M5 PROJECT 2 – REFLECTION – FLOWERS & SYMBOLS

This post is dedicated to the reflection and outcome from my original research/inspiration throughout both my microfilms and zine in regards to my use of flowers and symbols.

Flowers

Why – Life, death, love, growth, vulnerability, fragility, softness.

I’ve used flowers a lot especially within my Zine. They don’t just represent life, death and love, but also growth, vulnerability, fragility and softness. I think there is a real strength in flowers and they can be very versatile in art. Across my microfilms “The Wandering Mind” is set in a natural setting while in “Through The Frame” I use the rose to symbolise the hopeless romantic.

Symbols

Why – childhood, past, memories, make believe, wonder, hope, love, reflection, growth.

Rene Magritte and Yayoi Kusama

Within the start of this project I was looking at Magritte’s use of symbols to obscure identity and recreate identity while I was looking at Kusama’s use of symbols as repetition and dissipation of identity into symbols. With my preliminary research I was looking at how surrealists create a “multiple identity” in which they can explore “the double limits of the self” (Adamowicz, 1996) I ended up using symbols as an extension of myself. I’ve ended up using symbols to expand ideas of childhood, past, memories, make believe, wonder, hope, love, reflection and growth. Some objects have been repeated throughout the body of work mirror, plants/flowers and the Alice In Wonderland book. It was definitely unintentional but I feel that the repeated objects has a lot to do with my current state of mind in which I am focusing on reflection, personal growth and nourishing my inner child, (the Alice In Wonderland 1951 adaptation was one of my favourite films at a very young age).

 

Adamowicz, E. Levy, S. (1996) Surrealism : Surrealist Visuality. Keele, Staffordshire: Edinburgh University Press. Available at: http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.rmit.edu.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=9593&site=ehost-live (Accessed: 4 May 2020)