Light

The introductory lecture on light was really informative. I created a list of ideas for using light as a creative medium. I find having a list of ideas can be useful for returning back to for inspiration if having a creative block.

Photographs of reflections, kitchen reflecting the outside garden giving a distorted image.

The sky from a window reflecting from a mirror.

Charcoal drawings of shadows cast on my everyday home environments.

I investigated lights in my previous project, looking at reflection and the use of light to create abstract images. I started this project by looking at reflections and my own environment, how light works in that environment, bending and creating shapes/images/shadows.

I decided to investigate a different approach to light as an art form. Light sources are more prominent in the art form, contrasting to artists I had looked at previously.

Felix Gonzalez-Torres

42 bulbs & porcelain light fittings. Dimensions vary with the different installation spaces.

Nathan Coley ‘There will be no miracles here’ 2006

‘The World without Words’ 2022- Funded by Perth council to create an art light train around Perth.

Both of these works I have experienced in person. I have previously used a photograph of ‘there will be no miracles here’ in my own artwork. Creating cyanotypes.

Tracey Emin ‘Angel without you’ exhibition, MOCA, 2014

Emin told the Hamptons Art Hub she was influenced by neons from an early age. Growing up in the seaside town of Margate she was surrounded by neon signs and lighting.

Using them in her art to create drawings and words.

Kathrine Barbro Bendixen uses the intestines of sheep and cows. After they have been washed they are dried and inflated. The sculptures are created by manipulating the intestines. What is normally a waste product is illuminated with LED lighting. Often the sculpture is created around the lighting.

While in my own environment, I easily began looking at everyday lighting.

The natural source of my bathroom window is the light reflecting on the thecwetWall, the shadow of the window itself capturing the same image.

While looking out my kitchen window I noticed the reflection of my kitchen, the distortion of the inside appearing to be outside. My internal door reflection on the external door of the shed, my washing indoors on a clothes horse instead of outside on the washing line. The feelings of being trapped in the winter indoors instead of outside.

I considered how Neon was influenced by Emin’s work and how it was influenced by poetry.

I considered the idea of love poems and romance, and how rage and anger can be so closely connected in relationships. Relationships are supposed to be something special and caring experiences but can often be violent and abusive. I considered ‘poetry’ or ‘inspirations’ which could be found in messages. How abusive relationships had left me in a self-loathing state. changing the energy around the words by turning them into mock-ups of neon signs.

I used Photoshop to create the signs, it was a cheap way to play with the designs and see if there was potential to create a neon work. I would consider having mock up a selection of shop windows to dislay the neon text in variety of size and colours glowing in the windows, with the genle buzz sound of a neon light for effect.

I considered experimenting with glowsticks, opening up the sticks and using the activated dye to paint with. Capturing the paintings by camera as the glowsticks are not a long-lasting medium.

To elevate the text work further I considered how I could project the words without a projector. I wanted to creat a sculptural work which would be a light source projecting the words onto a wall.

I planned to create the box from metal as I enjoy the aesthetic , but the metal workshop was fully booked for weeks in advance. Only small time slots were available which would not give enough time to creat the finshed product.

Light painting with a torch can give the effect of a neon glow. I used a dark photography studio to create light paintings of figures. trying to create the feeling of an embrace. I would edit these images further to enhance the glow and contrast between light and dark. I would display them as one long large print in a triptych/Quadtych

The images were created while taking part in the light workshop drawing. some of the images I was pleaded with and felt they would make interesting abstract mixed media paintings. I plan to digitise the images and project them onto paper/canvas to recreate them.

I considered how to elevate the images from mixed media to upskill in printmaking. I booked a print chat to discuss how to make this possible.

I continued experimenting with light painting. Instead, I included my face in the images moving with the long exposure lens to create distorted/moving images. I enjoyed the playfulness of the images and felt nostalgic for the feelings of nightclubs and partying.

I would display these images in adarkened space as a triptych. one row of image opposite the other. I wuld have a neon tube/rope light positioned underneath each set of images lighting them up, the light travelling along the wall space between the images connecting the sets.

I tried creating drawings and writing but I wasn’t successful. In some of the images, I did like how the light seemed to change colours and shapes while under different overlays and moving.