After my trip to London I thought more about my display, title and concept of the paintings I had been working on for the group exhibition. My original thoughts on displaying them was to have them on a shelf, however after speaking to my tutor over my shelf idea I realised that the purpose of a shelf was not the right for the display my paintings as my original thought was to link it in with an unwanted concept, however even though putting them on a high shelf far away, the shelves are still used to have things visually showing. So my new idea instead of displaying on a shelf came from thinking about the narrative of my paintings and the best thing to link it together. Because my paintings are about mental entrapment, anxiety and depression I firstly thought less about a way of displaying and more about a way of demonstrating a connection with the work and a meaning. I was most influenced with the concept of entrapment and what physical equipment can create entrapment, cages, boxes, wire, chains, or locks. Most of these things listed are very littoral and I don't want to demonstrate items wrapped around the painting suffocating them, therefore I am going to tightly build a frame around it trapping the portrayed woman within it, the square shape will be representational of a box which enclosed items into a darkened, lonely space. The use of the frame is not as a normal display as I will not be having glass over it, its only purpose is to demonstrate the entrapment of the woman. I think using a tightly fitted frame works better because it will be less littoral than wrapping wire around it for example, which works well will my painting ideas of not wanting to paint anything littoral and using symbols and composition to be able to represent my ideas and meanings behind the work.
When fellow students or teachers have looked at my work, I enjoy the reaction of them trying to depict what my work is about, I have found that some people had a level of understanding as the birds seemed to help towards the understanding of it, therefore I think that the titling of my paintings will be very important to help with the understanding of my works concept.
I have began to think about the titling of the painting and to do so I have decided to break down the painting with all the symbols and different styles of paint work.
Girl with the clipped wings
This painting was initially inspired by Michael Borreman, Edgar Degas and Jean Clouet's portraits. The woman's head position is slanted and looking down with low/slumped postured shoulders. Her posture shows little self confidence and empty eyes gaze downwards away from the viewer is purposeful because the woman is unable to look at the viewers as the image she portraying is a lie. Her face is lightly painted blending with the background creating by soft brush strokes creating a less littoral way of porcalin skin, which is delicate and easily broken. Her shoulders are loosely drawn with paint to outline the shaping of clothing which drips down similarly with her nest like loosely painted hair that has a ghostlike effect of coming through her clothing rather than falling over her shoulders. The birds are purposefully placed on her head to symbolise mental entrapment as birds are a symbol of freedom, however the birds in this painting are unable to fly therefore they are imprisoned and bound to the woman's head. The birds are not painting realistically as they are there for a symbolic purpose so they are painted in lines which balances out the painting with the loose marks with the hair and clothing. The lines are drawn with a close colour shade as the background but also with a slight skin tone which is bulked out with mediums creating a thick textural line. These lines are almost the same textures as scar tissue as the experience of depression can stick with a person for the rest of there lives or never forget the experience they have had. The birds wings are a slightly white shade as originally I was going to clip them off in the image so they were unable to fly however instead of making this idea so littoral by clipping them off I highlighted them importance of them to a bird, because without them they are unable to fly. The background is lightly painted in smoky swirls with a slight halo around the woman as she is surrounded by the haze which is a demonstration of entrapment, chlostophobia and suffocation. The woman's eyes are empty because she has no life within them as the depression has sucked it out therefore concluding the solid image portrayed by the woman on top of a cracked uneven background which is the battle she is having that no body realises.
From breaking down the painting I have come to a few ideas of titles for this painting:
1. Girl with the clipped wings
2. Desire to become an angel
3. Nightingale
4. Living in a nightingale
5.Existing in a nightingale
6.Transient in a nightingale
7.Abiding in a nightingale
The title has been influenced by Michael Borreman's 'Girl with feathers', J.B. Greuze's 'Girl with Doves' and Lucian Freud's 'Girl in striped night shirt'. I find that in connection with my own work, the reference of labelling the portrayed person 'Girl' firstly implies that the portrayed female is in a vulnerable state of being a child as she is being classed as a girl and not a woman. The reference of clipped wings belonging to the woman in the title is not physically right but is correct relating to the context of the painting as the binding of clipping wings enforces an entrapment even though the birds arn't within a cage alike the woman's mental state.
Discharged from the avery
This painting was initially inspired by Rembrant's backgrounds and fading self portraits and Jean Baptise Audrey's dead bird paintings. The woman is fading into the background is walking away from the birds, she looks back over her shoulder with darkened eyes and shape as her eyes are no longer hollow, her fading body is a sense of release as even though the birds are dead, they are now free. Her mind is now no longer mentally trapped as she leaves behind the birds. Even though this painting looks negative with the dead birds and the slowly darkening background, it has a reverse concept because the birds being dead now means that they are free and the woman is no longer mentally bound where as in the painting Girl with clipped wings the concept of living birds is a negative aspect. The birds in this painting is the main focal point as the positioning and life of the birds have an important role.
Breaking down the painting I have come up with a few ideas of titles for this painting:
1. Discharged from the avery
2.Release from the bird house
3. Escape
4. Discharged
5.Release
This title hasn't been influenced by an artist, however it is a reference of freedom and the word 'discharged' comes to my mind as a positive word in reference to hospitals and is a sign of improvement of health, which is what depression is as it is an illness.
Blowing a Nightingale
This painting was inspired by Michael Borreman with his loose indication marks. The woman represents self release as her eyes begin to light up and reform some life as she blows feathers through a child's bubble blower. The bubble blower shows a sign of vulnerability alike the innocence a vulnerable mind of a child. The feathers are a symbol of freedom alike birds are however it a slow release therefore only blowing out the feathers. This painting was easier to name as I had already looked at names for the other two paintings above and the link with wind 'gale' and the bird 'nightingale' which links with the symbolic meaning of the nightingale works with the concept of these paintings.
Yellow Wallpaper
This painting is currently unfisnished as I have decided to change the background again, as the painting was originally inspired by the novel 'Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, as the woman emerges out of the wallpaper as her mental entrapment latches itself onto her surroundings, however by the dripping background I found this did not demonstrate the idea I wanted to create through painting mediums as even though using a yellow paint and dripping it and being expressive with the painting, it did not depict the concept of the painting for the viewer.
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