Creating something familiar yet abstract, many ex mining towns looks similar so you may think you know a place from the outside. I grew up in a similar town so in some ways I tie it with my own experience.
I didn't focus my research on a particular exhibition within the museum, but rather with the structure of the town, the viaduct and the landscape, the remains of this golden age of industry that is celebrated throughout the museum.
Im using the structure of maps and buildings, of things we imagine to be strong and unchanging , but through my work showing how even these structures erode over time.
Colour will be a very important consideration as it will change the whole mood and meaning of the work.
Some of my favourite prints are the simple row of boxes. In composition it looks a lot like houses against water, this could be representative of the river erewash though not physical/ logistically accurate, which is fine as I'm really trying to combine a few locations to give a abstract reaction.
Some of the brighter colours remind me of the sea side town so I'm not sure it's appropriate for this project. Pallet wise I'm looking at the photos from around the town and the dominating colour of the buildings is red brick, there is lots of colour in the town center from shop signage and also a lot of run down and re purposed structures, Im trying to represent this in a layed way, how the inks on the prints mix and reveal other colours and cracks and textures peeking through. Im also using a lot of green, blues, a muted pallet to represent the rural area of the viaduct, fields, and water
I love the texture on my prints as it speaks of crumbling layers of plaster and brick that I see on many buildings in the town
I've framed up a couple of my favourite prints so far to see how they would look in the exhibition.
They look very clean with the white frame,
The row of houses I like as an abstract art work however for the exhibition piece I want something more reflective of Ilkeston.
The print with the lino cut is obviously more liked to the location but I don't think it's as striking or interesting as the box prints.
I did combine it by printing over the box print with the lino.
My intention for this project was to make something with layers and mixed media to reflect the mixture of structures/ architecture and industry within the town.
While I like the framed prints they feel a little too clean and faceless for the exhibition,
looking at landscapes and landmarks and the structure of the place to create something more recognisable while still being abstract enough to remain ambiguous.
I'd like to try the prints on something other than paper maybe something more 3d. Fabric or even the cotton weaved frames from the lace project.
It needs more layers and texture to communicate the history and industrious roots of this town. Rather than a clean cut framed print, I want to make something with marks and lines and smudges and smears to represent the harshness of industry alongside the community pride and the beauty natural landscape viewed from the via duct.
I may not be able to combine these into one work so maybe a series of works to unite these elements.
I like the idea of using card board, and found, ordinary things to make my prints, repurposing like the town itself changing its identity from industry to a more commercial rural town, that is very much involved in its own history
Simon, liked the box prints but he was more interested in the lino map I made of the area. As museum curator, to him, it was more visually linkable to the town and museum so I would like to find a way to better incorporate this image as the black print is too harsh and doesn't fit with the muted colour of the prints.
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| Map/ lino print |
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| Framed box print |
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