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Game[ read project statement ]
PROJECT STATEMENTMy work concentrates on the notion of a 'Generation X'. I attempt to make palpable the psychological gap between the world that we physically experience and the psychological states through which it is apprehended. I achieve this by painting in a hyper-realist technique, using this I attempt to show a form of escapism, whether through youth subcultures, the fantasy worlds of computer games or by directly referencing historical utopian visions. My work is rooted in the tradition of Romanticism. The signifiers are taken from historical works of art, sources and themes. These are suggested through the appropriation of composition, gestures or objects. PaintingsMy current works are an investigation into gaming culture, particularly the lone explorer navigating a fantastical landscape. Ideas of Romanticism have become more prevalent as we experience and journey through the digital realm as a leisurely pursuit. My intention is to highlight the connection between the hugely detailed and immersive backgrounds of computer games and those idealised vistas of Romanticism. There is a resonance with the romantic notion of the explorer, and through a series of workshops, I aim to provide a platform in which young people can design and explore their own computer game. These workshops were an investigation into the collaborative aspects of my practice in which the participants would devise their own avatars, locations and gaming narratives drawn from their own experiences of play within the local landscape. I am interested in how their childhood games develop to incorporate particular sites and how alternate histories centre around these locations, focussing particularly on local myths and legends that have been passed down through generations. I asked the participants to revisit and explore places that have held particular significance to them in the past. These are incorporated into their game with the associated myths weaved into their plot. From their designs I create panoramic landscape painting that mimics the rendering of a digital landscape and serves as a screenshot of their game. Dressed as their avatar, I situate them within the fictional landscape of their creation, merging the real landscape with the digital. The workshops enable me to produce a series of collaborative works that present a unique portrait of these young people�s individual histories. DrawingsIn my drawings I have attempted to mix reality with fantasy. In the Gamer portraits, each individual is linked to their digital environment via the umbilical cord of their controller. Their immersion into this alternate reality plays across their faces as they become disassociated from reality, engaged in the fantasy. |
