THIS PORTFOLIO WILL SHOWCASE MY CREATIVE OUTPUT ACROSS VARIOUS MEDIA, EXECUTED AT CHELSEA COLLEGE OF ARTS (2019 - 2022)
AS WELL AS SELF DIRECTED LANDSCAPE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION WORK UNDERTAKEN THROUGH MY OWN BUSINESS (2016 - PRESENT).
WHERE APPROPRIATE, FILM LINKS ARE PROVIDED BELOW STILL IMAGES TAKEN FROM DIRECTION AND CINEMATOGRAPHY PROJECTS.
ALL IMAGES PRODUCED BY MYSELF UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED.
LANDSCAPE DESIGNS FROM HAWLEYGARDENSCAPE.
PORTFOLIO - JACOB HAWLEY FOR MLA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTUREhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3urhD85gY_M&ab_channel=j
LACOSTE
AN UNSCRIPTED FILM DETAILING POST-ROMANCE FRUSTRATION. ONLY THE CAMERA IS DIRECTED. THE MODEL IS ONLY STYLED. THE VOICES, PERSONALITIES, EVENTS DISPLAYED ARE ALL REAL.
I DESCRIBE THIS WORK AS A PIECE OF INSTALLED SET DESIGN. SO EMOTIONALLY CHARGED, I FEEL, IS THE MOVEMENT OF THE PAINT, AND THE AGGRESSIVE BODY SHAPE OF THE MOTORBIKE, THAT A NARRATIVE IS ALLOWED TO DEVELOP BETWEEN COMPONENTS.
HAVING WRITTEN MY DISSERTATION ON THE FALL OF THE TRADITIONAL MAN ACROSS THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, USING TV’S TONY SOPRANO AS A STUDY, I WANTED TO FRACTURE THIS FRONT OF HYPER MASCULINITY THAT IS THE MOTORBIKE BY HAVING IT VANDALISED.
THE ACT OF PAINT THROWING IS OFTEN TIED TO A JEALOUS AND TOXIC BREAKDOWN OF A RELATIONSHIP.
HAVING LOOKED INTO VARIOUS INSTALLED WORKS FROM MODERN ARTISTS, NAMELY DAMIEN HIRST AND TRACEY EMIN, I FOUND THAT INSTALLATION, IN COMPARISON TO FILM AND PHOTOGRAPHY, MY USUAL AREA OF EXPERTISE, IS SO MUCH MORE SENSORY, AND, IN THIS WAY, I FEEL IT MAY FIND ITS MARK CLOSER TO HOME IN THE MINDS OF POTENTIAL AUDIENCES. I WANT THEM TO SMELL THE WAX POLISH, AND WALK AROUND THE BIKE, FEELING ITS STRONG THREE DIMENSIONAL PRESENCE WITHIN THE SPACE.
“TRIFLES LIGHT AS AIR ARE TO THE JEALOUS CONFIRMATIONS STRONG AS PROOFS OF HOLY WRIT”
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, OTHELLO, 1604.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAB5pwDTee0&ab_channel=j
SMALL TOWN
A FILM EXPLORING THE AIMLESSNESS OF YOUTH IN RURAL AREAS. AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL EXAMINATION OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY AND THEIR SUBSEQUENT RELATIONSHIPS.
https://vimeo.com/529426318?share=copy
2021
AN EXERPT FROM A DAY IN 2021, SPANNING VARIOUS LOCATIONS AND CHARACTERS, LINKED ONLY BY THE CAMERA. A DOCUMENTARY OF SORTS. EXPLOSIVE LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY.
DESPITE MY IRREGULAR WORKING PATTERN AND FREQUENT CHANGE OF MEDIUM, CERTAIN ASPECTS OF MY PRACTICE REMAIN. AN INTEREST IN DOCUMENTING THE WORLD AROUND ME, AND AN ATTEMPT TO IMPOSE MYSELF AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE ON MY SUBJECTS. IN FILM, I TRY NOT TO AFFECT MY CHARACTERS NATURAL MANNERISMS, INSTEAD CHOOSING THEM BECAUSE OF THEIR MANNERISMS. I AM DEEPLY INTERESTED IN THE IDIOSYNCRATIC LIFESTYLES PEOPLE DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN, AND HOW THESE IDIOSYNCRASIES MAY LINK TO THEIR WIDER LANDSCAPES.
BEFORE MOVING ONTO FILM AND PHOTOGRAPHY, PAINTING AND DRAWING HELD MORE VALUE TO ME.
IN CHARCOAL OR WATERCOLOUR I WOULD BRING THE MUNDANE SCENARIOS AROUND ME TO LIFE, USUALLY AT A RELATIVELY LARGE SCALE.
