High and Low part 2

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For the second part of the high and low brief we had to make 6 pieces that expanded on what we had already done in the first half of the project. I decided to focus more on the mind and memory in the second high and low. It was more influential for me as my grandfather is currently suffering with dementia and so it is something that I am trying to understand with my own art practise. There is also theme of identity that can be seen in this project, which I think comes from a fear of the future.

Something I wrote in my sketchbook while putting together ideas was ‘the brain is meant t be this amazing piece of the body. Its meant to be powerful and strong and yet it fails us every day. My mind is my own worst enemy, it creates the thoughts and all my insecurities. The brain is the thing that gave my grandfather an amazing life but it is also now a curse that makes him forget his life and me. The mind is a beautiful tool that can create amazing things but the humanity of the brain is also the ugliest part, the part that causes hate, betrayal, war, etc. and yet without it we would be nothing, but with It are we broken? The mind gives us the power to choose from right and wrong. Each brain is extremely different. A beautiful but flawed invention’.

I bought a pig’s brain from the local market butcher and placed it on a plate. Using a Fujifilm instax I took photos of the brain. I took 13 photos, there is no reason for this number, it is completely random. I then continued to alter the photos by writing, drawing, burning, sowing, sticking glitter. I did this randomly on the pieces and I really like the way they came out. The only thing I would change about this piece would be the scale of it, I think it could be larger.


The second piece I made was a painting of an empty living room with the lights on, but no one sitting there. I used normal colour marker pens and then simply went over certain parts with a paintbrush and water to create the painted aesthetic. I carried this technique over from the first part of high and low. I am happy with the outcome of this piece, there isn’t really anything I would do differently.





The third piece was made using photoshop. I haven’t really done many photoshop pieces before so I am still learning a lot about it and how to use it. I simply took a photo of myself and then cut out certain areas of the face to layer it with other images, I also inverted one of the photos and used the smudge tool in another to droop the eyes. I am really happy with this piece and I called t consumed because a lot of the things I was experimenting in it with are all about consumption, and how the mind consumes itself over time.









I also created a screen print piece during my induction to the workshop which was really good. The process of screen printing was to layer each part and build it up. I started with the face, then the clouds, brain, word and then finally the lines to frame the piece. I am really excited about this piece and will definitely try to make more screen prints.













I went back and took a readjusted look at the polaroid piece. I decided to edit a polaroid style photo on photoshop and then to print it A5 size. I then sowed into the piece. I think that this was a good expansion and exploration to follow the first set of polaroid’s.













The last piece I made was the largest at around A0 size, slightly larger. The piece is a fragmented self-portrait on burnt cardboard. I took certain elements from the entire project and put them into one piece. so, I wrote on this piece, I wrote very personal things on it, like things I don’t like about myself, things I worry about, the future and much more. I also sowed into some of the facial features like the eye and lip. I then allowed some coloured ink to run down the piece and create drips down the piece. I am extremely happy with this piece and I presented it in the crit show we had in uni. I got some really nice feedback from it, but also feedback that was quite harsh but it is all a good learning experience and I’m really proud of what I accomplished.

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