Anxious

A fear of the future, frightened by possibilities and consequences.

“What if they don’t like me?” “What if I fail?”

A certain progression -> scattering and frightening, confusing future

Embarrassed

The end result of doing something shameful before a crowd

“I shouldn’t have done that” “I wish a hole would swallow me”

Above and below: Curling up frightened before a judgmental crowd. Below: Escaping behind the nearest available hiding spot. Final (not shown): Hiding dots, escaping motion expressed by smudging wet ink with finger.

Bizarre

Weird, strange, inexplicable. Possibly value-neutral. Opposite of normal. Strangeness is deeply relative.

“Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly.” -Charles Addams

Centre – The person. The feelings emerge only from the person, and take form only outside the borders of “comprehension”. Growing stairs upwards and downwards – an expression of uncertainty of the value of strangeness, good or bad?

 

Exhausted

Extreme tiredness, bone-deep weariness, wrung-out, pushed past personal limits, stressed beyond capacity.

“I don’t want to do this anymore.” “I ache in muscles I didn’t know I had.” “I want to sleep forever”

Above: Person curled up on the floor in defeat, energy leaking/seeping out into the floor, stress and pressure being exerted onto the person.

 Above/Left: Initially I scratched the paper with a penknife then painted over with ink, but the ink was so intense that it leaked through the scratched lines and formed these splotches on the opposite page, which to me conveyed the idea of ‘leaking out’ and ‘overworked’ surprisingly well.

Below/Right: I expanded on that discovery by scratching hanging curves and repeating the process of overloading the ink, especially on the arch of the curves. The ultimate effect shows the idea of being ‘weighed down’, and ‘wrung out’, as well as ‘fading’, ‘weakened’, and some hints of ‘defeated’.

Left: Unfortunately, attempts to replicate the results on the larger paper were unsuccessful.
No matter how deep the cut or layers of ink applied, the blotchiness of the above patterns could not be achieved.

Bottom: In the end, I cut out the test strip and used the front face strip as a stamp, applying ink and pressing it onto another strip to approximate the desired pattern.

  

Fragile

Easily broken, a single force away from disaster, teetering on the edge, thin, brittle.

 The idea of using spiderwebs – though they are thin, brittle, and otherwise in-line with my definition of ‘fragile’ – have a more common association with the predatory and lurking nature of spiders rather than it’s structural vulnerability. The usage of spiderwebs hence wouldn’t convey ‘fragility’ as much as, say, ‘hunting’ or ‘patience’.

Next, I explored using the imagery of glass, the familiar visage of packaging containing fragile items. However, a fully intact glass seems to more easily convey ‘elegance’ than ‘fragility’, and a shattered glass calls to mind ‘rage’ and ‘aggression’.

Ultimately, I decided upon using the veins of a leaf. The process of chemically removing the ‘flesh’ of the leaf from its veins is a delicate one as the veins are thin and fragile, and while I did not have to do it myself, the appearance of the leaf’s many thin, bare veins still inspires one to handle it with care.

The leaf also symbolises life and nature, and the fragility of these things. Using Chinese ink to make prints, there is an illusion of foliage where the ink stretches and fills the spaces between veins. It calls to mind the many species of flora and fauna that have been severely impacted on the part of careless human exploitation, again invoking the idea of ‘fragile’.

 

 

 

   

Systematic

Working together, enforced harmony, office cubicles, rules and regulations, law and order. The differing opinions of those who delight in systems, and those who despise them.

“Rules are meant to be broken.” “Without order, nothing would get done.” “Rebel against the system!” “Laws are made to protect people.”

My design was inspired primarily by the idea of ‘cogs in a machine’ and the appearance of office cubicles. It conveys the idea of a standardised, extremely mechanical system which links together many unique, organic individuals. The ‘machine’ is represented by hard, regular, open squares of 15mm sides, while the ‘cogs’ are irregular, freehand-drawn circles, some more circular and others more closely resembling beans or triangles. The shading which fills them some times explode even beyond the boundaries of the line, showing the individuals who feel discontent at restriction by systems.

