‘METAMORPHOSIS’
‘A change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one’
Definitions
A process of change
Where an insect, like a butterfly, transform from one form to another as it reaches maturity
A physical or spiritual transformation
Synonyms
Change
Evolution
Rebirth
Mutation
Transformation
Alteration
Conversion
Regeneration
Metanoia
Antonyms
Stagnation
Stillness
Sameness
Stay
Remain
Keep
Continue
PRIMARY RESEARCH
Regeneration and Degeneration of a landscape
The series of photographs here are to represent the metamorphosis of time and place during a walk with my dog and nephew
I have made this piece as I wanted to hone in my skills of photography and try to figure out a way of showing metamorphosis through time and place.
I had made this series by taking a photo on my phone every few minutes, as my dog, my nephew and I went to different places during our walk
In terms of quality, I really that I was able to communicate the fact that time has passed in-between each photograph and that I was able to tell a story though those photographs. However, the lighting of the photographs was not that great as it is dark and the quality of the photos were not the best. I think if I was to do the project again, I would pick another time of day to do this as I believe I would get some better photographs this way.
What I have learnt in this project is to tae the time of day into consideration when taking photographs as they could really make or break them!
Organic Growth and Decay
In this section, I am showing the changes of a tulip over a period of time. Using the form of illustration with biro pen I drew the stages of its decay. The series of photographs above shows the tulip from day to day and the natural decay that happens once the flower stops getting any food, and eventually dies. The series of photographs and illustrations shows the theme of metamorphosis intended as change and transformation which flower undergoes once it has been uprooted. I responded to the theme of metamorphosis though my primary research, the photographs through illustration as that is my specialty, and I showed an element of metamorphosis of a natural thing.
With this piece as I wanted to start exploring the theme of metamorphosis and record the changes visually as they happened on a daily basis. In this example, Metamorphosis can signify, the natural process of something changing and the flower going from being alive to being dead, I thought, would be perfect for this element.
I think that my illustrations capture the stages of decay and the marks made are sketchy but all natural in showing the progression of a plant decaying really well. If I could do anything differently while making this piece though, I would add some colours as I believe it would show the progression of it decaying really well.
I built up my skills in observational drawing.
In addition, what I learnt throughout this process is that some pieces of art can take a while to fully form but, in the end, it would be worth seeing the results.
Text
This piece here is me experimenting with typography by writing the word ‘Metamorphosis’ in different fonts, size and even directions and clarity by using both traditional and digital means.
I have done this project as I wanted to try out different fonts and also experiment with different 2D and digital techniques that would help me later on when I start my final outcome.
I begun this piece traditionally by using biro pen and collage, making sure that all of the words look as different as possible. I then scanned it onto my iPad and there, I drew the words out again before editing it to get some cool and wacky effects. It was on my iPad also where I did some digital collage as I have not done that technique yet and I wanted to try it out.
I believe that his piece has a good quality to it as I was able to experiment with typography and seeing what I could do with it. To improve the piece though, I would have liked to add some 3D elements to it, just so I could have some variety of the text.
What I have learnt here is that there is many way to do typography for any sort of creative project so that there is always a way for it to enter any particular project that you might be doing.
Alteration of perspective through light
Natural and artificial light have an effect upon the way we perceive space. Bright luminous environment might make a space look bigger, whilst dark lights might give the opposite effect by making the space look smaller.
The series of photographs here was my attempt of showing this changing effect by taking shots of the same place but at different times of the day. The central element in this series of photos is the natural light, and the theme of metamorphosis is highlighted by capturing the light at different times of the day and the effect it has on the viewer in matter of perception of overall space and the shadows on the ground.
I made this series by going to a singular place, in this case, Southbank, and taking a photo of the same tree. I then returned to it at different times of the day and I took a photo if the same tree in an attempt to show how the perspective of the same object can change with the changing of light during the day. I was near the London Eye so I hoped to show metamorphosis of space through the changing of light, metamorphosis of tie though the casting of the shadows on objects and metamorphosis of the place by showing how crowded the area would become.
Unfortunately, I seemed to have picked the wrong day to do this task as, of course, the British weather decided to be all cloudy and block shadows from forming most of the day. The crowd level also stayed relatively the same as people were queueing for the London Eye so that didn’t help things either. If I was to do this exercise differently, I would’ve taken the weather and location into consideration more as then, I believe that this project would’ve been more successful.
