Concept statement:
My featured experiments fuse surreal fleshy imagery with the mechanics of the digital, exposing the very components that build screen based imagery. This hyperawareness of the images as a construction draws attention to the way that we perceive pixels as stand-ins for ‘the real.’ In the same way that Magritte’s treachery of images draws attention to the disparity between his painting and the ‘real’ pipe, these experiments call to attention the treachery of digital forms. We are so entrenched in digital reproductions of the self, of the body, of the flesh, and in an age where a photo in a bikini seems more important than an immersive embrace, it seems fitting that grotesque digital depictions of flesh are so visceral.
This series of experimentation diverged from my original exploration into context as a maker/shaper of art forms, that saw me decontextualise iconic artworks to make them seem mundane. I am still very interested in this line of thinking, however, this course encouraged me to open my head to a variety of ways of thinking about perception, and I am glad to have allowed myself to explore a multitude of concepts.
