#conceptual statement

Lost in Wonderland is how I interpret the world from pessimistic observations through to having an optimistic outlook on life. My project represents a range of interpretations of how everything in society can be overstimulating to our minds. The environment that we are placed in can affect the way in which we perceive the world. “When you are surrounded by all these people, it can be lonelier than when you are by yourself. You can be in a huge crowd, but if you don't feel like you can trust anyone or talk to anybody, you feel like you're really alone.” - Fiona Apple. During the semester I reflected on Alice in Wonderland’s version(s) of what ‘Wonderland’ is and related it to my interpretation of ‘Wonderland’, and the reality for me moving to Auckland City.  

At the beginning of the semester my project was Unknown in Wonderland because I wanted to explore a range of creative practices before finalising what I wanted to present. I was not 100% certain that shadow art was something I wanted to pursue and I could see that my project was lacking originality and my creative style. I realised that as a creative practitioner I am passionate about creating my own designs and then printing them or constructing them onto different materials. Designing a variety of my interpretation of ‘Wonderland’ allowed me to have 30 diversely range of images. From that process I chose six designs that portrayed what ‘Wonderland’ could be and how I see society from dark tones through to bright and vibrant colours. The contrasting colours reveal my mood and how it can drastically change from one image to the next. Producing a series of digital prints onto silk charmeuse portrays an art gallery feeling, where the audience can see the work and interpret the art how they perceive my version(s) of ‘Wonderland’.

Considering it is my last semester of Creative Technologies I wanted to learn more soft skills and make tangible products. My model of ‘Wonderland’ allowed me to explore ideas through a range of creative and technology processes including: laser cutting, physical computing and soldering. I was able to re-create ‘Wonderland’ from Alice in Wonderland by making my own objects and a range of other purchased objects to create an installation model that portrays what ‘Wonderland’ could look like. I designed the roses to be layered and purposefully painted some layers red just like how the Queen wanted red roses, this conveys us that characters had to paint the roses. In this situation I can relate to the Queen because we often want to change ourselves or the things we have just to ‘fit in’ with society’s perception of beauty. Although I did not make glowing mushrooms as an end product, I did create a circuit which conveys the idea of how the mushrooms would glow by fading in and out. I have chosen a range of objects from the story and different films that have been made based on Alice in Wonderland for symbolism purposes that relate to where I am as an individual at this point in time. The key represents liberation and freedom after graduation. Mushrooms symbolise the opportunity of me growing as an individual and being in a leadership position this year for university (Vice President of our Student Association). The watch is a representation of time and symbolises how I am not in control of my life, but as long as I have a plan and structure to follow I am one step closer to my destiny. A flower in the jar symbolises youth and how much growing I have to do whilst being passionate about life. I have chosen each card to symbolise who I am at this point in time: Hearts represents vulnerability, Clubs represents education, Diamonds represents responsibility and Spades represents environment. 

I have also written a short story to illustrate how I perceive Auckland and how I feel placed in the world at this point in time. To structure my creative writing piece I used quotes from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland story this retells old literature in current formation. During the process of writing I wanted it to be clear to the audio-story listener how overstimulating Auckland City is and that images are “the spam of the earth” (Hito Steyerl).

The Idea behind my object is lies and reality in the form of a question “how long does it take for someone to lie?”  The final shape reflects this idea. The shape was measured in time taken to lie and was generated using Rhino with the plug-in Grasshopper. The pylons were based off the popular children’s novel “Pinocchio” where every time Pinocchio told a lie his nose grew longer, with my project, the longer it took a subject to lie the higher up the pylon was located. The flat polygon represents reality the idea comes from the TED talk by Apollo Robbins in which he asks the question “What shapes my reality?” in which we decide what to distinguish from lies or reality. 

The polygon is centralised because it represents reality as a solid object that we believe to be truthful “This Law, Reason, Time, Space, all Limitation blinds us to Truth.” - Aleister Crowley, The Book of Lies. On the entire object you can see it is very rippled and varied and when placed it isn’t perfectly straight, it is angled, relating to the imperfections of lies and reality which strongly relates to a quote “A red rose absorbs all colours but red; red is therefore the one colour that it is not.” ― Aleister Crowley, The Book of Lies.

Final artwork #2: painting 

Acrylic and permanent marker on canvas, 24x30cm 

Bigger version here

Final iteration: artwork #1 - glitch gif

Great brands build movements. With their loyal following of customers, contributors, and fans, they begin to shape the cultural landscape around them. This project aimed to develop a personal brand ideology / ethos that is rooted in sensibility to carry us into the future. The goal was to build a foundation, refining and communicating a brand vision centred around the integration and convergence of traditional techniques, and modern tools through design. Encompassing adventure and curiosity, this project aimed to explore a new, holistic approach to design, manufacture, materials, and creative brand building.

