Online Foundation Art & Design
Exhibition of student artworkYear 1 - OFCAD show / Foundation Certificate course
Year 2 - OFDAD show / Foundation Diploma course
Rachael Spain
56cm x 76cm.
Title: Ruminations on Meeting my Mother
The thought of seeing my mother again plays over in my mind. Initially this would seem a fairytale scene, one of a warm longed embrace. My initial thoughts were of my family finally being together in another space and time. However with deeper thought came the realisation that this moment would in fact be of overwhelming differing emotions. A complex torrent of feelings intermingling at the same time. A realisation that the meeting would be somewhat a confrontation of myself – releasing a sense of shame, damage, fear and uneasiness – a desire to escape the moment, a feeling which was also present when she was dying. Whilst this appears darker, I want to show compassion too. A togetherness and an embrace despite an awareness of the struggle within, of the feelings of the past that will not fade. A message to myself here and now.
The deeper levels of thinking on a subject and evolution of ideas was enlightening. Each stage during the final module solidified my thinking to the point of a final piece that I truly believed and understood. The realism became less important to me as sensations and emotions and a way to depict them took over. I can see a path now of how to formulate and document ideas and ultimately develop my art to something I believe in. The ability to draw on previous studies and experiments in material and medium has allowed me to consider other options - the use of colour to depict form, meaning and sensation or the ability to critically think of approaches to work or to be able to experiment freely and resolve ideas when considering a project.
