AitanaAnnotation
Annotations from Yalou and Ieva to Aitana
Annotations from Aitana to Ieva and Yalou
Final text
This first result is composed of a series of images completely or partially covered with paint, more or less opaque.There are four A4 size images completely covered in black and pink and 8 others of different sizes partially covered. The paint can be scraped off, revealing the image underneath. The images below are unretouched fashion photographs, which have never been published on the internet.
This is an experimental approach to the research I am working in now, which in a broad sense is related to the unknown, the unspeakable and the things that are about discovering. It could also be related to the subconscious, with the discovery of what lies underneath. For now is a work in progress and can potentially be plenty of things and adopt different forms. I suppose the process is very introverted, because It is about discovering things and this is more of an internal process. However the outcome is extrovert as an art piece it aims to be shared and modified with people.
A specific procedure inspired by the sgraffito technique is needed to ensure that the paint layer can be easily removed. Once the photo is printed it is necessary to cover it with a layer of fat, then a layer of some material that separates the grease from the paint: I used butter and chalk powder. The final layer is regular acrylic painting and depending on its quality and color, the image underneath would be more or less visible. Technical decisions have been conditioned by the means available. There is still a range of possibilities to be explored: I would like to experiment with the final coat of paint and see what results it can offer. I wanted to try this technique because I believe it fits my conceptual research and was a kind of pretext to meet again with painting but also to abandon the digital world for a moment.
The first idea I had from this technique was in the form of a diary, a kind of notebook that invites you to think and imagine the images underneath. In this way, the writing would lay bare the image. In the first workshop we had with RES, in which we had to portray our partner, I chose a series of photographs I took of Yalou as she talked to me about his childhood and other experiences. Inspired by the conversation and the story she told me, I played with the images, edited and blurred them and the result was an abstract image. In the end I didn't have time to go through the whole procedure, I just developed the idea.
My research revolves around the concepts of the visible and the invisible in image world. In this case, for example, the act of discovering (through the physical act of tearing, scratching or scraping) an image that belongs in particular to the world of fast fashion photography. These photographs question the concepts of beauty, canon or truthfulness in a virtual world plagued by unreal images.
I have always been interested in working with abstraction and rough materials, I believe there is always a tension between representation and abstraction. What I have been painting for the past years was heading towards this topic. This proposal could be an open work. The final layer could be anything, it could completely change the meaning of the image underneath, so the spectator has somehow the power to decide and speculate about it. Perhaps, although this is a bit reductionist, I think having an abstract approach allows us to talk about complex issues from a distance and see them more clearly, although I don't know if it makes sense. It is easier for me to think about formal aspects. Thinking about the possibility of translation this piece into a video for example I wonder what happens if we disconnect the image from the sounds, what happens if you see an image but you don't hear anything and vice versa. It could probably be a formal translation of this exercise. I guess that conceptually speaking, this piece could be translated into other languages as well.