Turbulent

Violent, upsetting, massively opposing forces, clashes changes to status quo, period of change and transitions, upheavals, revolutions, new world order

Right: I initially experimented with two counter-spiraling ribbons, spiraling in different directions yet each loop is interlocked with the loop of the opposite spiral, resulting in a messy, vicious pulling force and showing the idea of two opposing sides locked in combat. However, the imagery of the looping ribbons is more likely to invoke the concept of ‘fate’, ‘destiny’ and similar romantics, even ‘love’ and ‘gravitation’, which are decidedly much more positive ideas than ‘turbulent’.

Left: I then began to focus on the idea of the transitions and new world orders, inspired by such major historical events such as the French Revolution. Throughout history, the period of change has been likened to tumultuous and stormy seas, a messy process of overturning old ways of thinking and implementing new ideas. Hence I have shown a relatively smooth-flowing bunch of lines that steadily increase in kinks, representing a rise in discontent and calls for change, ultimately culminating in a messy, spiky upheaval which represents the revolution, before eventually calming and settling into a new equilibrium. But this equilibrium too, is subject to being overturned…

Lyrical

Music, time, sounds, smoothness, enjoyment, patterns, rhythms, repeats, math

In order to express the idea of time, I attempted to make a uni-directional series of curls. However, my hand inevitably would double back to form loops on every attempt, and would do so except for the most basic of curves.

So I decided to use the bar visualiser on computer music player programs as inspiration. These bars visualise the beats and rhythms of the music playing by pulsing different bars to different heights. it also neatly encapsulates the idea of how there is a very mathematical exactness to the art of creating pleasing music, especially in the keeping of time. In the background, I added a soft wash of simple curves, softening the appearance of the rigid bars and expressing ideas of smoothness and enjoyment,

Nonsensical and Spontaneous

Spontaneous: Happening without thought or plan, without outside influence, often used in biological contexts.

Nonsensical: Without end or beginning, making no sense, ill-advised, hare-brained. Generally with negative connotations.

I initially had trouble finding a difference, a nuance, between ‘nonsensical’ and ‘spontaneous’, but eventually found one in the manner in which the words are used. Spontaneous is generally a value-neutral, or even positive term, used to describe unfettered people who dare to chase their dreams and ambitions while being able to live in the moment, at the same time it is often used in a biological context to describe the spontaneous changes in things such as organs or DNA.

My earlier explorations focused more on the idea of the ‘YOLO’ person, one who wasn’t afraid to take zer chances and live in the here and now. Hence my initial design focused on exciting patterns, which changed and alternated with deliberate frequency. However, it began to take on a formulaic sequence which did not convey spontaneity, and attempting to randomise the intervals of pattern changes resulted in it looking silly and more like Nonsensical. I then decided to use uncontrolled paint splats and simple pulling strokes to convey a more organic feeling.

Nonsensical on the other hand, has shades of negativity, often meant to demean or belittle someone seen as having no foresight, brash, and foolhardy. Hence, while Spontaneous featured the organic ‘as-is’ falling of paint splats, Nonsensical also featured this, to show the similarity and potential for overlap, as well as a myriad of other entirely unrelated scribbles, which I drew roughly, without looking, and some with my left hand or held in an awkward manner in my right.

 

 

Psychotic

To describe one with psychosis, a mental condition, wherein the patient has a disconnect from reality. It may manifest in what appears to be delusional ramblings, or the patient may react with aggression and violence to those who try to deny their perceived reality. True reality possibly becomes confusing and inexplicable, they may feel that they are the only sane person left, and it may feel impossible to explain or describe their own perceptions, leaving feeling alone and frustrated.

Messy scribbles in charcoal and vague wash lends violence and harshness to a confusing world. A solitary triangle represents the patient with zer mouth open in a despairing scream, willing and failing to understand and to be understood.

Ambiguous

Uncertain, confusing. Finding patterns where none are. Mental filling in of blanks to form patterns or shapes where none exist. Wood grain, marble, tile, paint texture, and the faces and animals you see in them.