A web presence is an essential foundation for any developing brand. Through an online presence, brands can more coherently communicate the ideas, ethos and values they uphold, while putting a platform in place to share ideas, knowledge, and experiences. I hope over time to develop content rich pages offering value and insight to those striving for freedom through a creative lifestyle, along with a collection of quality goods befitting such a lifestyle.

The MISSIONcollectve name came about initially due to the letters and aesthetic value of the word mission. Since then however, given the context, the word has grown to be associated with the mission of building a creative lifestyle, one that you desire, and one that maximises your utility. The collectve aspect comes from the communal, collaborative approach to designing and making that I see the future going. There is no ‘i’ in collectve.

The manufacturing process is really what remains central to the exhibited items. Both the manifesto poster and the eyewear and jewellery utilised a combination of hand crafted aspects and modern tools in their production. The poster begun by hand lettering each phrase before scanning, vectoring, arranging, enlarging and digitally printing the final exhibited poster (600mm x 1800mm). The eyewear and ring series took the opposite approach. Originally being designed in CAD software before laser cutting templates and laying them onto a blank skate deck to be hand cut and finished.

ANSWERING QUESTION 2 THE HUMAN QUESTION  The concept of my final work explores my fascination with my parent’s lives before they had me or my brother. In the original photos my parents are around 24, 8 years before giving birth to me. There is this void in time where I do not know what happened yet still exists as a reality, laden with history. Holding the film in my hands and realising the age of it outdated me was thought-provoking. 

Within the work, I wanted to exemplify the way in which we are human through the nature of our species creating artefacts and holding sentimentality to memories and stories, as well as our desire to transcend mortality and challenge the inexorability of time. These artefacts are passed along and enable us to evolve through knowledge. As our historical archives grow larger and larger, us as humans and our availability of resources to continue progressing are seemingly endless. My expansion in regards to this notion was by ‘time travelling’ through digital means in order to position myself within my parents era when they were in their 20s and held no idea or recollection of me. I was also very interested in the way we can shift our presence from the physical realm into metaphysical spaces, such as within technology. The alteration of our experience of space and body is analysed in the way I position myself in these photos.

Drawing from my research from Assessment 1 in which I explored the customisable nature of the modern human mainly through advancements in genetic modification and cybernetics, Assessment 2, as an extension of that concept, investigates the notion of malleable memory and the intervening of new media within artefacts to create new realities.

Looking at On Kawara’s works relating to dates and times, as well as Chris Marclay work, “The clock” which collaged several different time scenes from films to create an artwork which synchronised with real time, I was very interested in the notion of our presence in regards to current and past space. Drawing from the methodologies and concepts of Chino Otsuka series “Imagine finding me” (2005), where a photographer interweaves her current self into childhood photos as a form of dialogue, and Ms and Mr (Xerox Missive 1977/2011) in looking at how separate realities merge into a new reality by combining and merging separate films,  I was interested in working with film or photography to manipulate my parent’s old photos with my presence.  These forms were chosen as they document reality and the ‘truth’ the closest, and i believed that creating illusions through these mediums would create more of a hyperawareness of my concept.

By utilising photography and digital manipulation through photoshop I alter colours and textures to make myself blend in with my parent’s environment, deliberately choosing my body language as an interaction of the environment. Each gesture of mine is interpreted within the photo and shifts the meaning of the work in attempting to evoke a haunting or eerie sensation. The flux between my existence and non-existence is demonstrated through the glitchiness and transparency in my pieces, exemplifying the unnerving nature of these photos and how I am not supposed to be there, yet am forcing an modification of truth and connection. 

However, there are limitations to this practice. even if i position myself within these photos as an attempt to force a visual connection between my parents, i will never truly have met my mother or father when they was 24. The human body, while definitely undergoing major possibilities and advancements in the fields of biology, cybernetics and technology, is powerless against the fixed nature of time.

Bibliography: Chino Otsuka’s series - “Imagine Finding Me” (2005) URL: http://chino.co.uk/gallery/IFM/ifm_1.html Christian Marclay’s “The Clock” (2010) URL:http://whitecube.com/artists/christian_marclay/

On Kawara’s works:

URL:http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=3030

At the beginning, Dream Catcher was planned out to be a game. But was leveled down to a visual novel because of the time limit we had on our backs. Another reason we leveled it down because to make a game, a good solid story is needed firstly. So after this story is successful in the end, it can always be developed into a game afterwards.