BLOG: Sustained Investigation 5 & 6

What idea is guiding this work?

The idea that is guiding this work is when children go onto the internet, they often find solace in online spaces and friends. When I was younger, I would consume the content of my favorite media and find people with similar interests to talk to about it. It would then blossom into close friendships despite the distance. 

• How are you practicing, experimenting or revising aspects of this work? (you can pick one)

I am experimenting with how I want to compose and design the neurons. The friends are supposed to look like they are fusing into these neurons - which are connected to other neurons and have sparks at junctions signifying the newly formed connection. I want the composition to be a bit whimsical and complex with the thin wavy branches of the axons. With each neuron branch, I’m trying to draw them in a way that makes effective use of the space and fills it up.

• How can your choices of materials or processes relate to your idea?

I am using Adobe Illustrator again because I liked the ability to create vectors with a variety of shapes. This relates to my idea because when you create vectors, it produces a handle for you to curve and connect to another anchor point on the line. This is similar to creating online friendships as you’re essentially creating anchor points to connect to another person for a friendship

What idea is guiding this work?

The idea that is guiding this work is when children go on the internet, they find themselves consuming lots of content that may be unrestricted. This means sensitive topics such as abuse, physical violence, etc. and they often are unable to turn away because of how graphic the content is. Then, they go into a cycle of repeated exposure to these sensitive topics leading to less and less empathy over time for the people that are being harmed. Desensitization is a result of this

• How are you practicing, experimenting or revising aspects of this work? (you can pick one)

I’m continuously revising the design of the human spine vertebrae train toy set. I’m experimenting with how I should make the railroad curve and turn in a way that effectively uses the space and creates an interesting, compelling image. Additionally, I am researching the anatomy of the human spine vertebrae to see how it’s structured and how it turns in order to create an accurate depiction. The idea is to make the audience uncomfortable with the toy train set.

• How can your choices of materials or processes relate to your idea?

I am planning to use either Procreate or Photoshop for the painterly aspects, and perhaps Adobe Illustrator if I wanted to experiment more with graphic design for the composition. I wanted to use Procreate or Photoshop for the actual toy train set in order to create a realistic rendition of how bones actually look like. I wanted to realistically draw and render the bones to make them look real to the audience - inducing discomfort which is a normal response to sensitive, graphic topics. My choice in material relates to my idea because we are having more and more access to graphic content through the means of the internet. I wanted to play around with the idea of actually creating that graphic content, to see how it would feel as the actual creator of it. Would I feel uncomfortable or apathetic? The feelings I feel would help lead to a more accurate execution of my piece.