#finalmajorproject

I’m continuing my project looking at how we are restricted in certain ways in life and at the moment of course that is by Covid 19 and my artwork is reflecting that. In this short time lapse film (yes I love time lapse films to record how I’m working!) I am embroidering Covid 19 cells with a portrait of someone wearing a surgical mask superimposed. This is one of my experiments into an effective method to create my lattice work window.

E X H I B I T I T I O N  I D E A  # 3

Here is my third and final exhibition idea. I have placed my sculpture in the centre of one miniature garden in a shared courtyard. As you can see in the photos above, all houses surrounding the courtyard look out onto the garden which means the residents inside will view my Final Major Piece, all whilst keeping to the new social distancing rules. 

Out of the three locations that I have tried and tested to exhibit my FMP, this is my favourite. My sculpture stands well within this setting; the size of the surroundings compliment the size of my sculpture and the bright colours create an interesting contrast to the deep charcoal tones. 

Armenian History of the 1915 Genocide - FMP Research

For Ziazan Wolf I want to have 1915 Genocide aftermath as the main theme. But to express the correct representation of this it’s best to explain and understand the situation and terms of the Genocide.

In 1915 neighbouring country of Armenia - Turkey, ruled by the Young Turks Party committed genocide killing 1.5 million Armenians within Turkey and in what was historical Armenian land. They killed Armenian leaders before attacking local people, enslaving them and later raping and slaughtering in varied painful and unforgivable ways. They destroyed ancient artifices and iconography to erase any sign of Armenians had once lived there. 

Yet hundreds of interviews reflect on the memories of its survives, insuring that these events had in fact taken place. 

Turkey still deny the Genocide and brainwash generations into believing these events are all lies. Fights and invasions continue on Armenian land between neighbouring countries including petty acts in events such as the removal of a Female Armenian Chess champion in a Turkish tournament due to Azerbaijani influence based purely on the fact that she was Armenian. They’ve suffered being removed from shows or events or being in fear of their safety entering countries that continue to have national incidents with Armenia. 

The Genocide spread Armenians globally leaving many disconnected from their motherland and trying to find a better future moving to places such as America or Australia. This doesn’t stop Armenians gathering together globally to march for their country and the crimes that were committed against their people, for the constant denial by governments of this grave smudge of death. Even the UK and USA (with one of the biggest populations of Armenians) government has yet to recognise the Armenian genocide for what it is. 

Finding that speaking out had no clear message to get people to understand this incident Armenians moved on to expressing this crime in the form of art and film such as latest block bluster “The Promise” which found itself being cut from theatres in Turkey and leading to a large conspiracy as Turks book out cinemas in LA and cancel tickets last minute to stop Armenians from watching the film that takes place during the Genocide. 

One of the greatest names to come out of the Genocide to campaign and inform people of what had happen was Aurora Mardiganian who wrote a book and stared in the film “Auction of Souls”. This itself was cut from cinema for the violence it portrayed and was considered too controversial for it’s time. Yet Aurora left such a mark that the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity was established in her name. 

Visiting the artist Alice Crane -

Choosing to work with symbolic, familiar objects associated with childhood to re-evoke the feelings of safety, warmth and protection, led me to meet with the artist Alice Crane to discuss her work ‘Dollshouse’.

Crane installed her childhood dolls house inside a large barn. The house was lit from the inside, generating a warm glow and casting shadows on the barn walls. This juxtaposition in scale of dolls house vs barn helped to capture a feeling that Crane recalled from playing with her dolls house as a child - when looking in, she felt as those she was inside the house, the size of a doll.