SP1VISUALRESEARCH

WAWWA- Drawing + Writing

| AbigailYeatsHNDCAP

After a 1-1, i have taken a few things onboard.
– i need to let things happen and then attempt to find what i like instead of only creating when i know what the end product looks like.
– i have very little confidence in showing my writing but this doesn’t mean i shouldn’t. im going to be less scared and lean into the love i have of writing – and go forward with any advice i get.

saying this, i have been playing around with how the layout of the words affects the look and way it is read, this has helped me to decide on four pieces of writing to use for my videos. After reading “bluelets” by Maggie Nelson and “Dont let me be lonely” by Claudia Rankine, i found that i love something that feels in between poetry and a journal. The moment of calm you get from poetry is the exact type of slowing down im looking at.

This written exploration has helped me to figure out how the word can be altered by its position, size and font. They are all things i have written during this years lockdowns and reflect the stillness of this time.

After looking at Hayley Tompkins and loving the colours in her work it influenced me to go back to drawing. i was finding digital quite hard as there is a coldness about it. i still want the work to feel soft and not overly made up- with video you can lose the roughness, connection and expressiveness of other physical mediums. Creating drawings will help me connect back to that instinctive reaction to the work and feel the process more closely.

From this work i am drawn to the greens and blues as they feel like growth and calmness. The yellows are more assertive but could be nice as a small hint. i think that too many vibrant colours together like a kaleidoscope would be too flashy and fast. the greys reminds me of the comfort of being inside on a rainy day. im also drawn most to the circular shapes, so i think i will continue on that path like the videos before. i still have no conclusion about the words but i will make some decisions when i return to adobe after effects.

WAWWA DEVELOPMENTS

| AbigailYeatsHNDCAP

Moving on from the initial responses I wanted to continue developing the drawings of still moments. I brought some of them into photoshop to play around with where I could take them.

Throughout this project I have been creating pieces of writing that reflect my line of thought about this topic. I have never felt confident in my writing however I feel like it is really relevant as the writing is alway created in a moment of slowing down and reevaluting. For these works I used a piece of automatic writing I had done with the intention to play and visualise the words.

-Working in digital helped me to create quick developments + to not be so precious.
-I feel like they replicate quite well a pause in thought or a moment of boredom.
-Feels flat and I don’t like the lack of physical texture.
-Layers make it feel like thoughts coming in and out of focus/ soft daydream like.
– I like the writing however I have a tendency to hide it so it isn’t legible- which means that it only provides visuals of the letters and not actually the context.

Video developments

I wanted to create videos that take inspiration from the ideas developed in the digital photos. I have been collecting footage over this project that captures still moments of observation similar to my drawings. I wanted to further the written side of the work and also the idea of a visual pause.

At the same time I was seeing adverts all the time for apps, such as “calm”, that are used for meditation. They often use animations that involve gentle movements or growing and shrinking shapes that you can match your breathing to.
-I took inspiration from this to create some simple animations using ‘Adobe after effects’- this turned out to be a lot more complicated than i thought however i love the opportunities it has for digital work.
– although difficult and time consuming i feel at this point it is the best route to follow to create work that is connected to my theme.

-I feel like these short videos continue my drawing work in a way that interests me more.
– i need to play around with words/subtitles more- some of it feels distracting and doesnt allow you time to watch the video
– are there other ways i can display the writing? spoken word, animation, displayed next to the video?
– how would the work be displayed? as a clipp joined into one or on separate screens? how will the sound work with this?
– i like the footage i have taken for these and i aim to capture more to choose from or perhaps link them together.

WAWWA

| AbigailYeatsHNDCAP

Initial responses

My starting point focus for this project is the concept of “slowing down”. I have gathered this from a mind map i created to explore the given theme. This theme provided me a lot to work with so i will likely connect other areas of interest within it.

Starting this project my mind has been moving to fast with thoughts instead of visuals- I have realised I need to start practicing this slowing down that I have been focusing on and to start creating. Part of slowing down is noticing, creating recognition for the seemingly less obvious subjects and details. i have set a task for myself to help me start to visualise this slowing down, i started by creating small studies of the things i notice.

These drawings helped me to get going, i also decided to do some ‘automatic’ writing to work with as i feel it helps to connect the drawing to the theme. i used photoshop to develop this work and plan to continue this kind of development.

Although i like the drawings as a start, i decided to produce a variation of initial responses so i have more options to develop. I started to take more notice of the space i am in for inspiration and the thought of a ‘to do list’ came to mind.

To do list- we create this with the intention of getting things done often to fit a deadline or to provide some sort of incentive for productivity. Using this language/format I created an alternative version listing things that can influence me to slow down or depart from a financial focus. whilst looking for a surface to write this on I found long receipts and found them to be perfect- I also like the irony of writing over a documentation of money spending and how the receipt nods to the idea of weekly common errands.

i also found inspiration in Rebecca Thompsons work “Receipt Poetry”which looks at the intimacy/individuality of receipts and how they can be quite revealing. She sentimentalized unnoticed daily relics by creating them in velvet and hanging them from the roof.

Having been given too much spare time this year, i have made many ‘to do lists’ in an attempt to find extra work, exercise, keep organised and generally fill my time in a efficient way. i like how the list implies the idea of productivity whilst suggesting and alternative. In the second picture i extended it on the desk, i like how this suggests the idea of endless tasks piling up over a current task. i dont feel like this work has much substance for development but i might continue with some of the ideas e.g. the work space surrounding it and the suggested tasks.

Another initial response also explore our current setting in relation to confinement and slowing down. i found an old ice box and used it to hold a small clay figure. This work kind of represents what i feel, like ive been frozen in time and confined to a box- chillin out. Not really sure what could come next in development but i might be able to use some of this imagery in future.

Developments

Using the ‘to do list’ as inspiration, i looked into the tasks written on it and the space it was presented in. I thought about how people have been forced to create home office spaces so they can continue their work, my dad also built a shed in the garden with the intended purpose to continue work. (which feels kind of silly as he is a builder and most of his work is done on site- so i think that actually he was feeling the need to break free of the confinements/limitations of a family home like many others)

This gave me the idea for alternative purpose built spaces- a place to cry, touch, listen, visit etc. all things that would benefit from its own space. Spaces for this ‘to do list’ to be completed?
I started to draw out a quick plan of how they would look.

I then created a cardboard miniature mock up so that i could take pictures and imagine how it would look- altering the lighting. This first one was based on a room to cry in with floor drainage and tissue walls- i feel like there could be many more ways to execute this idea; considering size, domestic imagery, lighting, materials.