Mutation
Here is a mixed media piece that I had made of recycled and broken pieces that I had laying around in my bedroom and sticking them onto a piece of cardboard.
I have created this piece as I wanted to experiment with the element of texture and form, something that I want to add into my final piece somehow.
I created this piece by gathering some scrappy stuff that I had laying around in my bedroom, I had quite a bit of stuff as I tend to hoard things, and glued them onto this piece of cardboard to create this mixed media piece.
Overall, I am really happy with how this piece had turned out, as I was able to get many different forms and textures into this art piece and therefore, I was able to see what forms and texture would work best for my final outcome, whatever that may be.
The next steps for me is to try and see if I could add some 3D elements into my final outcome so that I could put my findings to use
Metamorphosis of a structure
Birdbath
Tree truck
Bird house
Stone elephant
What we got here is some series of photographs of different structures from different angles, as a way to view things from an unconventional point of view.
The series is meant for me to experiment with different angles of a subject of a particular photograph and also capturing some of the textures that are on some of the structure. This will help me as I could gain some inspiration of different shapes and forms from taking these photographs.
I created this series when I was on a trip to Worthing to visit my brother-in-law’s grandparents and I took the photographs in their back garden, trying to get into awkward positions to take these unconventional photos so that I could use them for my final outcome.
Overall, I got to say that I am really happy with the final pieces as I was able to capture some interesting angles and this will help me with developing my ideas
The next steps for me now is to gather some more research through different trips and seeing how I could integrate it all into my final outcome.
The Wellcome Collection
Before trip research
- 1) Describe the type of artwork in the exhibition…. what materials & techniques have been used by the artists?
There were a variety of artworks in the exhibitions, including sculptures, paintings, recycled artworks and even heirlooms, all depicting different issues that the human race face in their own lives.
- 2) What issues are being explored in the exhibition? How do you think these issues link to the FMP theme ‘metamorphosis’?
The artworks being displayed at The Wellcome Gallery show various issues that humans faces today, personal issues like disabilities or long-term illness or external issues like climate change or immigration.
- 3) Which piece of artwork interests you the most and why? How does it make you feel?
As someone who is autistic, I was really interested in the ‘Dignity’ and ‘Help the Normals’ pieces by Dolly Sen as they portray how some disabled people can be overlooked by some medical professionals just because they are disabled and not seen to be capable of voicing their own worries and concerns or that they don’t know any better, which is not the case of many people! I do worry about this happening to me as I am way too polite for my own good and don’t want to cause any conflicts.
- 4) Find two other pieces of artwork by that artist online and describe them?
[Both art by Dolly Sen]
normalityuninstalled
Prescriptions
Here we have what seems to be a typical computer pop-up, however upon close inspection, you could see an unusual message, asking if you want to uninstall normality. I believe this piece has a message of letting go of societal expectation and embracing your true self, even if it’s not ‘normal’.
Another art piece with a strong message, this has the theme of how some people with invisible disabilities feel when they try to get help from a GP or doctor, since they fear not being believed due to their disability not being obvious to the naked eye.
- 5) What, for you, does it mean to be human now, in 2023? Consider the current cultural, social, environmental & political climate.
Well to be a human in 2023, where do I start!?!
First of all, the political climate is as chaotic as ever with people striking against the policies and people being divided on the political issues of today, like immigration and the rights of migrants. With the environmental issues, my understanding is that the companies and the government are placing the responsibility of keeping the environment safe on the average citizen and while everyone must do their part, I have read that the big companies like Amazon are releasing the majority the greenhouse gases, leaving people in a lose-lose situation as they don’t have many convenient alternatives.
If we want to discuss the theme of metamorphosis, perhaps, we could say that is not greater change than the one happening to our natural environment due to mankind’s polluting activity.
Photography Brief
Transport and Travel
City Landscape
Public Spaces
Window View
Architecture – Street View
Patterns in Structures
The actual trip
For my first sketchy experiment, I’d decided to draw this piece called ‘Help The Normals’.
The piece represents the themes of disabilities and mental health, and as an autistic person, those themes are important to me. I felt connected to the artwork due to its meanings and it was important for me to show it on my blog. The theme of metamorphosis here could be interpreted as the change provoked by the switch where it is now the ‘normals’ that are being picked on and seen as ‘abnormal’.
