Rachel Maclean, born 1987 in Edinburgh, is a contemporary artist who uses video to create a bizarre dystopian future that closely mimics issues in our current society. Her career progressed quickly having only graduated in 2009, from painting and drawing at Edinburgh College of Art, she now has shown work for Scotland in the Venice biennale as well as having exhibitions worldwide in a number of galleries such as the Tate and even had a feature film on the BBC.  She uses film and photography to create a fantasy realm that examines themes of politics, society and identity. MacLean transforms herself into different characters with costumes and make up to dive into a variety of different roles. She creates a grotesque, semi-fiction dimension in which the characters represent exaggerated and embellished versions of wealth, fame and consumer culture. Maclean offers a surreal otherly projection of the future whilst hinting towards a frightening, synthetic existence.

In “spite your face” Maclean creates a world in which the protagonist grows from a disadvantaged social positions into a place of power. He does this by continually delving deeper into a lie resulting in his nose to grow each time, much like the classic tale of Pinocchio, however in this version of the story he is praised for his large nose. The discussion of power is something i wanted to take inspiration from, she uses characters that lack typical morals to create the idea of a seemingly enforced unethical stand point. The idea of persistent, overwhelming pressure is something i want to focus on. A key point about macleans work is that its a show, the theatrical dress up is excessive and potent; full of rich symbolism and motifs. The elaborate materials is something that is relevant to my theme and the prevailing idea that power is perfomance.

Pipilotti Rist is a visual artist, who works experimentally with installation and video. Her works are a bizarre, surreal exploration of her surroundings known for their vibrant and colourful nature. An essence of play is predominant in her work, by using immersive camera perspective and a vast array of vivid colour, she engages the viewer into her exploratory world.

Born in Switzerland 1962, she studied commercial art, illustration and photography at the university of arts Vienna, then moved on to study at the school of design Basel for video. Whilst attending the school she produced her first well recognised video “im not the girl who misses much”, it shows the artist dancing around in front of a white background repeating the words in the title that were adapted from a john lennon song “happiness is a warm gun. Her movements are energetic and removed from self control, she eventually breaks free from her dress and continues to dance. This work comments on modern life, particularly that for women, moving like a puppet controlled by an overriding commander. Throughout the video the audio and visuals are sped up and slowed down mimicking how time can sometimes drag on or be lost beneath us. I specifically like this video as it has had many different meanings attached to it over time, watching a subject alone with their own thoughts and movements can relate to a wide variety of viewers. This inspired to make work about a solitary experience, the loud noises and overwhelmed flickering image speaks to a person in the moments of self consumption.

Another video that i will take inspiration from is “Ever is over all”, Rist walks lightly with a bounce in her step down the street holding a large colourful flower, she proceeds to smash car windows as she passes in a joyful purposeful manner. The defiance in this video is something i admire, the liberation in anarchic destruction presents a reluctance to conform or play by the rules. The contrast of the carnage and hypnotic softness reminds me of the rage within feminist art that goes alongside the typical image of a submissive woman in the media.

Gillian Wearing is a conceptual artist that works conceptually with photography and film. Born in 1963 in Birmingham, she moved to London in ’83 and attended Chelsea school of art and Goldsmiths college, securing her first solo exhibition in 1993; she is also part of the Young British Artists.
Her work focuses on the connection and differences between public and private as well as the voyeurism and exhibitionism that accompanies it; she has described her work as “editing life”.

One of her earliest works “dancing in Peckham” shows the artist dancing in the busy south London shopping centre, you can see passer by reactions whether they be indifferent or confused. Wearings dancing is clearly instinctive, she is moving exactly how she feels without a care for opinion. However, even though wearings movements are confident and energetic there is still an element of sadness that seeps through , the dynamic between her and the public feels lonely and disconnected.

This made me consider the power within a single person as the focus of video work, i feel like it injects a level of softness as if without the backing of interaction the subject is singled out in their experience. It also emphasises the idea that power is confronting and not diluted down by the inclusion of others; highlighting the isolated nature of a power trip.

In her other works such as “Album series” and “Confess all on video” she utilises masks to enact a certain level of privacy and performance. The album series involves her using realistic masks of her family members to occupy someone else’s identity, it questions how much of someone do we actually see. In the confession series she asks people to confess a secret, whether that be a crime or something that has happened to them. However they are all wearing a mask that completely hides their identity. These masks almost allow people to be more themselves as their actions arent tied to our physical facial identity ,as if they are inhabiting a role of telling a story truthfully without consequence.

This influenced me to layer the audio of innermost thoughts during the experience of a power trip. I feel the use of a mask can distort reality and create privacy in a way that the subject can fully express themselves and reveal what goes on backstage in their reality. The exposure of privacy in wearings work connected to my theme as i feel power trips are a time in which you release thoughts that are usually intended to be suppressed.

Richard serra, born 2 November 1938 in San Fransisco, is an artist prominent in the process art movement. He shifted the focus of his work onto the steps he took to get the final piece, this involved simplistic drawings and paintings creating a representation of his sculptures. this showed that the journey and thinking towards a resolved piece could hold just as much interest. Serras sculptures have a gigantic, invasive impact to them, they make you feel small and insignificant due to the contrast of the steel curves to the squared off room. The height of the structures tower over the viewer, immersing them in a play of power with the question of their importance. The sheets look as if they are balanced on a thin edge, with the possibility of toppling over, the viewer navigates the space with caution in fear of the magnitude.

There is a sense of motion within them, the turning corners sweep you through and hold you inside; replicating the safety yet lack of control of being in a womb. I was drawn to this peice because of the power dynamic between the work and audience, it has an ability to control and dictate the actions of the viewer. I plan to take inspiration from this into my work by experimenting with the size and weight to incite an investigation into ones own placement within the scale of the piece. I also will use Serras technique of process art by starting with drawings that mimic the feeling that a sculpture could create.