For methods of translating, I had a lot of ideas, but again had a late start. I wanted to explore them all. The common themes around the separate ideas I had collected were: parody of institutions, trauma, ornate beauty, and the intersection of all three of those ideas; they were, family photos, Marie Antoinette (2006) dir. Sofia Coppola, the Democratic Party (USA), Catholicism, Appalachia, Funeral Photos, and the clothes that Central Saint Martins students wear.
I decided to follow through with broadly, catholicism, as I had a repertoire of images I’ve taken throughout the years and personal connections to the church and bible (grew up in the bible belt of the south) which I thought would be interesting to address in a graphic context.
I started with going to the library and finding bible passages (via searching online) that were equal parts ridiculous but also had affected my upbringing or informed my disposition growing up.
I then began making simple art out of these passages combined with images I had taken in years past.
Inspired by the layering in the images, I just began to create what I called “combination images” where I layered different elements I had collected upon one another.
After reading the bible passages, I thought an effective way to parody them was to create very crude illustrations; their juxtaposition to the ornate, beautiful detail of most catholic churches was funny to me. In this instance, my terrible penmanship was an asset.
Based on feedback I received for this week, I continued work on the combination images by adding more layers to them. I experimented with screenprinting initially to create a more organic form of layering, but soon realised that the prints had taken on another meaning entirely.
In between getting files ready for screenprinting I also began to scan more images of the architecture and structures of churches. I wanted to play on the idea of structure by addressing it literally—these codes that have defined my life and upbringing are very rigid, so what if I used the physical layouts in a subversive way? What if I scanned images of stained glass, an very rigid, methodical art form in itself and used that imagery in a new way?
(images from Lewis, J. (2018) The architecture of medieval churches: theology of love in practice. London ; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group (Routledge research in architecture), and Stained glass: quarterly of the Stained Glass Association of America (no date). Kansas City: Stained Glass Association of America.)
When creating the final poster book, I felt like it was a highly individualised look at how I view religion, specifically, southern American christianity. It didn’t represent anything other than my own view and my own background on religion; passages about bastardised children probably don’t mean anything to most people, but for me are associated with generational trauma. The screenprints though were more of a wholesome take on faith; each one was different, similar to how if I were to sit down with 10 people each one would have a different response on what religion and faith meant to them. The final project then, is a mix between two sides of my view on religion; the appreciation for the aesthetic and beauty of catholicism but recognising the realities and damage it has caused to me specifically. It is my hope that the viewer sees the beauty amidst the chaos and disruption of layering and thresholding images several times over.
After presenting everything, my next steps will be to re-assess the combination images and pare some of them down to a three step system, similar to how I worked in the beginning of the project. Image, architecture, passage.
Additionally, I will bind the posters together in a more elaborate way and incorporate the screen prints in the middle of the poster book. It was suggested that I turn this into a book of sorts which would definitely be interesting, but I feel as if detail might be lost in downsizing the images.