Since the last time I chose my emotions, I have replaced some them because the eventual works spoke to me in a different way. I definitely had a lot of fun experimenting and trying out various combinations of materials! Here are my process shots for each of my eighteen emotions:
- Attraction
(a quality or feature that evokes interest, liking, or desire)
When I see”attraction”, I visualise many things going towards one thing because they are “attracted” by it.This piece was created by violently swinging a fork with ink above the paper and trying to control where the paint drops. The dots appear to gravitate to the same area, as though there is a magnetic force at work.
2. Longing
(a yearning desire)
I envision the feeling of longing as something trying to reach out to another slowly and gently. I kept this simple and used a pen to create this piece. The lines suggest many “hands” reaching out for something at different , each circle at the end of the line like a little light that represents hope; the hope of getting what one desires.
3. Passion
(a strong and barely controllable emotion / an intense desire or enthusiasm for something)
The feeling of passion is like a burning fire. Reusing what I did for line practice in the first lesson, I tried recreating the same effect but failed a few times before I finally got one that resembled a burning fire that continues to grow because passion is a flame that never dies.
4. Manic
(showing wild, apparently deranged, excitement and energy)
I created this piece before I decided on the emotion, the juxtaposition of positive & negative gives it a very mixed feeling, so I decided that manic is pretty apt for this piece. The black burnt paper appears to be engulfing the circles of growing positivity, while the circles appear to be travelling towards the burnt white paper, trying to give it some “energy”. As the composition is split into half as well, it feels like a neutral emotion.
5. Eagerness
(enthusiasm to do or to have something; keenness)
This piece was created prior to deciding the emotion. The swift energetic movements of the onion on the ink appear to give it the visualisation of something rushing out of the paper.
6. Excitement
(a feeling of great enthusiasm and eagerness)
Gaining inspiration from the first line exercise where I drew excitement like confetti, I tried to replicate that effect with a different material. The squiggly strings of different thicknesses & lengths gives the composition a very energetic playful feeling, akin to the streamers in a party popper. The holes made were meant to add on to the randomness, since the confetti in the party poppers do not fall consistently.
7. Amazement
(a feeling of great surprise or wonder)
The feeling of amazement is a mix of many unexplainable emotions going on at the same time. Hence I decided to use a wide range of mediums to create this piece. Amazement is a feeling where I find myself completely immersed and in awe at something. Looking at my composition, I see a certain depth to the arrangement of the circles, where some of the circles appear to be further away than others. It reminds me of Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Room, which is a very amazing work of art in itself.
8. Surprise
(a feeling of mild astonishment or shock caused by something unexpected)
Just looking at the photo above, you may be wondering what the element of surprise is. It looks like a white piece of paper with black triangles, but actually…
There is a layer of transparency behind some of the triangles, which can only be seen from certain angles or when there is light reflecting against the composition. SURPRISE!
9. Wonder
(a feeling of amazement and admiration, caused by something beautiful, remarkable, or unfamiliar)
This was created by simply spraying spray paint across the paper. The composition resembles a universe of stars, which is really beautiful to admire.
10. Torment
(annoy or provoke in an unkind way)
This piece was created with onions of various sizes & ink, with the repeated process of dipping onions in ink and dragging it in random directions. The end result is something that looks very dark and appears to have a lot of cuts & scars.
11. Frustration
(the feeling of being upset or annoyed as a result of being unable to change or achieve something)
Frustration is an emotion that needs to be vented, there is a lot of dark energy & violence involved. Hence I decided to create a piece that shows the indentations of frustration, and that it is a one-time outburst of emotion that will eventually die off after a period of time.
12. Temper
(a person’s state of mind seen in terms of their being angry or calm)
I created this with the back of a paint brush, dipping it in paint before rolling it over paper. The inconsistent amount of paint on the brush made some darker marks and created the illusion of lines when contrasted with the light parts. The black portion is calm and consistent, whereas the strokes gives the impression of someone making angry cuts on the paper.
13. Tenseness
(in a state of mental or nervous strain; high-strung; taut)
I chanced upon this idea of using blutack as a representation of tension while playing with the material, and realises that it can stretch to various lengths before tearing. The outcome is something that looks really in-tense (pun completely intended), like its about to snap apart, but doesn’t. It took many tries to get one that stays, because most of the other pieces snap and tear after a while, due to the tension from both ends. The blutack is also positioned high on the paper to represent “heightened tension”.
14. Panic
(sudden uncontrollable fear or anxiety, often causing wildly unthinking behaviour)
While playing around with the glue gun, I realised that the glue is quite uncontrollable as it stretches and leaves traces without the user’s intention. To play with the nature of the glue, I decided to use it to create this. No planning was involved in the making of this composition, just purely by what I felt while creating the piece (and also because I did it at the last minute, the feeling is more apt).
15. Anxiety
(a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome)
While thinking of a possible list of materials that I could use for this project, I thought about using hair because it resembles thin lines. The use of hair as a medium immediately links to an emotion that causes some kind of reaction of pulling or picking hair. While feeling anxious, oftentimes one’s mind is in a mess and unable to focus.
16. Depression
(feelings of severe despondency and dejection)
I forgot to take process shots for this (omg) but this was done by dipping cotton wool in black paint and then rotating it in a circular motion. The circles give the impression of being trapped in never-ending spirals of darkness.
17. Regret
(a feeling of sadness, repentance, or disappointment over an occurrence or something that one has done or failed to do)
This piece was selected to represent the emotion because it was genuinely made with regret. I started off with the intention of experimenting with the effect of glue gun on paint, just to see the outcome. After I looked at the composition, I regretted adding glue and went on to peel off the hardened glue, which tore off some paper in its wake. The effect turned out pretty interesting and represents regret quite well. There is also a transition of black to white of the paint, as the feeling of regret dies down after a while but still remains ever so faintly in our minds.
18. Mourning
(feel regret or sadness about the loss or disappearance of something)
While playing around with a mix of different materials during class, I decided to experiment with ink & water to see how the effect would turn out. Surprisingly, it created stains of various tones of black depending on the mix of water and ink, as well as how many times the same part of the paper was covered with the mixture. The imagery I get from the word “mourning” is tears and rain falling from a cloudy sky, hence the effect of liquid on paper is quite apt for this emotion. The white portions in the composition represents a silver lining, since the period of mourning will eventually end.
MY LINE IS NO LONGER EMO! (but i am cos submission is tomorrow sobz)