Distracted

Being pulled away from an important goal by something superfluous. Redirected.Initially I had the concept of a moth being drawn to a flame, with coils of attentive work being unraveled and sucked into an embellished black hole. However I wanted it simplified, so I drew inspiration from the phenomenon of redirecting the flow of tap water using charged rods. In bending the water, it could be said to be ‘distracted’ from its ‘goal’ of landing in the sink proper. Sensual

Being pleasing to the senses, primarily touch. Often associated with sexuality and sexual pleasure.

I began by drawing organic swirls, adding flowers and as
many soft edges as possible, and then ‘fluffing’ out the lines by drawing secondary lines that created volume on the initial ones, like hair. After that, I added clouds, thinking of their light, fluffy appearance. I eventually abandoned the early design as I realised that I began thinking of many more things which could be far more sensually pleasing than plants, such as feathers, wing shapes, silk, and water.
Perhaps inevitably, I explored the sensuality of the human body, primarily that of its curves, such as on the back, waist, hips, and knee junction of the legs. I also explored the idea of sex as part of sensuality, and designed a vector swirl representing the testicles, penis, labia, and vagina.

Sloven

Messy, untidy, dirty, unwashed, unclean, lazy, sprawling, peasantry, malodorous

With sloven, I really wanted to show the idea of someone who was at the very bottom, stinking and wallowing in their own filth. I did this by laying dark scribbles along the bottom, occasionally stretching upwards, like sprawling limbs or odorous fumes. Straight vertical lines emphasises the depths of the slovenly through contrast, and also gives the appearance of a cardboard box. Then I stained the drawing with paint, first with a splotchy, light wash, then laying water and ink along the bottom and tilting the paper so that it dripped toward the top of the design.

Aggressive

Explosive, one with a large personality, overwhelming, easily set off, violent, angry

I began with drawing almost comic book-esque explosive speech bubbles, however the medium of both pen and pencil were insufficient to convey the extent of largeness I wanted.

So next I considered how else an explosion might be portrayed, and then naturally this led to an experimentation with fire as a medium.

I then wanted to further convey the ideas of violence and anger, so I proceeded to working with cutting. However, simply slashing the paper did not make the cuts obvious and loud, and applying ink made the lines even more vague. In frustration, I scraped the still ink-wet paper with the blunt edge of my penknife, and that gave me a ragged scratch with clear white showing through the dark ink, giving the appearance of a blistering burn. The amount of ink required for the effective creation of this effect also brings out the idea of a personality that’s too big and too much.

Awkward

Afraid to do something embarrassing, afraid to make mistakes, social stalemate, uncertain about the correct way to proceed, not proficient

Exploring the idea of social awkwardness first, I drew on personal experience of the situation. I felt that all parties suffered equally in a situation like that, no one comfortable with the other and unsure of how to relate, with many aborted attempts at conversation and conversation topics never brought up for fear of causing offence.

However, it felt too specific, and many other situations could also warrant the use of the word ‘awkward’. Expanding the definition, I discovered that social awkwardness was basically a lack of proficiency in interacting with the other person, and awkwardness can thusly be further applied to any other situation one lacks proficiency in. Hence I drew a wave from left to right, where it begins awkward, but with practice becomes neat and proficient. I achieved this by holding my pen/brush awkwardly in my right hand, then in my left, and then even with my toes, making the left a mess of botched lines and splattered paint. On the right, I used only my right hand, and achieved a largely neat and smooth, cohesive curve.

Indecisive

For indecisive, I was undecided on what design would work. I drew trees of possibilities, only to cancel it out. I drew hearts, perhaps to represent a romantic polygon of sorts, then cancelled that too. I began pacing in frustration, looking around me for inspiration, finding something, sitting down to draw it, only to discard it again. Nothing worked, nothing was right.

Nothing described exactly what I was feeling that moment.So I put all my discarded and cancelled plans together, and showed feet pacing through and around them. I created a footprint stamp by cutting off a chunk of my eraser and carving it with my penknife.