Manchester United and Northern Ireland footballer George Best, at his Manchester Boutique.
George Best is stood in front of my grandmother’s car which she told me she loved.
I could take you to the exact street where this was in Manchester I’ve often had trips up to Manchester with my grandmother where she would point and tell me the stories of how they would hang out in the shop in the swinging 60s.
Malcolm Mooney was my grandad’s twin brother and these images are something that I feel is a part of my own history in linear Ridge it’s something that I’d really like to experiment with in my practise because this is something that I feel very proud of considering both my grandad and his brother didn’t come from a grand background at all yeah that came from h a council state in Manchester.
George Best and his business partner Malcolm Mooney working at Best’s home. 15th January 1971.
Keith Mooney was Malcolm’s twin brother but also my Grandfather who I don’t ever feel I truly met because he had a stroke a few months before I was born and I only really remember him being able to say minimum things like please, thank you and wine. Also, bird names because he loved birds but it was a bit awkward in public when he would start shouting ‘TIT’ or ‘SHAG’ completely unaware and pointing in the sky but you know got to see the humour in that and he certainly wasn’t a dull man even after his stroke and it is something I look back on fondly from growing up.
Known for directive slogans used in red bold text over black-and-white photographs found in magazines her visual language was strongly influenced by her early work as a graphic designer.
What I enjoy about her work is how captivating it is through simplicity. I enjoy the juxtaposition between black and white imagery and strong bold text. with this piece, in particular, I think it makes a great commentary on consumerism with a play on well known philosophical term ‘I think therefore I am’.
Streetwear brands such as supreme and Obey have so closely replicated her typography style. Which I think is testament how influential her work has been.
JR
what i enjoy about JR work is the way he interconnects photography with real work and using humility of humans in his work. creating a feeling of connection between people. the way in interconnects with the environment is placed it and how this the lets his art take on a life of its own as feel connect to his work. Furthering the narrative of it. Something thats always interested me about. JR is how his very much seen as a part of the street art world but is heavily focused on photography which makes his stand out as an artist for me.
With this video I wanted to illustrate how over the duration of time coronaviruses been a part of our lives the relationship of how we feel about it is changed and our environment has changed.
I feel like the mask is a real symbol for this because at the start of their whole pandemic it was quite a jarring thing to see a blue mask on the floor or on someone’s face but overtime and the months have passed it’s been normalised. These masks now sit in our streets as much as any other waste which is a harm to the environment which goes on to the other point I’m trying to make through this video is how polluting this has become and a single use mask was never the answer in the first place.
The images are a collection from the entire year of 2020 and I didn’t want to manipulate them I wanted the rawness of what I was seeing in the moment and I’ve tried to visually describe how distorted this is within some of the images having lines that I could have framed or completely straight but haven’t to sort of echo how distorted the real world seems at the moment.
I’ve also used my creative licence within the video by putting the more gruesome-looking masks which have adapted to each new environment more at the end of the sequence to emulate the idea of the passing of time and how now is very normal to see these within the world around us as opposed to the very striking brand new masks that could have been seen on the floor in March 2020.
For this image I shot on the Pentax k1000 and used colour film to photograph a self-portrait of myself on in the streets of Manchester using 35-millimetre colour film taken the image had it printed and use the wheat-based paste to put up a legal graffiti wall in the same area of Manchester. The reason I use a self-portrait was because at the time I had skinhead as many other young men had over Lockdown which points towards this time period. It also references British youth working class culture. Music genres like reggae, Northern Soul, Ska and 2 tone where all originally associated with the look of skinheads culture before a certain group spoiled it for everyone but we won’t go there.
The paint across the mouth is referencing blue single use surgical mask which is very much a symbol of the time we are living in. This also has a double meaning of how history is repeating itself and northern working-class voices are being silenced throughout the pandemic. The mayor of Manchester pushed back was made to submit to the government while people suffered the economic repercussions of the current climate without receiving enough support. Which has only reopened old wounds of the North-South divide in Great Britain.
