survey response
For this narrative piece I wanted to capture the story without simply illustrating the events occurring. A surrealistic aspect was something I was considering, introducing the object as a texture within a bigger piece and incorporating it in a more interesting, captivating way.
Thinking about the important aspects of the narrative I was given I got to work sketching out some composition ideas in my notebook to put down on paper my thoughts for the piece. Enjoying the idea of using the seeds as a texture, my aim was to incorporate them as a ‘floor’ or ‘base’ texture to echo the mass of ceramic sunflower seeds lay across the ground in the Tate London for Ai Wei Wei’s exhibition.
compositional sketches
“Ai Wei Wei Sunflower Seed” base ink drawing
While in the early stages of this piece, having the base drawing finished, I got some encouraging feedback and discussed my ideas; my aim for this piece to take it further was to add the handwritten survey response in the background of this piece. This would take the personal aspect of the piece even further and would add an extra element to this. For this, I printed the handwriting reversed on acetate and burnished it onto my piece.
I think that this piece communicates well through the use of visual replacement and an element of surrealism; the hands painting the body of ceramic sunflower seeds beneath the Millennium Bridge narrate the personal story behind this object.
“Ai Wei Wei Sunflower Seed” Final Piece
Receiving positive feedback on this piece, it was clear to me that using the object as a texture works well to create a narrative space for these nostalgic memories.
We discussed the idea of using that technique moving forward to create a consistent profile and approach to these narratives; incorporating the objects in an interesting way and embedding them within the piece.