof how the resolved artwork was going to be. I wanted to use the symbol of the eyes covered to represent lost memories, the memories that are unable to be seen anymore.
A range of imagesthat I attempted to sketch of my mother and her extended family. I also photocopied these sketches to create a block style work. This work suggests that there is simply nothing in between, the harsh lines block out the internal meaning,and that internalmeaning being the memories she left behind in Greece.
In terms of metaphorical meaning rather than visual expression. Deb Mostert replicates expression of photos through a different concept. The concept of the unknown, similarly as to what I have achieved throughout this work, I have combined two photos of my mother and grandmother, mixed with my greatgrandfather along with my aunty. This moment in time it was winter in Greece and there was hardly anything to do. This captures the calmness of nature around them mixed with a textual fade implying a loss in time.
As my ideas progressed, I refined the technique that I was going to portray throughout my resolved artwork. I decided to use an etching process rather than a spray painting process as I was able to show great depth of colour and tonal value that was prominent throughout the artwork. Envelopes convey hidden messages inside. Therefore, I have chosen an envelope as a metaphor to create suspension throughout the work. These were originally part of my experimental pieces with only the Greek writings, however thinking about how I could connect this further made me draw symbols such as hands departing and a Greek god. These symbols conveyed a further message that might not have been clear at the start, this effectively progressed as I was doing the resolvedwork.
The experiment that I have conducted to the left shows overlapping symbols of Greek culture. This overlapping process acts as a metaphor of confusion within a dark space (tonal shades). It is implying the uplifting a not so uplifting experience of Greek culture. Another experimental work which is incorporated throughout my resolved work is this doubleheaded eagle. It is the emblem of the refugees who fled from Greece. This really connected to my resolved work and my family's history of migrating from Greece. To this day this symbol is unknown to many people, as to why I used this as a hidden message to the audience, making them have rational thoughts andquestions. Very harsh etching strokes have been engraved numerous timesto evoke the underlying message of misery. watercolour