New work

At the moment i am working on a sculpture of the giraffe. I have made it from air - hardening clay and paper - mashed on top.

I have decided that this giraffe would be a part of an installation to represent the poem.
I think it will be nice to compare the different effects of the 2 works on the same poem as they will be very different in all senses and its hard to expect something now

Tutorial

Today i had a tutorial with visiting tutor who suggested that my work is a lot about the value of art and that the whole kitchness is connected with that.
I have to say that i have never thought of my work like that and this gives me opportunity to explore other aspects that my art might give to a viewer.

The Giraffe.

So, here is my giraffe that is based on a poem by Nikolai Gumilev ( i have posted it here earlier). I really like the way he came out, looking like a stained glass window. I actually thought that is a very good similarity as if based on the poem the giraffe has to be something magical, dreamy, just like the stained glass windows in the churches are. This is not a very good photo of it actually, because colours are different being affected by the light in my flat, so in real life he is even more colourful!
To continue i m thinking of maybe creating a 3D version of the giraffe, although it would be different from the above. Or, maybe actually paint on some glass to make a window - like piece.

More Unconscious paintings.

Here are some more paintings made from apron used to paint the Giraffe.

I think i will continue making these from each apron i use, its a great form of recycling! It could even begin new movement of eco - art! :)

Liverpool Biennal

So here you can see a selection of photographs i took in Liverpool Biennal. these photographs are from 2 venues of the biennial - Liverpool John Moore University and The Cunard building.

I have to say that i have enjoyed the works at the Cunard much more, maybe because they mostly were from not so young artists as at the John Moore's Univercity. Also, the works at Cunard i found visually much more interesting, especially the photographic installation by the south african artist.

Overall i thought it was a great trip, very inspirational!

Giraffe

So, this is the beginning of the painting for Nikolai Gumilev's poem giraffe. I have tried to incorporate as many things in the pattern as i could so different elements from the poem can be seen in the giraffe. Anyway, i will write about everything when i finish it as there is not much to talk about yet.

Unconscious painting (continued)

This is a new work from my unconscious series. I continue doing them as i really like them - the colours, the unconsciousness.
If you want to know more about these, you could look through my earlier posts to see what i said before.

New ideas

I have a friend who is a writer and a poet and she translated 2 poems by Nikolai Gumilev for me to work with.
First poem is "Giraffe"

Today, I see, your gaze is especially sad,

Your arms are especially thin hugging your knees.

Listen: far, far away, on Lake Chad

Wonders an exquisite giraffe.

Bestowed with graceful slimness and bliss,

He wares a coat of magic ornament

To which, only the Moon would dare to compare

As it trembles and sways on the lake’s wide face.

From afar, he resembles the colourful sails of a ship,

His run is flowing, like a joyful flight of birds.

I know, the world is witness to many wonderful things,

When at night he hides in his marble cave.

I know fairytales of mysterious lands,

Of a dark maiden, of the passions of a young chief.

But for too long you have been breathing in the heavy haze,

You don’t want to believe in nothing but rain.

And how I will tell you of a tropical garden,

Of slender palm trees, of the smell of unthinkable herbs…

Are you crying? Listen… far far away on Lake Chad

Wonders an exquisite giraffe.

From this poem i want to make a quite abstract painting in a style that i often use - abstract pattern. If i can, i might try to replicate some ideas i got when i was researching other artists (see research book).

And the second poem is "You and I"

Yes I know I’m not a match for you,

I came from a different land

And I like not the guitar,

But the heathen song of the zurna.

Not in ballrooms and salons,

To dark dresses and suits –

I read my poems to dragons,

To waterfalls and clouds.

I love – like an Arab in a desert

Falls to his knees to water and drinks,

Not like a knight in a painting,

Gazing at stars and waiting.

And I will die – not in a bed,

With a notary and a doctor by my side,

But in some savage cave

Drowning in thick ivy.

So I will enter a paradise,

Not the tidy protestant one,

But the one where a highwayman,

A nomad and a whore will scream at me - “Rise!”

And from this poem i want to make a photo - collage photos for which i will be taking during my holiday trips.

In general, i want to try out different ways of working with each poem to see what comes out of this. It might even be interesting to book a project space and do a mini - show of works that i will make using poetry.