Critical Review

Transitioning from the end of stage two into the final major project was initially challenging for me as having created what I felt was a very successful final outcome for the ‘Here and Now’ topic, I struggled to know how to progress this further. However, through the process of documenting what I wanted to achieve and focus on throughout the project, combined with subsequent research to fuel my creative thought process, I was able to successfully find myself a staring point. This research effectively underlined the whole of my project, and alongside my strong evaluations, allowed me to progress from week to week with a grounded sense of context and meaning running through my work. I was determined during this project not to let my overwhelming sense of self criticism impede my work’s production and quality, but instead allow myself to efficiently spot both the simple and more complex issues in my practical work which in the end enabled me to achieve an excellent balance between production of work and evaluation.

As seen in previous projects, my experimentation and eagerness to resolve any artistic considerations is where I have excelled. Therefore, I have been able to apply and explore a range of practical techniques within my work, ranging from photographic editing using digital software made available to me at AUB, to using an embroidery needle on a sewing machine to experiment with stitch as a drawing technique.

Upon reflection of my initial writings at the start of the project, I became aware of the fact that I strayed away from certain ideas or concepts that I wanted to incorporate into my work, such as the interactive element of the final outcome. Whilst this was explored as a possibility in my experimentations, in the end I went with an idea that I knew would be visually effective over a piece that could be contributed to the exhibition space by the end user, which would detract from my intended conceptual outcome.

I have been vigilant in ensuring that every problem I come across in my work is met with a variety of creative solutions, with only the best and most appropriate being taken forward to resolve the issue. However, the creation of my final piece in particular was a challenge to me, as the vast possibilities made available to me through my experimentation meant I had a hard time deciding how to present the final outcome. In the end I went with a layout and format of the puzzle that had the best aesthetic, suspending them using thin cotton thread to make them appear as they are floating. The use of zoomed in images of facial features displayed on each puzzle piece successfully questions the idea of masking in today’s society, which was highlighted in my project proposal as something that I particularly wanted to achieve. The physical creation of the final piece arguably did not particularly stretch me in terms of my artistic capabilities in comparison to final outcomes from other projects, however, I strongly believe that the thought processes that went into the test pieces, experimentation and supporting work leading up to it are what tested me the most and shaped the body of work into a coherent and consistent self led exploration.