- Attraction
Strip: 
The lines are achieved by folding a black paper and sharpening its creases. I used a white chalk instead of water color to draw on the creases as the color can be easily spread out. I wanted to create an “outer space” effect to show that how we are all strangers in this universe holding a magical, invisible thread; lighter lines meaning distant, bolder lines meaning people we have met in our lives. The tiny dots are the intersections, representing two people whose paths are meant to cross.
More details in my research.
- Infatuation
Strip: 
The lines are achieved by painting on the cling wrap, pressing it onto the paper and slowly lifting it up. The effect shows that everything is melting away. The practicalities of having an infatuation are scary. It is in a drunken-like haze of stares and grins, possibly the same feeling when we are on drugs. However, it soon comes down to nothing. There are too many unrealistic expectations and beliefs about the other party, plain obsessions. Thus, when things go awry, you shut down or pull away.
More details in my research.
- Longing
Strip:
The lines are achieved using the end of the brush handle. It produces the type of lines which are bold at first, but sketchy at the end. Due to its nature which doesn’t quite take the stain, broken lines are easily achieved. From the strip, we can see that the lines are coming from two sides, trying to reach one another but to no avail. You are constantly keeping this person in your mind, but you can’t be right beside that someone due to various reasons.
More details in my research.
- Happiness
Strip:
The strip is created using nail polish. The results immediately send me the cheerful, pleasant vibes. It looks like a flowery print (just lacking of colors) or the cells in your body, dancing merrily. Happiness is contagious – also shown how it is spreading everywhere in the strip. Overall, it is about being yourself and feeling good about it.
More details in my research.
- Relief
Strip: 
The lines are achieved by dabbing a huge brush on the paper. Prior to that, the brush is dipped into the water and left to dry for around 15 minutes. The inconsistent lines show that how tensed and uneasy a person has been feeling for the longest time before he/she is free from it. The lines stop abruptly, meaning the end of a problem. Hence, all the uneasiness is gone.
More details in my research.
- Eagerness
Strip:
The lines are achieved by using a comb. The smudge at the bottom is created through painting more ink on the comb and dragging it vertically upward on the paper within seconds. The darker color symbolizes something that needs to grow out and reach a certain place. The print is not in an organized manner just to show how impatient an eager person can be.
More details in my research.
- Astonishment
Strip:
The strip is created using salt. The results look like a stormy night sky, which thunder could come rolling in any second, catching you by surprise. You are filled with the emotional impact of an overwhelming surprise as you stand in awe, soon the emotional punch fades out and you are back to neutral.
More details in my research.
- Awestruck
Strip:
The lines are created by using a cleaning brush. The uneven surface of the brush helps to create a dramatic effect. I made the mark in a circular manner, keeping the middle in white to show the dilated pupils when you are struck by something completely unexpected.
More details in my research.
- Speechless
Strip:
The lines are achieved using a bandage. I placed the bandage on the paper and painted the ink over it, keeping a short distance in between. I wanted to recreate the random dot pixel pattern of static displayed when no transmission signal is obtained – to show the loss of speech and nothing is being conveyed.
More details in my research.
- Grumpiness
Strip:
The lines are created using a half-painted bandage. The wavy, zig-zag lines depict how grumpiness should be. Unmotivated and unable to produce a straight line. Smudging a little here and there. There are broken lines showing how reluctant the person in completing an easy task.
More details in my research.
- Rage
Strip:
The lines are achieved by dabbing the edge of a sponge in calligraphy ink. As I have an image that I wanted in my head – waves, I am pretty satisfied with how the results turned out. The thick and thin strokes symbolize the aggressiveness in this emotion. There is a sense of direction created as the giant waves are seen to be coming from the right direction.
More details in my research.
- Torment
Strip: 
The lines are achieved using the cleaning brush. I feel that torment is a pretty challenging mark to make. How do I depict the feeling which one is scarred internally, having unaddressed trauma that has been haunting them their entire lives, being inwardly tortured by something you can’t tell? After much experimenting, I came across this, which looks like claw marks with a rather rough surface behind it. Perfectly suggest the helplessness, trapped situation when you are trying to get out but you can’t.
More details in my research.
- Depression
Strip:
The strip is created by using a toilet tube. I painted the tip with calligraphy ink and flattened the tube. To achieve the ink blot on both ends, I dipped the tube into a bottle of ink and dragged it across immediately. The white space in between represents the persistent “empty” mood, a sense of hollowness.
More details in my research.
- Melancholy
Strip:
The lines are created using a toothpick painted with black ink. I rolled each toothpick vertically downwards and upwards in an alternative manner to achieve a type of variety, while still maintain its neatness. As you can see that the ink blot is found at the top and bottom of the strip, instead of just concentrating on one line. I wanted to create a sense of loneliness and gloomy feeling. Hence, I thought of rainy days and staying in, watching the raindrops rolling down the window – just like drowning in your own kind of sorrow.
More details in my research.
- Isolation
Strip: 
The strip is created using a straw, dipped in black ink. I removed the excess ink before stamping it on the paper. I repeated it across the paper to represent a community of people, leaving one extra at the far right to suggest the exclusion.
More details in my research.
- Anxiety
Strip:
The lines are achieved using a comb. Anxiety causes one to return again and again to the same fears. I brushed the comb at different angles to depict how anxiety feels in reality – it keeps you staying at the same spot, going over the exact same thing, unable to move forward. Another symbolism in this strip is dreadful – the lines look like someone has been dragging his feet.
More details in my research.
- Worry
Strip:
The mark is achieved by twisting a toothbrush. The results look like dark clouds following you everywhere – a state of mind that you can’t break free. The lighter area shows that you might think you are finally free from the problems, but the next second they are there, swallowing you up with the same negative thoughts or even more intense than before.
More details in my research.
- Panic
Strip:
The lines are created using a toilet tube that has been cut diagonally to achieve oval curves. The curves suggest someone has been running frantically in circles, freaking out over something. Panic attacks make you think that you are losing control, hence the lines are overlapping without a sense of direction.
More details in my research.
*Close-up versions are included for specific emotions as they were not found in previous posts.
Thoughts on Project 1:
I personally feel that it is a great project to kick-start the module with. This Project has pushed me to think out of the box; in terms of figuring out what materials can be used (which turned out everything can be a tool!) and conceptualizing the lines. It’s definitely not that easy when I first started out. Looking at the table of emotions in the brief, I was overwhelmed and had absolutely no idea how to produce lines to depict them.
Some of the challenges I faced in this Project are firstly, I tend to give a backstory to the emotion and my lines turned out very representational. For example, I depict “attraction” using an eye with the transmission of electric power to it. Besides, I placed myself into a box by selecting the eighteen emotions way before experimentation and forcing myself to produce lines based on each emotion, which led me to many creative blocks. I was so frustrated when the lines just didn’t work out.
However, after our first two mark making sessions, I started to figure out how this whole thing works. My favorite part of the process was definitely the conceptual phase, which I saw an image in my mind and imagined my final execution in an abstract way. For instance, Rage and Anxiety are exactly the images I pictured. Sometimes the marks didn’t look as good or just seemed off to me, yet they did surprise me in a good way! And I think that’s the best thing in experimentation.
Experimentation could be draining as well, but overall it was really fun when I get to discover the abstract meaning behind the lines I have made and seeing how they synced well with the emotions I have selected. I have always been putting emotions down in words, hence it is truly refreshing to create the emotions using just lines and marks. Most importantly, I learned that mental block can be overcome through reading some articles relating to the chosen emotion. From there, I could pick up bits and pieces that inspired me to make the lines.
Onward x
