"Creativity takes courage" - Henri Matisse |
|
|
Artist Statement:
As an MA artist, I feel that I have been on a journey of discovery. Primarily, on this journey I have sought to find the techniques and individual style that will be of use in my future. One of the major influences on my work are the forgotten folklore of certain cultures, particularly the culture of Catalonia. These tales, which have never till this day been fully translated into English have, I feel, the potential to enthral a wider audience. My cultural heritage has, or rather is being marginalised due to my country being a colony.
At the beginning of my MA study, I began to work on a Catalan chronicle of the still terrifying Count Arnau, whose damned soul hunts the lands of his own realm, dragging all those who see him into the pits of hell. I illustrated and translated one of the many stories to feature this character, entitled Count Arnau and the Two Lovers, a story which has many versions. Incorporating aspects of the legend found in many different versions of the tale, I formulated my own version and translated it into English. This version not only faithfully represents the story as expressed in my culture, but also reflects my own experience of the tales as an artist. One of the other reasons I was interested in translating and illustrating the stories was that the only versions of the tales to exist often accompany very few illustrations. These illustrations are often small and do not usually depict the story itself in full. In order to address this issue, I began to experiment using Photoshop during the second year of my undergraduate degree.
I found that wider colour experimentation was something which I needed to address, as previously in my BA illustrations the colour scheme was predominantly black and white. One of the greater challenges that came with this colour experimentation was style, which in my early MA work became quite painterly. However, as I progressed in the use of colour, the style became sleeker, particularly as I became influenced by the illustrative style of Britney Lee with her clean colouring form. By the next term of MA study, I migrated from the story and protagonist of Count Arnau to that of 'Little Tangerine', who features in a Catalan version of Snow White. However, the tale of Little Tangerine differs in that instead of seven dwarfs there are thirteen Giants, and in place of the poisoned apple there is a darkly magic golden ring that puts her to sleep; these are just two of the differences between the Grimm tale and the Catalan story. Having the freedom to be able to write and depict the wealth of stories from my own culture has opened up a lifetime of illustrative opportunities, in which I hope to conserve for my countries' literary culture and give enjoyment to others around the world. This is only the beginning of my exploration into these stories and I hope to explore the tales of other countries too. However, the tales of my own birth country I feel is a good place to start!
At the beginning of my MA study, I began to work on a Catalan chronicle of the still terrifying Count Arnau, whose damned soul hunts the lands of his own realm, dragging all those who see him into the pits of hell. I illustrated and translated one of the many stories to feature this character, entitled Count Arnau and the Two Lovers, a story which has many versions. Incorporating aspects of the legend found in many different versions of the tale, I formulated my own version and translated it into English. This version not only faithfully represents the story as expressed in my culture, but also reflects my own experience of the tales as an artist. One of the other reasons I was interested in translating and illustrating the stories was that the only versions of the tales to exist often accompany very few illustrations. These illustrations are often small and do not usually depict the story itself in full. In order to address this issue, I began to experiment using Photoshop during the second year of my undergraduate degree.
I found that wider colour experimentation was something which I needed to address, as previously in my BA illustrations the colour scheme was predominantly black and white. One of the greater challenges that came with this colour experimentation was style, which in my early MA work became quite painterly. However, as I progressed in the use of colour, the style became sleeker, particularly as I became influenced by the illustrative style of Britney Lee with her clean colouring form. By the next term of MA study, I migrated from the story and protagonist of Count Arnau to that of 'Little Tangerine', who features in a Catalan version of Snow White. However, the tale of Little Tangerine differs in that instead of seven dwarfs there are thirteen Giants, and in place of the poisoned apple there is a darkly magic golden ring that puts her to sleep; these are just two of the differences between the Grimm tale and the Catalan story. Having the freedom to be able to write and depict the wealth of stories from my own culture has opened up a lifetime of illustrative opportunities, in which I hope to conserve for my countries' literary culture and give enjoyment to others around the world. This is only the beginning of my exploration into these stories and I hope to explore the tales of other countries too. However, the tales of my own birth country I feel is a good place to start!