Week 12 - Evaluation of practise for micro exam

Whilst working towards an outcome, I have been influenced by Andy Warhol, by taking his idea of using camouflage and using it to present further concepts of identity loss. I have produced this piece in several parts as Warhol did in “camouflage”. I think that this helps in portraying the gradual process of identity removal more clearly. However, I arranged these vertically, with the last step at the top. The red in this part draws the viewer’s eye to the top of the series but then leads the eye downwards- therefore backwards through the process. To combat this I think I need to rearrange these pieces so that the viewer’s eye is carried through the process in chronological order.

I was happy that I managed to achieve everything that I’d planned in the short time as I was worried that monoprinting was going to consume a lot of time. However, it didn’t and the amount of texture that monoprinting provides is interesting. Along with the rigid texture of the corrugated cardboard underneath, it comes together to reveal a war-like experience. I used the colour red in the last piece of the stage to draw attention to the result of being in the forces. However, this doesn’t work well as a composition as it adds more confusion as to where to look first. I want to keep the colour red in the outcome as it compliments the green background and has many connotations of anger, death and the poppy that symbolises everyone who has served in the forces. I could incorporate the red more by using it in increasing amounts on each piece. For example, painting red identification numbers across the body and eventually the red covering the entire piece in the foreground.

Another thing that makes the outcome confusing overall is that the pieces of card aren’t all the same size. As the two middle ones are larger, it creates a focal point in the piece, but the red is already doing this so it is puzzles the viewer. Having a photograph of two soldiers demonstrates the team aspect of being in the army. I believe that any more would make each piece appear crowded and any less would appear liked it was purely based on one individual person.