Dignity is similar to the art piece above but it focuses more on the mental health side of difficulties. What it represents to me is that people with mental health problems seem to lack the treatment of dignity from society, culture and medical professionals around them. This unfortunately doesn’t help with their mental health, and the viscous cycle continues on and on and on. Here, the box represents the dignity that is given by medical staff, as if dignity needed to come from a long process, rather than given automatically like everyone deserves.
Another piece representing disability! I know I know but this is important to me!
Here is a prosthetic hand from the 19th or early 20th century and compared to what we have now, the hand doesn’t seem too practical and as stated above, could be worn down to the state that it would not work anymore, leaving whoever was using it in a tricky situation if they didn’t have the resources to get a new one.
A sketchy sketch of a mask originally from Sri Lanka, used to protect who was wearing it from evil spirits and illnesses.
The theme of metamorphosis is sown by the features on the mask which blend naturally and shows that before the use of modern medicine was widely used, people were very spiritual and used these masks as they believed it would protect them from the misfortune of sickness.
After trip workshop
2D – Stick & Ink and Charcoal experiment
Outline of my favourite piece, ‘Help the Normals’, done with stick and violet ink, the darkest parts were coloured in.
Here, I had done the background using the same ink but applying it with a sponge as I was just interested to see the results and I believe that it was successful as I love the effect the ink left behind!
Added charcoal to the border to make the piece look more complete and less unfinished and even though I wasn’t expecting some of the ink to show through the charcoal, I love how it looks and how it frames the whole piece.
All done, I added the message of the original piece with a brownish chalk and I used some more ink to cross-hatch the shaded areas, to make the piece look 3D.
Digital – Create an original character based on natural disasters
For this part of the workshop, I was tasked with creating an original character based on natural disasters. Now, since this was a one-day workshop and I was late to this part of it, since I had a meeting, I wasn’t able to go into what kind of personality or backstory this character would have unfortunately but I did what I could and here’s the results. Below this paragraph is all the photos I used, taken from the internet.
Now, first thing I was tasked to do what to get a silhouette of a human and I went for this one as I thought it looked androgynous and at this point, I didn’t know what gender my character would be, so I’m happy to go with this one.
Now here, I created a solid colour mask so that I would be able to keep the photographs of the disasters in the shape of the human. I first put in the photo of a wildfire as I love the bright orange of the flames and I wanted to see what I could do with it.
I then added the fire. I was think that there need to be something for the fire to burn, so I grabbed a photo of the forest and slapped it on opposite the fire.
Here is just me adding a log between the fire and the forest, to make the transition of the two less jarring and more realistic, well, as realistic as it can be.
I added some flames to go above the log, to hone in on the whole natural disasters thing and I just experimenting and playing around with different blending modes to see what that all look like and see what I prefer for the character.
3D – Layered piece
Now for the last task of this workshop, I was tasked with creating a layered piece inspired by bacterial or natural growth. My plan was to show the visual change of bacteria growing as you go down the layers.
Sketch of first layer. I wanted to show some growth but I had left a lot of negative space so that the lower layers could be seen.
First layer all cut out via cutting knife.
Second layer, I wanted to show more of the growth of the bacteria here so that it appears behind the first layer but I still wanted to show the negative space of where the lower two layers would be visible.
Second layer: cut out.
Third layer.
Third layer, cut out.
Fourth layer, here only small sections had been cut up as at this point, the bacteria had grown to the point where there’s not much else they could grow to.
Fourth layer, cut up.
Form board, the material used to separate the layers.
Form boards, cut up in roughly 15cm strips so that it could stay mostly hidden when viewed.
Finished piece, I glued the separate layers of the piece to the form sections, making sure all the layers were in the right order and the right way, so that the piece could be as successful as it could be.
These three pieces above are reactions based on the trip to the Wellcome collection, each corresponding with different elements of art, 2D, 3D and digital. All of the reactions were inspired by different parts of the Wellcome collection.
I created these pieces as a way to react to and think about what I have seen from the trip that I had undertaken with my class. This trip would help me in my final outcome as I have learnt to react to the best of the research that I had undertaken and to take them into my own artwork.
In terms of quality, I got to say that I am really happy with how everything had turned out, however, I felt like I could have done something more with my digital outcome as it is a little barebones and if I worked on it some more, then the final piece would have been amazing I think.
What I have learnt here is that there are different ways that I could react to the research that I had undertook and some of them could have interesting and unique results, depending on what research I did and what mediums and techniques I had used.
Melissa Ann Shoesmith Final Major Project - Personal Project - Level 3 Creative Design - Year 2 