12/1 - collaborative research

Today we completed a number of research tasks which were quite helpful in beginning to think about my idea for this project.

1) Documenting my journey to college

For this task, I made a series of very quick, small sketches with which I tried to document the small details I noticed on my journey. I broke the journey down into stages: walking to the tube; travelling on the tubes; travelling on the bus. I generally consider myself quite observant of my surroundings, however this task made me pay attention to other senses which I usually don't, such as smells and sounds; when we later reflected on the journeys in small groups I found Kaavya’s sound recordings very interesting, and in the future I would like to be more experimental in my way of recording/making note of my observations for example by using sound. The words from Kaavya and Kanar’s responses which I found most inspiring were: signs; shapes and patterns; numbers and meanings; looking out; and each window has a life.

2) Listening and interpreting

For this task, the first one in the studio, we listened to what everyone in the rooms’ worst Christmas presents were, and then drew one from an assigned table. Amongst my table, most of us remembered the same worst present which was a bad dinner that a friend made (they then had to clean the kitchen after as the friend had made it really messy), and it was fun to see the different interpretations of the same idea.

3) Mapping our journeys collectively

This involved drawing our journeys until this moment in time on a large piece of paper (with a map projected over the top). It was amazing to see all the different places people had come from, and I enjoyed the collaborative nature of the task too.

4) Making a narrative from the journey

I found this task very challenging and decided to take inspiration from one of Kanar's responses which was 'every window has a life'. I considered the ideas of viewpoints, looking inwards and outwards, and the symbol of the window, which may act as a portal into a life or space. I have begun to think about how the windows could be snapshots in sequence, over time of the same or different places perhaps through a flipbook or an animation.

5) Describing childhood drawing from memory

This quick task involved more listening and interpretation, and was quite fun. It was a bit tricky to describe the drawing from memory, and particularly to convey the childish nature of my drawing, which I think I made at around 6. I also enjoyed comparing them afterwards, once again seeing the different interpretations the same descriptions.

childhood drawings.jpg

6) Exquisite corpses

I have played the “exquisite corpse” game before, although I didn’t realise it had a name. I really enjoyed the twist of drawing a journey rather than a person, and I think the surrealist tone of the final drawings might be something I’d like to pursue within this project. This task was also a bit collaborative, although not completely as we couldn’t really communicate whilst making the drawings (as each addition is supposed to be secret), and I enjoyed the freedom which the task provided, particularly with using paints rather than just a pen (what I usually use with this game).

Screenshot 2023-01-16 144841.png 2 and 5.png 3 and 6.png

From left to right, my additions are: first and fourth; second and fifth; third and sixth.

7) Moodboards

The final task was to create a moodboard of key ideas or themes from the day which might be inspiring for the rest of the project. For this collage (below) I drew from the ideas of portals, mirrors and surrealism. The figure in the bottom right corner holds a mirror, which radiates colourful beams and glowing fruit. This could perhaps develop further into a scene viewed through a window, or a large-scale prop inspired by the incredible orange slices, glowing and shiny.

surrealist collage.jpg

Arrival - research

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