Chris Ofili & Machine Samples

This week I have been using the domestic sewing machines to analyse how I can use Aboriginal techniques within machine stitch. I don't feel as though I have had a productive week and as though these samples will help me in the long run of this project. It has been interesting to see how the machine can cope with certain stitches but I need to think more carefully before I use the machines, as I felt lost whilst I was working.

I have also been looking into Chris Ofili’s work this week. His work is very personal to him in the way that he uses influences of his family’s culture and eclectic colours to form a narrative.  His collection Afrodizziac (1996) reacts to settling into an alternative culture and how he copes with keeping his traditions alive. I want my work to look fairly abstract yet have a strong personal relevance. I can use Ofili’s ideas as influence in terms of how he uses culture and memory to inform painting.

Chris Ofili Afrodizzia 1996

These are two other examples of Ofili's work. I really like the line work and abstraction here. The stylistic representation of personal memories entices the audience in, and still leaves us wondering what is going on inside his brain.

Aboriginal Artwork

During my time in Australia, I attended a few lectures about Aboriginal Artwork. I became fascinated with the process and symbolism behind it. I love how the traditional works are not interpreted in the same way as we interpret Western art. Traditional Aboriginal works are seen as maps, dreams or memories into journeys, undertaken by previous generations. They are often symbolic of celebrations and the surrounding land. Across the culture, the symbols can vary but each tribe has their own identity within paintings which cannot be unlocked without the code.

Johnny Imaroo Tjapanangka Wallaby Dreaming 1989
Acrylic on Canvas

This painting tells the story of a Wallaby. He was chased by tribesmen, as he moved between waterholes. The circles represent a stop in a journey whilst the lines connecting represent the journey.

Lena Nyadbi Lilmim and Jimbala (Scales and Spearheads) 2002
Ochre on Linen

This tells the story of discovering and hunting fish. The linear shapes in this composition symbolise spearheads whilst the N shapes symbolise scales of barramundi fish.

Ningura Napurrula Untitled 2005
Acrylic on Canvas

This piece comes from a rock hole site east of the Kiwirrkura community in Western Australia. In mythological times, a group of ancestral women camped at this location associated with birth. The lines adjacent to the dark circles symbolise pregnancy whilst the lines around the edge of the painting represent sand hills and a creek.

This concept of coding is something that I am hugely interested in exploring further. I want to analyse the Aboriginal code, and appropriate this into my own work.  I then want to take it further by developing my own code, so that I can document my own experiences and create a visual map of my memories. I want to research more into coding, symbolism and systems within art in order to create a narrative that will run universally across my drawings and embroidery samples.

More Sampling

This week I have been concentrating on decoration and surfaces as well as composition and line work. I have been researching into the work of Alice Kettle. I like her use of repetition on the Irish machine. Kettle tends to cover the whole image with stitch and uses layers to build upon the surface. This ends up creating a surface, just as enticing as the initial image.

I have produced more samples using my drawings as inspiration. I have been varying my grounds more this week and undertaking further stitch research in order to more accurately represent my images.

Further Drawings

Drawing regularly is important to me, it helps to inform my embroidery and keep my ideas fresh. Here are some examples of my last weeks work. I hope to use these as inspiration for some more sampling in the next week or so.

Hand Embroidery

I have been experimenting further with traditional stitch and how I can use my drawings to inform my embroidery. Line work has been a focus of mine this week as I want to find a creative way of translating the landforms into surfaces.

 

I have just been using monochrome and calico before I begin to develop into something more complex. I am interested in surface decoration and pattern and how line work can evolve into something bigger. I am happy with the way these have turned out, especially the sample based upon the Mirror Lakes in Te Anau. I want to produce something that represents my journey. Next I want to continue to concentrate on style, shape and composition and then I can add colour in later.