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i had 3 options for what i wanted to do, i wanted to look at the galapagos because it is a magical ecosystem place, traveller communities near me because its a whole group of people that have been involved in my life that never get discussed especially not in a positive light.
i spoke to everyone in tutorial about all of my ideas and we all agreed we think id bored just doing illustrations of the galapagos (100% correct i would be bored out of my mothertrucking mind), the imaginary paper bin idea was cool and is baso a solid idea but wheres the fun in that ive got nothing to figure out AND i can image myself doing something with that idea in the future! we decided that looking at travellers communities and the area where i lived was my best bet. id already dabbled in this when i did the animation for the summer project and i really enjoyed it and i think i could go further with it. i links in with my disseration well because im wanting to explore mending within the working class too.
i went on a little photo trip on my way home from work and took pictures of places that seemed very specifically ASHFIELD to me and theyre some of my favorutie places. ive always loved the cranes i used to look at them when id drive past in the back of my car when i was little and i would think they were MASSIVE SKYSCRAPER CANES. i love how the insides of the one stop shop looks and that the lights make the drinks look neon compared to the grey floor and ceiling i like the lonely trolley too.
the chippie is my favorite its at the end of my road and i like how the green writing matches the wheelie bin and the inside lights are so old and orange that it looks like tits glowing at night. the text on the walls is still done with the old magnetic letters and letrasets and the kids menu is done in multi-coloured ones PRECIOUS.
i took these pictures into the next tutorial and me and kristian remised about the dodgy places where we grew up and i explained that i like all the things that everyone thinks are crashy like pimped up cars and travellers sites. he told me to get out the CHAV book from the library and gave me lots of things to look at like the grayson perry documentary 'all in the best possible taste'.
over the holidays (i didnt do much lol bc i was moving studios) i got my mum and dad involved with items we assosiate with being working class. drew said himself but that isn't useful to research. some of the main ones were the national lotto and scratchcards, specific clothes (tradie trousers and cleaners aprons), and specific foods like sausage rolls and freezer meals.
this led me to the idea of embroidering and beading these clothes to highlight the beauty of wear and stains. i was interested in the idea of them being more desirable because they were prettier or because people liked that someone had spend alot of time tediously working on them. does that mean people like things that have had alot of work put into them? especially if they were not paid. working class people dont have many other options than buying second-hand or fast fashion, but often spend their lives working in underpaid jobs. do they appreciate the work more or are middle-class people more appreciative that it is one of a kind.
i also liked the idea of making a fabric version of a JD bag. when i was at school they were a status symbol and are very recognisable because of the colours, but i think like its definately an item that is looked down on even though its very sustainable to re-use a plastic bag even MORE sustainable than buying a tote bag lol bloody posh people. i would use all secondhand materials obvs because its too spenny not too and it defeats the object of it being sustainable. i want to make it fabric, with lots of pockets, and all beaded and sparkly to highlight how the resourcefulness of the working class is seen as trampy, but then is adopted by the middle-class and seen as educated and impactful. very strange.
i also did lots of tests half for fun and half because i was worried i was going to be seen as a knob. i didnt know if i should be making work about the working class because even though i am, im not on benefits or living in a council house which people link with working class people. i was reading the CHAV book by Owen Jones, and he talks about how society views the working class as only the stereotypical criminal white-trash families in rural areas, and that the middle-class is miles away from this. in reality its more of a gradient that everyone is placed on, and most people can identify with some middle-class AND working-class characteristics. the middle-class media dont think about it this way as they want it to seem like there is an impenetrable wall between the classes. so REALLY it would be a piss take for me to NOT feel like i can make work about being working-class, ive been given the privilege of being able to go uni and i want to make art about the things that matter to me.
i couldnt FOR THE LIFE OF ME find that grayson perry documentary or any good pictures of the tapestries, but this video from the gallery was good enough and perry gave his one description of each one thank u lord u saved me there. i love the multicolouredness and ugliness of it all, the colours clash and its almost grotesque which makes it even BETTER. the one i identify with most is the second, where its looking over sunderland and its very football-orientated, plus theres pimped up cars and a social club HORRAY. i love all the hidden symbolism and that its a TAPESTRY ugh delicious more lovely textiles, i love how theres not a single bit of unused space on the tapestry too, its jam-packed with so many details its like a wheres wally. the religious inspirations are cool too its like the ginger man is a class-climbing jesus. wish i could see these in real life they make me happy and excited to make art
i made an imaginary industrial park. i wanted to combine all the ones i seen and then make it rainbow and dreamy. it didnt work oops but i TRIED EVERYONE and i think it would be fun to make a textile version of this but better. i like the idea of making it massive so that people felt like they were stood ON the road. i want people to be surrounded by all the colours and the sounds (id get a little speaker) and transport people there. i like and hate industrial estates. they take up so much green space and look ugly against the green grass and trees, but they've been there that long that to me its like they've combined with nature and grass grows around then and they're all mossy so now its like their a new thing that has happened in rural areas where nature is making friends with all the industrial. i dont even find them an eyesore anymore, and i have lots of good memories of getting drunk and sitting on pavements on industrial estates. when its sunset all the light hits the big grey sheets of metal and makes it pink and blue its very nice.
because ive been busy with work i wanted to watch something for this project while i did other stuff, so i found scrapper and i did NOTHING ELSE while watching it was CAPTIVATING it gets the feeling of being a kid down so well because everything is saturated and beautiful and your imagination bleeds into reality. i cried alot it was such a good film and i feel like it breaks down the barrier that middle-class people have tried to build that makes it seem like all working-class skint people are criminals and wrongens and living on benefits just because they dont want to work. everyone in the film has a understandable reason to why they might act out or do something bad, and the only character show is shown to be mean for no reason are the social workers and teacher (who are the probably the only characters with a uni education tehe). i feel like it should be mandatory viewing in private schools. its captures what i want to capture in my work, i want to magnify the beauty and love and character of all these people and places that are written off by society as being rough or hopeless or a lost cause.
TALK ABOUT MAMAS CHARM BRACELET. TALK ABOUT WORKING CLASS SHOWS OF STATUS LIKE SIGNET RINGS AND THOSE VIVIENNE WESTWOOD EARRINGS AND THE PANDORA CROWN RING.