Subject/Object - Making of the Final Piece

As I had recently done a digital media workshop I felt it would be a good idea to use what I learnt in this project. I want to recreate a collage but digitally, so I used Adobe Illustrator. These screenshots show the different ideas I went through:

The final piece ended up looking like this:

This has been a fun and challenging project in terms of materials, I've really enjoyed pushing myself this way.

Winter Solstice

For this project we've been asked to create a campaign poster relating to an article from the primer work. The article I chose is about winter solstice and the science of time. For the research stage of the project I'm looking at how and why different cultures celebrated (or feared) the solstice.

Jul/Yule
'Yule' comes from the Anglo-Saxon word 'iul' meaning wheel, it marks the rebirth of the Sun and the beginning of the New Year, it's name refers to the cyclical nature of time and the seasons. This ancient tradition has combined with many of the Christian religious celebrations brought to Europe.

Wild Hunt
Related to the celebration of Jul is this ancient folk myth told through Northern Europe, it is sometimes referred to as Odin's Hunt. It is essentially a ghost tale, something to scare naughty children on  dark and stormy winter nights. Traditionally the hunt starts on October 31st and continues on until the New Year, when the days get longer. It is an ill omen to see the hunt.

Sköll
Another myth of winter solstice involves the warg (or wolf) Sköll. The warg spends the year watching the Sun goddess, Sól, flying through the sky on her chariot. As the year progresses her horses get more and more tired and flow lower and lower. In some versions of the myth, on winter solstice Sköll swallows Sól and the world is plunged into darkness (in countries such as Iceland it is not uncommon for days to occur without sunlight) until other gods rescue her and restore the light (usually Thor and Odin). At Ragnarök, Sköll and his brother Haní will succeed in eating the Sun and Moon marking the end of the world. This did not mean a disastrous apocalypse to the Vikings so much as a change in gods, the old hierarchy being destroyed and a new one replacing it. It fits in with the themes of rejuvenation seen throughout solstice celebrations.

Saturnalia
Saturnalia is the Roman winter feast in honour of the god Saturn, a god of time + agriculture. In Saturnalia roles are reversed and Roman social norms are foregone, slaves are permitted to eat with masters, good times are had by all. It began on December 17th and was then expanded to the 23rd to allow for even more feasting, drinking and gambling.

Yaldā
This Iranian festival is celebrated on the longest night of the year. Family and friends come together to eat, drink, and read poetry to each other. In particular Hafez is read. Pomegranates are significant to the feast, their red colour echoes the colour of dawn.

Dōngzhì

This is an East Asian celebration for winter solstice. It harks back to the yin and yang philosophy of cosmic harmony and balance, the solstice marks the beginning of longer days and the turning tide of positive energy. Traditionally dumplings are eaten as they are a nourishing food good for the winter months.

A Week in the Headlines: 16th - 21st December

Peshawar

Mental Health Care for Pregnant People

Justice for George Stinney Jr.

Nigel Farage being Nigel Farage

Justice for Eric Garner

Winter Solstice

You can get daily updates on my Tumblr here.

Camber Sands Trip + Final Ideas

I could write for a long time about what we did but I think it'll be better if I just dump these photos here. There's also a small video collage of some sort.

The Good Ship Betty

For the final piece for this project I think I would like to make something for Miss Havisham or her home.

Miss Havisham is like one of those towers of cliff face that sometimes appear on the coast. The rest of the land has retreated backwards, but occasionally you see fragments of rock standing alone in the water, bravely, ridiculously, rejecting the inevitable. A lonely stand-off between wave and rock and the ticking clock.

I like the image of Miss Havisham in her white dress, like sea foam, the thing she adorns herself in is the very thing that erodes her sanity. Salt water has preserving qualities, but it stings. Textiles feel appropriate, if I had the skill I would use glass or ceramics, but for now embroidery will do. It's something a lady of her societal standing would have learnt, it would have been on her veil, her dress, her table cloth and napkins. I could tell her story on the fabric.

Weaving + Workers

My chosen workers for this project are cleaners and hairdressers/barbers. I feel they're both kind of secretive. Cleaners often go unnoticed, they silently take in all the rubbish in the office and safely remove it. Hairdressers are stereotyped as gossipy therapists, listening to the woes of their clients and chopping away the split ends. You rarely hear about what they're thinking.

I feel weaving connects nicely with cleaners because of the way it organises shapes and colours, the act of weaving is very much like the act of cleaning. I thought about this whilst at the William Morris gallery.

For this project I think the tools of the workers will be most important. I should also get to know two workers personally, I think this will be something I can do tomorrow. 

Round Meaningful Shapes in Britain and Europe

Mên-an-Tol Fertility Hole 

Penny Farthing

Stonehenge 3000 - 2000 BC

Coin of Odin with the Eye of Insight in mouth
c. 50 - 30 BC

From 'Black Britain'

Clay Anglo Saxon Loom Weight 

The Zodiac from the 6th c. Beth Alpa Synagogue

Coin of Emperor Probus circa 280 AD.

Dérive

The Ashford Hijab by Grayson Perry

Dérive - an unplanned journey through a landscape or urban district where the geography of the area subconsciously guides you on an authentic and meaningful journey.

Cloud in Hand by Hannah Waldron

Defluo - Latin meaning to flow away from, to be lost

Tony GIF by Dryden Goodwin

Dreflian - Middle English meaning 'to dribble or run at the nose'

Untitled by Madge Gill

Defleo - Latin meaning to weep for something or someone