I LIKED TO FOCUS ON STILL LIVES, VASES OF FLOWERS, FAMILY PHOTOS, AND CAFES, RESTAURANTS, AND BARS, HAVING BECOME FASCINATED BY PICASSO’S ROSE PERIOD.
THE NEXT TWO SLIDES PROVIDE EXAMPLES OF MY WORK FROM THIS TIME, AN IMPORTANT TURNING POINT FOR ME AS MY OUTPUT BROADENED INTO MULTIMEDIA.
A LARGE SCALE MIXED MEDIA DRAWING. INITIALLY EXECUTED AS A SKETCH FOR A PAINTING OF THE SAME SCENE, WHICH NEVER MATERIALISED.
ALTHOUGH I STARTED WORKING MORE EFFECTIVELY IN FILM, I NEVER LOST RESPECT FOR MY BEGINNINGS IN PAINTING AND DRAWING. I WAS QUITE SATISFIED WITH MY RESULTS AND CONTINUE TO PRODUCE WORKS ON PAPER NOW, THOUGH IT IS NOT MY PRIMARY FOCUS.
HAVING STUDIED PAINTING I LEARNED TO LOOK AT SUBJECTS IN FINER DETAIL, IN THREE DIMENSIONS. I BEGAN TO SEE ALL THINGS AS ARTWORKS, WATCHING THE LIGHT BOUNCE AND BEND OVER THE FEATURES OF OFTEN EVERYDAY OBJECTS.
EVEN IN MY PROFESSIONAL LANDSCAPE WORK, TREES BECAME SCULPTURES AND FLOWERS PROVIDED SHADES AND HUES I COULD ONLY DREAM OF REPLICATING IN PAINT.
I AM INTERESTED IN HOW LANDSCAPE DESIGN MAY CORRELATE TO ART, AND TO WHAT EXTENT LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AN ART FORM.
TO ME, BOTH PRACTICES ARE COMPELLED BY LIGHT, FORM, AND COLOUR, AS WELL AS A HEIGHTENED ATTENTION TO DETAIL THAT MAY GO UNNOTICED TO AN UNTRAINED EYE. IN PURSUING A CAREER AS A LANDSCAPE DESIGNER, WITH A STUDIO PRACTICE, IT IS MY INTENTION TO BRING LANDSCAPING TO THE FOREFRONT OF ENVIRONMENTALLY-FOCUSED CREATIVITY, IN ORDER TO SUGGEST MODERN SOLUTIONS TO THE ECOLOGICAL CHALLENGES WE FACE GLOBALLY.
KITSBURY HOUSE, GLOUCESTERSHIRE 2020 - 2023
LOOSE, COTTAGE-STYLE PLANTING ON A LARGE SCALE. A PROJECT UNDERTAKEN OVER THREE YEARS, RESTORING A GRADE II LISTED HOUSE AND GARDEN. AFTER AROUND 20 YEARS OF NEGLECT IT HAD BECOME DIFFICULT TO RECOGNISE THE LAYOUT OF THE FORMER GARDEN AND THE FIRST YEAR WAS SPENT CAREFULLY RECOVERING THE SKELETON OF THE LANDSCAPE.
OLD FASHIONED ROSES AND SELF SEEDED WILDFLOWERS EXPOSED THEMSELVES, AS PROPER MANAGEMENT BREATHED NEW LIFE INTO THE LUNGS OF THIS LANDSCAPE.
I DESIGNED PLANTING SCHEMES USING PRIMARILY PLANTS THAT WERE ALREADY NATIVE TO THIS GARDEN. I WAS ABLE TO IDENTIFY FLOWERS THAT I COULD PROPAGATE THROUGH DIVISION AND THEN BY COLLECTING THEIR SEEDS AND REDISTRIBUTING THEM THROUGHOUT THE GARDEN.
EVEN FLOWERS THAT SOME GARDENERS REGARD AS WEEDS, SUCH AS LINARIA PURPUREA (PICTURED ABOVE), FOUND THEIR PLACE IN MY SCHEMES. I AM AN ADVOCATE FOR WILD PLANTINGS AS I BELIEVE GARDENS SHOULD NOT WHOLLY FOCUS ON AESTHETICS BUT SHOULD ALSO BE ATTRACTIVE TO POLLINATORS AND WILDLIFE. WHERE POSSIBLE, I REFUSED PLANTS THAT WOULD NOT IN SOME WAY DIVERSIFY THE ECOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE.
