Artist Statement
I am an artist based in the North East currently studying BA (Hons) Fine Art at the Northern School of Art. I identify as a multimedia artist who focuses on combining and experimenting with a variety of materials and methods to create works that become visual representations of my identity. Influenced by the representation of identity within a climate obsessed with the use of Social Media, alongside themes of mental health, my work provides a physical view of the self I wish to present to the world. Through forms of social media such as Instagram, we are allowing a self that is not true but in fact a perfected and thought over version of ourselves to be shown, thus creating a collection of images and posts that represent our visual preferences. I am consistently considering aesthetics whilst observing this.
The reasoning behind my focus on aesthetics is that I believe identity is one of the main influences behind aesthetic preferences. I therefore adopt these preferences into my visual language to provide an abstracted representation of my personal identity. For example, the colours that are consistent throughout any of my works, no matter the medium, correlate with themes that are vital to the buildup of my personality through the association of things from my childhood and various external influences. When considering what we enjoy visually, realising the impact of our own character is vital to determine why our preferences in certain aesthetics lie where they do.
In terms of medium and technique, I currently focus on creating multimedia collages within a variety of different forms. For example, my work spans both the digital and the physical fields as I find some softwares or techniques more appropriate for specific works I have in mind. This has also come as an adaptation of my practice during the Covid-19 pandemic. The use of digital softwares is also relevant to my research into the impact of social media on myself and my identity and allows me to bring many virtual aesthetics into my practice. These can be translated into physical pieces where I branch out into various forms of experimentation to make large collages which have been described as ‘diaries’. This is due to the view into my life a piece can briefly provide.
Alongside my practical work, I am heavily theory based with a focus on Japanese Visual Culture. This has been a prominent area of study for quite some time and is something as an artist and theorist I hope to become further educated on throughout my focused research. My main interests lie within Japan’s history of Fine Art and the relationship of Japan with the West. In a more current context, my studies have focused on modern Japanese subculture as well as the influence of manga on society and its importance within a Fine Art context. As a multimedia artist, it is important to be able to appreciate a wide range of techniques and styles to expand a practical and theoretical understanding. Considering Japanese visual culture in both historical and contemporary terms, I aim to bring this focused theory into my practice, however some themes already prove prominent due to the influence on my aesthetic preference from the art of Japan.
Colour and motif especially play a large part in my practice and I am able to combine both my research and theory with an expansive period of trial and error to create works which discuss myself, my thoughts and my feelings across different phases of my life.