In this image I’ve referenced Henri Cartier-Bresson’s style of street photography as I lined up my frame and waited for this split moment to happen before pressing the trigger. Again I’ve tried to use the symbols which I keep playing on through the project and really set this in a moment in time which will be looked back on.
Seen all too common for central Manchester a ‘spice head’ passed out at a Metrolink stop, Officer breaking covid restrictions to place a hand of care on another human being suffering.
I really enjoy the atmosphere of this image with the musky grubby steamed up glass the crude joke in the window and the coronavirus notice referencing they may be shut down because of restrictions in a very cheek and tongue manner. Which shows a little bit of the essence of character found in the city of Manchester.
This image can be seen in a very literal sense of how all the rubbish that hasn’t been collected as much over the pandemic creates a ‘shit show’ in the streets but also I’ve used my visual language to convey my opinion on how this time period has been dealt with.
This is my favourite of the series I took. It’s an outside shot but has a glimpse into an inside context. Sign of the times
Through this image, I’ve tried to portray a literal sign of the times. As it is a sign that would only be found within this worldwide historic event of coronavirus. Through documenting this and using the red tones through the image that I wanted to add more context to this image and that was to convey danger and the danger for me is too strong opposing opinions which creates divide through people. This can be seen through the context of the street sign and wanting to oppose something and offend instead of uniting and understanding. I think it would be interesting to see the context that people bring to this image using it to inform their opinion of me the artist and what they feel I was trying to convey through this image.
Over the Contextual and Professional Studies module I have seen a narrative occurring of what interests me within fine art and what is going to inform my artist practice going forward. I now know I’m more interested in contemporary art and within that how it has developed from historical art and the nature of that relationship from historical art to inform contemporary artworks. This module has also made me think and analyse other artists who are interested in the same context around art as me which is helping to inform where to take my practice further. I enjoy looking into urban decay the social context to how things have come to be such as what has led up to this building being derelict. I also want to expore further alterative gallery spaces and putting the context of art outside the constructs of a ‘normal’ gallery space. Though the process of this module it has given me the perspective to think about where is contempary art going in the future and how will this time within art be looked back on and how does my practice fit into all of this. Which I feel is important to use this context to help guide and inform my artistic practice. I have a greater knowledge of how to inform the pieces I am creating and understand to use my subjective perspective to give an inkling of what idea I’m trying to convey though my practice.
What resonated with me about Catriona Leahy work was the photography practises used within her work and the further process of how she uses print to display her work. The Albatross Factory building once would have been a symbolic representation of economic and industrial growth in the south on Ireland. Since the dutch owned fertiliser factory closed in the 1980’s this resulted in the loss of hundreds of jobs. Now The Albatross Factory is symbolic of how this time has been and how the economic and industrial push for ‘progression’ has left this landscape scarred by its past endeavours. This wonder in time is something I enjoy subjectively as It reminds me of the old chemical works and salt mining building from my home town which were left derelict as the economical procession was deemed to be somewhere else. Decaying urban architecture would be something my friends and I would explore greatly in our younger years as there was a mass fascination of how did this structure get here? which is something I still have a fascination with and want to explore creatively.
I have never seen a photograph used in use interesting process to me. I enjoy the way the rusted steel is used coming through the images echoing the feel of decay in this building. This process is something I wanted to look at within my own practice.
What I’ve also taken away from Catriona Leahy’s artist talk is the way the art interacts with the available space within the gallery. Making the viewer a part of the process as the piece changes with the interaction of the viewer’s eyes. I think this is a really interesting away to approach a photographic image.
From this artist talk, there is a few photographic processes I’m interested in which I didn’t know existed so I will be looking into these further.
Lecture: future careers and opportunities: Thinking ahead, what kinds of jobs would you like to do, or at least investigate? Please choose something related to art and the cultural industries.
Choose a future career you would like to do and research into how you could pursue it.
