Cities from space!!

Moscow


London


Heuston, Texas


Antwerp, Belguim


Athens, Greece

Painting

As the tarantula continues spinning its web it suffocates many small family enterprises. I painted seven small depictions of a spider web, each new painting protrays a slightly bigger web, consuming more and more of the wood, the wood representing the long tradition of the small family trader.

Inspiration. :)

I take all my web designs from actual spider webs. I photographed them in my garden.

The ice, snow and foggy conditions made for perfect veiwing of spider webs!

Development..

I began to think of the many ways you can make a web. Instead of having it attached to a wall or strectched from one thing to another I wanted a web which was strong enough to stand on its own. I began experimenting with PVA glue on acetate and came up with a few interesting images.

Using paint I was able to create a new effect by scraping the paint off and adding more on.

Web of Materialism

After many spools of thread, drawing pins, finger knitting and patience, I made the Web of Materialism. I made it in the window sill of the studio and photographed it with the city horizon in the background. With computer manipulation I managed to get the beautiful effect of the sun setting, emphasising the web even more.

Predatory Animal

The predatory animal of the multi national corporations was helped to find a home in the jungle by property developers who built the huge shopping centres. This has contributed to the demise of small business and family run shops. I represent this observation with the spiders web. In the beginning there were just a few sprawling centres on the outskirts of cities. Quietly, however, the Tarantula kept spinning its web, becoming greedier and more powerful. People became attracted to the vibrancy, energy and colour of these large retail centres, as they were drawn into the web of materialism.

Survival of the Fittest

The concept 'Survival of the Fittest' incorporates the idea that the urban environment is a harsh cruel and cut throat world, much the same as the jungle is. Both in the jungle and the city it really is the fittest who survive. I spoke with a tutor and brainstormed the possible ways in which I could convey this idea. I have being working with acetate and tracing paper and she found that my method of working (layering) could be the basis of the idea. I want to use these to create flip animation books and short stop motion animation films, I plan to draw the small shops and bulidings which have closed down due to the recession and create a film demonstrating how they are disappearing in our society and urban environment. Disappearing, fading, declining, weakening, vanishing, dimishing, being destoryed, wiped out all come to mind. These are the words I want people to think when they see my work. I want the pieces to convey the message that the urban jungle is being taken over by huge companies and low cost stores and that soon our local businesses will be extinct.

3D Models

I created two 3D objects using wire, wool and thread. As I have said before the jungle is my metaphor for the recession. The small round building represents the small corner shop and the large tall building represents the huge department stores. The green wool and dark coloured thread is the jungle slowly climing up through the economy. The small building has wool that is knitted and is almost completey covered, showing they are the worst effected.

Same Concept, New Approch

My tutor advised me to take another look at the words URBAN and JUNGLE, so I did and came up with 'Survival of the Fittest'. I started to look at the state of the ecomony and the people who are suffering in this environment. The small corner shops and family owned businesses are like the animals who are becoming extint in the jungle while the huge retail stores are suriving in this economic crash. I hope to convey this by maybe taking a look at the family owned shops and businesses that are becoming extinct in the city and comparing them to the big stores. That way it conveys the concept of Survival of the Fittest. My jungle has now become a metaphor for the recession.
To convey this concept I wish to create 3D models of buildings using a variety of materials including wire, wool, felt, leaves, ribbon, net, straws and pieces of knitting.

Textiles

Yesterday I attended the Textiles and Textures workshop.. I really really enjoyed it. I trying to think of a way to bring it into my project but I'm not doing so good.. Perhaps the felting could work!
My concept of the urban jungle has begun to evolve.

unexpected..

I planned to do a set of drawing, paintings and sketches of the city, working outside but because I have the flu this week I can't do that! :( Instead, I have decided to work from photgraphs this week. I want to be very accurate in my drawing and painting.

I started playing around with paint on acetate and came up with an image that can be view in two different ways, one with paint and one without... The image is a line drawing in black and white of a building I had drawn the day  before, I then place the acetate over the image and  painted in animal prints on the building, overgrown trees, etc. I thought it was very successful but I would like to develop it more. A number of people suggested layering the acetate, putting a different part of the image on each layer to create the full picture. I think I'll give it a go!

Another look..

After my group discussion on Friday last with Michael and Des I decided to focus on drawing outside, I realised that my only primary source material was photographs and I wanted to change that! I really enjoyed drawing outside and now wish to continue along that road. I'm still not sure of urban jungle theme?? How will I develop it? Or should I change direction?

After much consideration I decided to stay with my first instinct and investigate the jungle further. This led me to explore the concept of the jungle from a variety of perspectives and realities....

My Urban Jungle...

I started out thinking about my surroundings, comparing my home to living here in Limerick!  I found that there was very little colour to be seen. I decided to create an urban jungle, introducing colour, patterns, animals and things never seen in the city before! To me, the urban culture is a jungle in which we all fight to survive. My first impression of city life was that I was now living in a concrete jungle with grey monotones and repetitive patterns. However on closer, inspection to my delight I realised that it is possible to find beauty in the most unlikely places. As I allowed myself to open up to the city experience I realised that city life has many textures, layers and tapestries richly woven with the soundtrack of the city playing 24/7.

I represented myself as the monkey let loose from the cage, free to explore the urban jungle from different angles.