RSS FeedWhere do I get inspiration from?
For my first blog post I feel I should give a backdrop into my practice and tell you all what inspires me.
Experience
Almost every artist draws from experience for inspiration. My current work has been made either on my couch or sat at a table this year. Having broken my ankle, I have had to make work in my home environment, pain and dislocation is an element that comes across frequently. You can see this in not only in the titles but also in technique and the placement of shape & form.
Imagination
I love getting lost in thought and I certainly have had a lot of time to do this. That's why some of the work leans towards the surreal. In the work titled "Screwed Up Foot" you will see a lion gnawing down on a gammy foot with screws coming out of it. The lion however represents Singapore, ripping my foot off for it's breakfast. Singapore's national symbol the Merlion was the main inspiration for choosing the king of the jungle & because they used to roam freely in this land before we humans took over.
Story telling
Who doesn't love a good story? Sometimes a title is all you need to convey a message in a work and in doing so you can create a character, a place, a new world. I love creating new characters in my work and hope to create a zine or comic in the future centred on these messed up/sad/beautiful/happy creations.
I love myths & legends including the movie Legend and Labyrinth and any other film with puppetry and hardly any CGI. Why CGI? It's like putting ketchup on everything. Sugar you just don't need.
Tattoo Art & Experimentation
I love the wonderful world of tattoo and the artwork that comes from it. I would love to attempt to tattoo at some point but until then I'm happy to draw for people wanting inspiration for a design. Someone once said (can't mind who) 'Tattooing is the most impermanent form of artwork' due to the person dying and not outliving a painting or sculpture etc. Brilliant.
The notion of impermanence was an area I touched on within my sculptural work. My degree show work - the large white bulbous sculptures you can see on this site - they all went into a giant skip after the show. It was about the moment, everything that led up to that moment & the interaction for that period of time. I had to put that experiment to bed eventually, as quickly as the tutors marked it, so why not directly after the year that was the end of art school. Done.
The Others
No not that pants ghost story with Nicole Kidman >>> all the other great artist's/creative's/minds living or dead that inspire me daily inc the above are as follows. Louise Bourgeois, Isamu Nogochi, Frida Kahlo (the last two had an affair by the way - which made my next fav a very unhappy husband), Diego Rivera, Simon Periton, Henry Moore, Joy Division, Matisse, Picasso, Martin Boyce, Cathy De Monchaux, Kendell Geers, Victo Ngai, Haruki Murakami, Studio Ghibli, Heather Gabel, Leonardo, Raymond Pettibon, Phillip K.Dick, J.R.R Tolkein, Jake & Dinos Chapman...my Grandmother Penelope, my Jimmie, my cats MJ and Miss Mona May.
This list is only a snapshot into my world - but this is why I have a blog, so we can always be delving a bit deeper.
Lastly Environment, which relates to experience but anyway...
It shapes our world & shapes our brain. The world I am in at the moment reminds me of a totally tropical, very clean New York City. Singapore - my home for the better part of the next two years is steeped in inspiration for the likes of a little lass from Scotland. This multicultural haven has india in one corner and china in the next. I see gold temples, geckos, fruits, ants, swimming pools, palm trees, lanterns, the rain, the sun, lighting, tall odd shaped buildings, lights. I smell sweat, cumin, new suits, chlorine, hot rain, hot air, hot cakes. I can't wait to discover more, My eyes are open and my hand is drawing...my right foot is still doing absolutely nothing.
Thank you for reading,
BLH
Posted April 4, 2013 06:50