When I think about future careers and opportunities I enjoy the idea of being self-employed. I understand this is something that I’d have to do in the future when it looks financially viable for me to do so.
I would enjoy going into creative direction as I have a strong background in photography I’ve developed my understanding of what visually works before picking up a camera. Working in commercial kitchens and catering from a young age this has given me a lot of transferable skills. I know how to work fast and productively to be a part of a successful team and thrive under pressure.
Steve Lazarides who runs ‘lazemporium.com’ is someone’s whos career surrounding art interests me as he is known for being closely associated with Banksy and bring his art to the marketplace. Laz Emporium is an online market place selling the art of artists who are street-based. I think its a really clean idea to draw on the contacts he has developed over the years keeping it online is a clever move which keeps his overheads down as opposed to having a physical shop front. Which I think to get a brand established its wise to have a physical presence for people to associate your brand with. Steve Lazarides has built up his brand and connections with artists and within the commercial art space and is respected within he doesn’t need a physical presence which is something that can be only build up though a strong career.
Building up a strong E-commerce site for fine art is something I’d be interested in doing as it could create an opportunity for lesser-known artist to showcase their stuff. I think the key to doing this would be to make it smart slick and of quality. To fund this idea I could turn to freelance work within the creative industries ether using the adobe suite in a graphic design sense or as a photographer.
The contemporary artist that has influenced my work is Banksy his use of stencils changed the way stencils used which is something I use within my own work. Banksy himself reworks Historic artists work, such as Monet’s ‘Truth of nature’ painted in 1899. Which Banksy titled ‘Show Me The Monet’ which was estimated the sell between £3,000,000 – £5,000,000 and sold at £7,551,600. Monet has been a historic artist who has informed Banksy practice to the point he’s making satirical commentary about ‘Truth of nature’ in a contemporary fashion.
From Banksy to Kandinsky both being influenced by the French Impressionist painter Monet. Kandinsky first saw Monet’s painting of haystacks at an exhibition in Moscow. The colour and composition of the work made Kandinsky realise that this was more important than its depiction of a physical landscape. This is something I want to develop further in my own practice questioning the conformity of what colour should be and how it should be used.
Kandinsky’s attitude towards art and his movement towards abstraction in the way of how he thought expressing the emotion felt through the music could be translated into a new visual language. This is something I find intriguing as it gives a new perspective on painting, especially for the early 19th century. This questioning of preconceived convention is something that has started to influence my practice.
Lecture: Documenting and writing about your own practice You will have to document and write about your practice the whole way through your degree, we will discuss the how’s and what’s to do
Write a short statement about your work and take a professional quality image of your work.
My artist practise revolves around the idea of contemporary art found in city streets and where this meets gallery spaces. My artist influences behind my work are such contemporary artist such and Jean Michel Basquiat, Kieth Haring and Banksy. These creatives stand out to me as they have found a space in the fine art establishment from creating work not only inside studio spaces but refining the street as a studio space to execute their artist practice.
This is something I enjoy emulating with my own creative practice. My process of creating is purely observational at first looking towards art on the streets to see what is being conveyed and how this interaction creates social commentary and aesthetic value. I use multiple processes ranging from film photography to freehand spray paint to achieve my work this is something I enjoy experimenting with and building upon.
This piece was created with stencils from a self-portrait I then manipulated and combined with the skull. The subject matter is to convey the emotion of how I felt at the time of creating this piece. Not feeling able to verbally illustrate is why the symbolism of the skull jaw is used. I felt more comfortable doing this through visual means which is why the eyes and hair are still alive and to create the juxtaposition of life and death within myself. The colours within the face serve to further this idea of the contrast between two elements. The dark grey is used to express how I felt about my surroundings being dull and lacklustre. Creating visually pleasing art but with a deeper personal context is something that enthuses me within my practice and I will use to inform my practices futher.
Untitled, acrylic spray paint on watercolour paper (297 x 420 mm)
