BRIEF 1- Inner Space. A E S T H E T I C
Z5119107
Joel Jeffery
SDES9320
Brief 1- Inner Space
When first approaching Brief 1 – Inner Space, I was confronted at first with the literal interpretation of the brief, having been assigned to create a scene depicting the alternative arts-led visual aesthetics of biomedical data. However, looking further into the collectives of what biomedical sciences are, I had wondered whether we were limited to just the interpretation of physiological and pathological functions and symptoms of the body, or if this brief could be extended to the psychological analysis of the mind. Looking into this, I have decided to explore further into the psychological state of mind, and aim to visually depict interpretations of biomedical therapies, which are “physiological interventions that focus on the reduction of symptoms associated with psychological disorders” (Harcourt, 2016). In doing so, my understanding of the project expands further from showing literal interpretations of physiological and pathological processes, towards analysing interpretations of the human condition.
Upon deciding this, I needed to make a connection with what I wanted to research and create visually in Maya, to what was required of me from the brief. With the intention of developing our own unique take on the data and biomedical concept, I needed to develop my concept through research. In week 4, we had been asked to look into certain research material for whichever brief we had chosen, which led me onto researching ‘externalising the internal’.
When one speaks of externalising the internal, they speak of the Freudian process that explores the unconscious defence mechanism of an individual projecting their own internal characteristics onto the outside world, or particularly onto other people. In the 1991 analysis of Sigmund Freud’s 1937 text “Analysis Terminable and Interminable”, Freud noted that “The ego grows accustomed to removing the scene of the fight from outside to within and mastering the internal danger before it has to become an external one” (Freud & Sandler, 1991). He describes the ego’s capacity for internalisation, a process that is generally quite normal for people to enact, as it defends against anxiety, but this in excess can lead into the development of a neurosis.
Narrative therapy is a form of psychotherapy that seeks to help people identify their values, skills and knowledge they have in order to effectively confront whatever problems they face. Carlson makes reference to the process of externalisation as it is utilised as an essential component in Narrative Therapy, whereby participants manifest their insecurities or personal issues into a physical form, separating the problem from the self, and enabling them to understand their emotions and how to express them (Carlson, 1997). UK based artist, Toby Allen, explores this in his ongoing project “Real Monsters” (Allen, 2015). The freelance illustrator explores ways of reducing the stigma behind mental illness by externalising and manifesting different mental illnesses as monsters in a colourful light, enabling the viewer to view their insecurities as an obstacle they can overpower and control. In relation to his personal connection to the work and the overall project, Toby Allen said in a Huffington Post interview “The Project originated from imagining my own anxieties as monsters and finding it to be a cathartic and healing process to draw them” (Allen, 2015).
The concept I want to explore involves the idea of visually expressing my own personal artist block in my model. Since completing my Bachelor of Fine Arts and undertaking my Masters of Design, I have found that the transition between the two different frameworks of thinking to be quite challenging despite there being many similarities between the two fields. A lot of my undergraduate research in my studio work consisted of analysing the effects of social media and selfie culture upon generation Y, be it positive or negative through a third party perspective. Living in a large global society, there has been a significant amount of importance placed on creating and maintaining an online presence, and this perception has become prevalent within our culture. We have a generation of individuals posting their idealised versions of themselves on online platforms, where the ideal self is what an individual feels they should be. I previously utilised the Siamese fighting fish, a fish species commonly found within Australian family homes as a motif for this. For me they represent beauty due to their vibrant and iridescent scales, and their delicate silk-like fins. Due to this beauty and their typical isolation in small tanks, as I felt this represented the idea of idealised beauty well.
My idea for the work revolves around creating a man with a fish bowl on his head, surrounded by a few of these fish, which represents for me the current transition for my frameworks of thought from art to design. I think it’s important for me to keep following my personal artistic research in my design endeavours, as I’m picking up new skills and understandings on how to visually and conceptually express my ideas.
In creating this work, I would like to approach the aesthetic of Vaporwave, a microgenre of electronic music and art that emerged in the early 2010’s from ‘The subculture that is associated by vaporwave satires consumer capitalism and pop culture, and tends to be characterised by a nostalgic or surrealist engagement with the popular entertainment, technology and advertisement of the 1980’s and 1990’s. The styles visual aesthetics, often stylised as ‘A E S T H E T I C S’ incorporates early internet imagery, late 1990’s web design, glitch art and cyberpunk tropes, and can often be described as ‘retrofuturist.’
