Lyrics for Lyrics, calm.

Whilst I was sewing and beginning to work with material I remembered the work of agr knit who I had scene prior. The work of Alicia Robinson explores bright and colourful knit wear. Similar to mine in her recent projects she takes inspiration from cultural imagery within the rave scene. Within her work for Wavey Garms her hand woven jumper is an amalgamation of inspiration of textiles and materials from brands popular within the scene. Nike also collaborated with her on their new re release of their tns. she took inspiration from patterns of the shoes and created a jumper from various inspired patterns.

This is my final completed hoodie. My idea was gathered from taking inspiration from the imagery on the back of leather jackets worn in the early stages of grime , as well as the bright embroidered designs on the British rave scene bomber jackets. I have researched a variety of sources that have inspired some of my imagery I have used on my hoodie. I hoped my hoodie would show the bright and colourful history that is within grime, instead of its grey and negative image depicted within the mainstream media. My use of bright images that show community and popular icons within the culture, paired along side quotes from popular artists that show the profound meaning the lyrics can hold. With this being displayed within an artistic domain my goal to express the true meaning within grime to an audience that may overlook its lyrics due to their misconceptions, will be now able to capture the interest of others that see the hoodie as a negative connotation to the scene, now as a form of showing the true meaning.

I have started stitching the first image into my hoodie, I used back stitch to create simple lines.

My first step was to create my initial images and then cut them out of tracing paper to allow me to pin easier to the fabric. I decided to create some pieces before deciding on the overall image, this was to perhaps help me decide what images would fit into the spaces better. With chalk I outlined the separate images to give me lines to stitch around.

Gathering inspiration from all aspects of my project I dove deeper into some of my research. I looked back through my blog and identified a re-occurring theme within my project, the idea of a community being identifiable through fashion. Most specifically colourful leather and bomber jackets. With Grimes large heavy leather Avirex jackets and the rave scenes bright collectable embroidered bombers. This gave me some inspiration for how to use the format of a hoodie as a canvas, this is my rough plan for the imagery of my installation. As I said previously I wanted depict the sense of community and the history behind the genre to convey the message, I have attempted this by the use of fitting the images together to form one singular image. The small filling images are yet to be chosen so there are some examples fitted in. The microphone that wraps around the leg is placed towards the bottom of the piece as a subtle message about how the history is birthed from the microphones influence of conveying their message. Noted also through the piece is sections of type, these will contain the most profound lyrics.

It is important that my rationale for my final piece is clear. My hope for my final piece is to express that grime can have profound lyrics that contain messages both political and that share their injustice they experience within their environment. People recognise the political messages that both Bob Dylan and Bob Marley use within their music, however due to the image of grime being constantly clouded by its false representation in the media it’s lyrics are overlooked. I hope to show a group of people that will not have an appreciation for grime and it’s meaning the profound messages and teachings. I will change the idea that the negative image shrouds the important messages by using the negative imagery to display the important messages. Using stitching I will display the images of grime and it’s idea of community in bright colours with the integration of some of its most profound lyrics.

These are some examples of my development of imagery and how they translate into fabric. This application of working onto a hoodie gave me the idea for the format of my final piece.

After experimenting with a range of processes and techniques for my final outcome I have decided upon my chosen media. Within This project I have tried to learn new techniques, so I have decided to attempt to create my final piece in a different media I have not previously used. my plan is to use my work with simplified imagery and apply it to stitching and sewing onto fabrics. 

My third attempt with a lighter background was more successful. For my next attempt at the effects of multi layer frames I will apply them to a larger scale format.

With my attempt of a three layer frame I attempted just using a double layer with the integration of typography. I liked the outcome however still was disappointed because it was was not striking enough, for my next I will use a more colourful background.

Using one of my favourite images by Simon Wheatley I decided to attempt illustrating into two sheets off acetate , with the third sheet being card and loose colour sketches. I was pleased with the individual imagery, however the overall effect was too busy and distracted from the final image.

After listening to more podcasts with artist Ben Eine I revisited some of his work. His piece using printed glass in a shadow frame made me re imagine how I could utilise my work with layers into a set of final pieces. My next step is to experiment with a small scale shadow frames.

Another print artist I like is the work of Sebastian könig, an artist and designer from Hamburg. Although this work is different from what I have produced , I like the use of the four frames that create a short narrative. Another feature I like is the bright backgrounds. I will experiment with printing onto coloured paper and potentially creating a short narrative, similar to my animation work.

An example of print work that captures energy within its depiction of people is the work from Harry Tennant, a freelance illustrator based in London hackney. The reason I have chosen to feature his work is the use of his colour and the effect it has upon his prints. The top two images only use two colours, however effectively create scenes that utilise the background space. This is a skill I am hoping to employ in my own prints.