I DESIGNED FEATURES FROM LONG EXTINCT TREE STUMPS, NOT JUST FOR THE THEATRICAL EFFECT THEY HAD IN THE CENTRE STAGE OF THE GARDEN, BUT ALSO TO PROVIDE SHELTER FOR MICROORGANISMS AND FUNGHI THAT THRIVE IN THESE CLIMATES.
IN PROVIDING SO MUCH ATTRACTION FOR LIFE, NOT ONLY DID I EXPERIENCE THE OBVIOUS BENEFIT OF POLLINATOR ACTIVITY, BUT ALSO THE REDUCTION IN PESTS, AS THE BIOLOGICAL DETERRENTS TO THESE PESTS WERE ALSO PRESENT. FOR INSTANCE, I HAD NO PROBLEM WITH APHID DAMAGE ON ROSES, BECAUSE LADYBIRDS WHO MAKE APHIDS THEIR FOOD SOURCE WERE ALSO ACTIVE.
IN PUTTING THESE THINGS INTO PRACTICE, I SAW NO NEED TO CHEMICALLY TREAT THE LANDSCAPE; THE NATURAL ORDER OF THE GARDEN WAS ALLOWED TO THRIVE.
FIELDING STREET, LONDON, 2019-2021
A COURTYARD I DESIGNED AND CONSTRUCTED IN 2021. THE DESIGN WAS FAIRLY SIMPLE, BUT UTILISED TECHNIQUES TO MAXIMISE THE SPACE AND THE IMPACT OF THE PLANTING.
RAISING TERRACOTTA POTS ON CAST IRON STANDS NOT ONLY BROUGHT SCENTED FLOWERS TO EYE LEVEL, BUT INCREASED SPACE BELOW AND AROUND THEM.
I BASED IT ON COURTYARDS I HAD SEEN AROUND THE MEDITERRANEAN: IN SOUTHERN SPAIN AND GREECE WHITEWASHED WALLS ARE REGULARLY USED TO RELFECT THE POWER OF THE SUN AWAY FROM THE BUILDINGS. THIS ALSO PROVIDES A WALL LIKE A BLANK CANVAS IN WHICH TO SET OFF THE PLANTING SCHEMES, IN WHICH I CHOSE PALE PINKS AND SOFT YELLOWS, SILVERY LEAVES OF CISTUS AND HELIANTHEMUM. LIGHTER PALETTES PERORM MUCH BETTER IN STRONG SUNLIGHT, IN MY EXPERIENCE.
ROSA
THE PLANTING DESIGN HAD TO BE VERY CONSIDERED IN THIS SMALL SPACE, AND THEY NEEDED TO WORK HARD IN ORDER TO PROVIDE YEAR ROUND INTEREST.
FOR INSTANCE, THE ROSE PROVIDES BEAUTIFUL DEEP RED ROSEHIPS IN AUTUMN AND WINTER WHEN THE FLOWERS HAVE LONG SINCE PASSED, NOT TO MENTION THE SCULPTURAL QUALITY OF ITS GROWTH.
EACH PAPERY FLOWER OF THE CISTUS ONLY LASTS FOR 24 HOURS BEFORE IT FALLS LIKE CONFETTI TO THE COURTYARD FLOOR. HOWEVER, FLOWERS ARE BORNE IN SUCH PROFUSION THAT THE SHORT LIFE SPAN OF EACH INDIVIDUAL FLOWER MATTERED LESS. I ALSO LIKE THE CEREBRAL, CONFETTI EFFECT CISTUS CAN BRING TO A COURTYARD GAREN. IN ADDITION, BEING AN EVERGREEN, IT HOLDS ITSELF WELL ACORSS WINTER MONTHS.
‘NATASHA RICHARDSON’ AND CISTUS CRETICUS.
IN PROGRESSING TO STUDY LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, I WANT TO BLEND MY CREATIVE PRACTICES IN PHOTOGRAPHY, FILM, DRAWING, AND DESIGN WITH INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE IN LANDSCAPING IN ORDER TO ARRIVE AT DESIGNS THAT ARE INTRIGUING BOTH TO PEOPLE, IN THEIR AESTHETIC LAYOUTS, BUT ALSO TO THE WILDLIFE THAT ARE ESSENTIAL IN SUPPORTING SUSTAINABLE ECOSYSTEMS.
I WANT TO USE MY VARIED WORKING BACKGROUND IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE MODERN AND ORGANIC TECHNIQUES IN LANDSCAPE DESIGN, IN ORDER TO MITIGATE THE ONGOING ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES WHICH THREATEN SUCH ECOSYSTEMS.
KITSBURY HOUSE, GLOUCESTERSHIRE 2022