A New Beginning

At the beginning of block 2, I decided to use the phrase 'Inside Out' to center my major project around as I had previously been investigating the symptoms of anxiety and therefore wanted to develop my ideas futher by finding ways to release built up emotions as well as the consequence of not doing so- 'Inside' being your internal emotions and 'Out' representing the action of release.

I started to think of ways that I could demonstrate this such as painting expressively (influenced by abstract expressionism), sounds such as screaming, crying etc, a symbol of freedom and liberation in all of my pieces, being destructive such as smashing things up, taking a series of photographs that illustrate the process of releasing emotion, demonstrating ways that people express their emotion through video and so on- lots of potential ideas.

Visual research gathered from Google Images:

Screaming

White Dove

Crying

Broken Glass

My idea of representing the freedom and liberation that comes with the release of built up emotions was significantly influenced by this artwork that I came across when sitting in Nandos.

Unidentified Artwork

There was something about the way the man was standing amongst the rubble at a junkyard of some sort, indicated by the mixed media pieces of scrap such as an old light switch or metal cog which has been stuck on to apply texture to the piece and give it a three-dimensional appearance. The subject's body language suggests that he is relaxed with his shoulders down and arms spread open, almost as if he is feeling the breeze which gives a sense of freedom. He is also looking up towards the sky which shows that he is hopeful and has a relaxed facial expression which suggests that he is at peace. I like the way that the artwork is displayed as the light shines onto the subject's face from above, almost like the sun as it enhances the warm advancing colours of orange and yellow on the man's face. This contrasts with the cold receding colours of the blue sky which therefore allows the man's head to stand out and appear closer to the viewer than the rest of his body, drawing attention to the main focal point of his face. A strong contrast in tone of the man's shirt also gives the artwork a textural, three-dimensional appearance which is also evident in the thick palette strokes that are vivible towards the top of the piece. It's this idea of being uplifted from your suroundings and having a hopeful attitude with your head high that inspired me most about this piece as I feel that is a significant part of dealing with your emotions.