Course contexts

1. Mediating the image: transformations through process and material

This project was an extremely enjoyable and productive experience. We were each invited to select one A4 black and white photograph and embark upon a journey, back and forth across digital and analogue, using various processes, media, and materials. Having recently read Barbara Balfour’s “The what and the why of Print” this exercise emphasised the “shape shifting” nature of print. We were encouraged to embrace a dynamic and experimental approach and supported by staff in our implementation.

We were encouraged to explore the various processes in cutting, folding, producing collage, drawing, painting, scratching, and transferring onto various surfaces. We were provided with access to all workshops and I explored through relief/laser print, photo transfer, photocopying, and fabric. I have continued to adopt this approach and one of my pieces for the end of term Pop Up show included work which originated from a photograph taken by myself and which was then screen printed several times before I cut out sections, gluing onto a piece of discarded metal, re photographing and digitally printing. I was a very pleased with both the process and the work, being both evocative and painterly. I have included this work along with other pieces which were created over the three days.

We were provided with a very useful handout which highlighted both the history of image making and the inter relationship between image/object/surface. This in turn consolidated my understanding of the reference made by Roland Barthes in his book “Image, Music Text” when he refers to the “rhetoric of the image”.

The artist examples provided ranged from Robert Rauschenberg (Apprehension 1963, Solvent transfer on paper, 57x57 cm) to Can Guo-Qiang (Gunpowder In search of El Greco No 8 2016, Gunpowder on Canvas, 91.5x91.5 cm). I have researched those artists provided and Rauschenberg’s comment, published in “Artnews”, February 1977 encapsulates my own belief when he says: “That’s why I like dance, music, theatre and that’s why I like printmaking, because none of these things can exist as solo endeavours. Also, the best way to know people is to work with them and that’s a very sensitive form of intimacy.”

2. Lecture on criticality: critical questions and critical thinking

This was a lecture delivered by James Reynolds at Peckham Road on Wednesday 11th December, 2024.

This was a very well presented lecture, engaging and interactive. The audience were invited to view an image and reflect on its context through:

The piece for discussion was one from Sarah Lucas and her recent exhibition at Tate Britain, “Happy Gas”. I had attended this exhibition and found it both thought provoking and enthralling.

The piece, one of the “Bunny” sculptures, comprised of Women’s stockings stuffed with fluff, wedged into chairs and variously accessorised and posed in a cartoonish posture and platforms. This was an excellent piece in which to embrace the subject matter of the lecture and the questions posed, along with examining our own practice within that same framework.

We were invited to break up into smaller groups and this stimulated some thought provoking conversation and has been the catalyst for setting up similar groups over the Christmas period. 

There was also an excellent handout which we used during the presentation and the group work. Each title was expanded upon with relevant questions. We were very much encouraged to reflect upon our own practice and to document our journey which I have begun to do.

In terms of the piece which opened the lecture and the artist Sarah Lucas there is a very interesting article within the book which accompanied the exhibition written by Lauren Elkin, entitled “Concrete Poetry” in which she refers to the novelist Georges Perec in his essay “Approaches to What?”. (1973) when he writes “What speaks to us seemingly is always the big event, the untoward, the extra ordinary, the front page splash, the banner headlines. Railway trains only exist when they are derailed , and the more passengers that are killed the more trains exist…so many dead and all the better for the news media if the figures keep going up”. Perec urges his reader not to lose sight of what is “truly inadmissible” : “what is scandalous isn’t the pit explosion, it’s working in coal mines’. 

There are also a number of very good essays contained within “Reclaiming Artistic Research” (Expanded Second Edition Lucy Cotter, Ed) which address contemporary relevant issues the wake of the global pandemic, social justice,Ai and climate change.

Reflecting on this lecture by James Reynolds I was struck by the importance of Art as social commentary and of appreciating its multi layered nature. 

3. Fine Art print talks and lecture with Professor Paul Coldwell

I found Professor Coldwell’s talks and lecture both very engaging and informative. Whilst he was clearly very knowledgable it was his delivery and passion for the subject with which I was particularly struck. His talks emphasised the relevance of printmaking throughout history with a wide range of artists being referenced, from Durer to Banksy and whom I have researched. During an early talk in the term he posed the question: “How will you engage your audience” and this is something I have certainly kept in mind. He also referred to the “Show and tell” nature of printmaking and of the capacity for captivating an audience through the use of song titles and memorabilia in his practice. There is a sensitivity to the work which I admire.This is evidenced within my own practice and which I will be exploring further. This has led me to an appreciation of the work of Richard Deacon and in particular the pieces “This is not a story”, Home and Away 12,6 and “As if” 13 in his use of photography, lithography and inkjet print.