Why Are Things The Way They Are?

Why are things the way they are? My mind is never satisfied and spending every day in a state of flux; awe, terror and wonderment, has left me frustrated this year. However, organising the rubble from the wealth, into a tangible alignment has helped an infinite amount. Level 4 helped me find my voice as an illustrator, developed my confidence when expressing ideas and honed my technique. Of course I knew from the beginning that the preceeding years would be the real test but entering second year I realised there was more to it than being taken out of my comfort zone or given briefs I had no real connection with. Struggles, successes and questions encountered over the course of Level Five have challenged me in ways I previously considered un-obstructive, being tested and pushed almost constantly has improved my time-scale awareness over time but ultimately left me frustrated, de-moralised and dis-satisfied. Coming to terms with my artistic flaws and inconsistant attendance has forced me to face lingering demons, personal and just downright stubborn. I feel the process of re-assessing my working method and attempting to climb out of my comfy little box has helped me to achieve clarity concerning the relationship between my influences and work.


Combining quotes and extracts (in my writing) from a handful of my favourite writers, poets and theorists highlights topics I feel most passionately about and reminded me what I have to give. Recognising my influences through either an overt or discreet lens strengthens the path between each element poured into content and captured image, placing any certified inspiration alongside my own work elevates confidence in not only my aspirations but my technical ability. The passion felt reading Bukowski or Keroauc is matched emotionally by viewing ‘Disaster’s of War’ by Laurie Lipton and ‘The Garden of Earthly Delight’s’ by Bosch, which breathes life into my pipe-dream of blending language and visual into something lasting, outside of my head. The majority of the questions and realisations I have voiced over the course of the year reflect this struggle, I know where I want to be and what I have to do to get there so now all I have to do is get on with it.


Concerning my work, themes circling animal form, behaviour and prevention of cruelty are contained within many of my drawings, which has been twisted over the last few years and mutated into the preservation and collection of the anatomy when mortality prevents the preservation of the living spirit. This, along with philosophical ideas of mimesis connected with anthropology and the more politically charged argument of excessive reproduction vs. the hideously expensive fine art industry will be developed through a Dissertation process later on in the year.






(Adapted from my Critical Perspectives Summary.)