FEELING EMPOWERED BY THE GASMASK
These works are physical, sensual and visceral. Their aim is to seduce and indeveloping an intimate relationship abond is created, a realm of elusive
(female) power. The Gas Mask hiding an underlying murderous activity, the knife symbolising my mothers death in 2011. My art is a game of structuraltruthfulness; its allowing me to take control of my own life.
CLICK ON IMAGES BELOW TO ENLARGE:
(female) power. The Gas Mask hiding an underlying murderous activity, the knife symbolising my mothers death in 2011. My art is a game of structuraltruthfulness; its allowing me to take control of my own life.
CLICK ON IMAGES BELOW TO ENLARGE:
The gas mask concept developed when I came across Post-mortem
Photography. Post-Mortem photography was a popular practice
during the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth century in America
and Europe. Also known as a memorial or mourning portrait of the
recently deceased. When studying the images I began to see a very
evident pattern, the majority of the deceased were children. Which lead
me onto Victorian murderous women
“The domestication of woman in the early reign of Queen Victoria inspired
largely by her example - made it especially difficult for the English
to believe that woman would harbour, let alone indulge murderous impulses.
”(sourced from:
www.historytoday.com/judith-knelma )
Queen Victoria made an impression on how women should represent
themselves, this came from her studying on how woman portrayed
themselves in medieval Rome, which had emphasis in education, clothing,
articulated speech, stance and wealth.
These murderous woman mostly used stealth as a approach and used
poison to kill their victims. Some often killing their family, then this
obsessive drive begins. These crucial elements are deadly and deceiving.
Using this intensification of manipulation let these woman never
get caught or caught to late after numerous victims.
Using this concept, the black and white theme continued on from stage
two, to make this body of work visually striking. Applying the setting in
the dark woods accentuate on the grim Victorian era. All the imagery I
have sourced for this module is vintage black and white photographs of
real people and children, people who rebuilt our country after the
devastating wars. This truthfulness is imposing reality, something we could
never experience. Having to wear gasmasks up to ten years after WW2 in
1945 in abolished places.
Incorporating this cross gender concept has pushed me to finding
how woman use their seductive power to manipulate situations to
their advantage. In my experimental work my paintings
developed a narrative, which shows within my paintings, showing this
elusive female power and this murderous structure of power.
In the paintings ‘Childhood soon left behind’ (4ft x 2ft) and ‘Found the
Lust’ (4ftx 2ft) depict the girl with a mickey mouse gas mask, which the
majority of my audience thought I created this type of gas mask, but
this is a real item used for children during these times to not scare them
and to make it more fashionable. These two paintings are the start of
the series, showing that her murderous desire started at a young age and
developed into her adult life.
The next ‘I will find you’ (3ft x 3ft) is situated at a junk yard, creating the
ominous or visceral side. ‘Finding empowerment’ ends the series of
her in a more relaxed state, still reflecting whether her dependence
has been fulfilled.
All the paintings have all the same painting technique method, using
five different types of mark making which resembles the five steps of
grievance by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. The steps of mark making conclude:
Denial and Isolation, dripping. Anger stabbing motion (foliage).
Bargaining, smoothness of questioning myself or what
happened between my parents. Depression, fluidity of desaturation in
the foreground. Acceptance, white highlights, questioning what is it and
will I get there.
In overall I have gained insightful knowledge about the Victorian era
and produced truthfulness within my work, using this slight border line
science fiction approach but based on true factors. The rawness has
come from stage two methods such as the desaturation, cropped imagery
plus black and white elements to help recreate this dark, ominous era.
Furthermore emphasising on my mothers death without using her, as its
not appropriate as of yet. I do however want to continue this concept
in a performance approach, to expand my art practise further.
Keshia Bird
Photography. Post-Mortem photography was a popular practice
during the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth century in America
and Europe. Also known as a memorial or mourning portrait of the
recently deceased. When studying the images I began to see a very
evident pattern, the majority of the deceased were children. Which lead
me onto Victorian murderous women
“The domestication of woman in the early reign of Queen Victoria inspired
largely by her example - made it especially difficult for the English
to believe that woman would harbour, let alone indulge murderous impulses.
”(sourced from:
www.historytoday.com/judith-knelma )
Queen Victoria made an impression on how women should represent
themselves, this came from her studying on how woman portrayed
themselves in medieval Rome, which had emphasis in education, clothing,
articulated speech, stance and wealth.
These murderous woman mostly used stealth as a approach and used
poison to kill their victims. Some often killing their family, then this
obsessive drive begins. These crucial elements are deadly and deceiving.
Using this intensification of manipulation let these woman never
get caught or caught to late after numerous victims.
Using this concept, the black and white theme continued on from stage
two, to make this body of work visually striking. Applying the setting in
the dark woods accentuate on the grim Victorian era. All the imagery I
have sourced for this module is vintage black and white photographs of
real people and children, people who rebuilt our country after the
devastating wars. This truthfulness is imposing reality, something we could
never experience. Having to wear gasmasks up to ten years after WW2 in
1945 in abolished places.
Incorporating this cross gender concept has pushed me to finding
how woman use their seductive power to manipulate situations to
their advantage. In my experimental work my paintings
developed a narrative, which shows within my paintings, showing this
elusive female power and this murderous structure of power.
In the paintings ‘Childhood soon left behind’ (4ft x 2ft) and ‘Found the
Lust’ (4ftx 2ft) depict the girl with a mickey mouse gas mask, which the
majority of my audience thought I created this type of gas mask, but
this is a real item used for children during these times to not scare them
and to make it more fashionable. These two paintings are the start of
the series, showing that her murderous desire started at a young age and
developed into her adult life.
The next ‘I will find you’ (3ft x 3ft) is situated at a junk yard, creating the
ominous or visceral side. ‘Finding empowerment’ ends the series of
her in a more relaxed state, still reflecting whether her dependence
has been fulfilled.
All the paintings have all the same painting technique method, using
five different types of mark making which resembles the five steps of
grievance by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. The steps of mark making conclude:
Denial and Isolation, dripping. Anger stabbing motion (foliage).
Bargaining, smoothness of questioning myself or what
happened between my parents. Depression, fluidity of desaturation in
the foreground. Acceptance, white highlights, questioning what is it and
will I get there.
In overall I have gained insightful knowledge about the Victorian era
and produced truthfulness within my work, using this slight border line
science fiction approach but based on true factors. The rawness has
come from stage two methods such as the desaturation, cropped imagery
plus black and white elements to help recreate this dark, ominous era.
Furthermore emphasising on my mothers death without using her, as its
not appropriate as of yet. I do however want to continue this concept
in a performance approach, to expand my art practise further.
Keshia Bird