Greene-ware 2020 Year 12 Ruby A Inquiry

Inquiry Phase 1

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Glen intuitively allows found objects, images and textures to influence his creative approach

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He has developed a personal aesthetic that traverses all the processes he employs and this comes from knowing the ‘feel’ and intuitive ‘sense’ of the objects and images he encounters

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He often has repeated representations of certain images in his artworks, in which some have specific meanings while most are arbitrary

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He often arranges images and objects with each other to create other meanings that are not necessarily clear to him, but have the right aesthetic feel

Cultural: -

Personal: -

The swing by the water was used by my Dad when he was younger so he has memories of growing up there

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You can see old and new leaves, plants and trees, as some die which is a circle of life

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My Grandfather is buried there as well as his Mother and my Grandmother also had her service there so it means a lot to me personally

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The quarry would have been used as hunting grounds by the Indigenous people – they would have used the water as either a drinking source or a bathing source (or unhygienically both), or possibly got their water from tapping trees or collecting rain water. Small mammals such as wallabies, small rodent-like animals, fish or even birds would have provided them with proteinlike food sources, with certain berries, leaves or plants accompanying them. They would have used trees (their bark, branches or leaves) as well as plants and other sources to build shelter, which would often be in the form of small tepee likecovers.

Over time, a cemetery has developed next to the quarry, which is where thousands of people from all ages, genders,and backgrounds are found – the stories of these people provide cultural differences of those of the Indigenous from the quarry.

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A section to honour theANZACS and their legacy

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There used to be sections of the cemetery that were for specific religions only

Contemporary: -

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Burnt areas in the bush – either cause naturally or purposefully Often tracks in the ground which show signs of life

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Lots of birds present – heard

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Tracks of people have been left behind such as yellow spraypaint on trees, clothes, pieces of rubbish such as coffee cups and rubber

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There was a swing by the water which is a method of humans connecting with the environment

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Graveyards have to be built very deep so that multiple people can be placed on top of each other as there may be over population

Formal: -

There were many remains of human life such as clothes,cloth, rubber,spraypaint

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There were many hills – topography

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Man-made pathways as well as gravel/dirt

Digital Graphic

Digital Graphic DigitalVideo

I decided to experiment with digital work from the pictures that I took on the excursion to the Hemmant Quarry with artist Glen Skien. I overlayed an image on top of another and made it slightly transparent so you could see the image behind as well. The first image (directly above) shows a picture of the bush overlayed on a picture of the water to show the two main and very different landscapes coming together as one. The other digital image I created, as shown on the left, shows a picture of leaves overlaying a rock feature by the water. As the leaves cover the sky and water, it makes it seems as though they are a reflection which gives the sense that they are nearby and all around which they are. I also created a video which shows the transition between two photos of leaves, as shown on the right.

This experiment shows the idea of pollution in our environment and how that’s becoming a major issue and contributor to global warming. I created a yellow spray-painted board to represent a tree that I found when at the Hemmant quarry.

The recycling represents the rubbish that I found through the quarry, and I also found items of clothing which are represented by the small bits of fabric in the experiment. I took flash pictures to give more of a forensic sense to the photography, incorporating one of my passions and interests, being forensic investigation.

ARTIST QUOTE:“My work is grounded by drawing and is encompassed by storytelling, which ahs been the basis for ongoing traditional knowledge and the maintenance of culture that ahs been handed down through oral forms of communication over many generations of Indigenous Australians” 

Brian Robinson is a contemporary artist and Torres Strait Islander who focuses his work on the marine tropical environment of Cape York and its inhabitants through his linocut prints, paintings, sculptures and installations

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He began his career as a painter and printmaker in 1992, introducing sculpt making in 1997, with installation starting a year later

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He has a great amount of knowledge and appreciation of the customs and traditions of his people

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He reflects this rich cultural background in his work, combining a variety of traditional motifs and artefacts as well as storytelling

This A5 painting shows what I interpreted the Hemmant quarry to have looked like back when it may have been a hunting ground for the Indigenous people. I believe that the area would have been more open as there wouldn’t have been roads or man-made pathways of any sort.

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Sam Tupou is a Brisbane-based artist who specializes in screen-printing

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He has Tongan and Polynesian heritage, so he creates artworks that incorporate this by including patterns derived from and inspired by traditional Pacific Island Tapa cloth design

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Mathematical geometry, 80’s video game imagery and Pacific Island Tapa cloth design have inspired his recent works

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He often uses colour photographs from his family photo albums as a starting point to evoke a strong sense of time and place

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In his artworks, the colour segments act as oversized pixels that combine to form a recurring pattern and an overall image which is shrouded by pixilation

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The original details of the photograph are removed, leaving the viewer with a series of colour structures which when pieced together, allude to the original image, indicating that the works use proximity and distance to alter the viewer’s perception

This experiment was influenced by my personal experience at the Hemmant cemetery, as I visited my grandfather’s grave. I decided to make an abstract watercolour painting by pixelating a photo of the grave. I created two watercolour works, but one had brighter watercolours than the other, symbolising life and death. I included two sections on the actual gravestone that were pink/red and blue to represent the two pictures on there; of my grandfather (the blue) and his mother (the pink/red), as these colours are often associated with these specific genders. I chose to pixelate this painting as I was inspired by Sam Topous abstracted work. Sam often uses colour photographs from his family photo albums as a starting point to evoke a strong sense of time and place,so I thought that using a picture of my grandfather would evoke some meaning into this artwork.

 How do artist's convey their life and experiences through their practice?  How do modern day experiences affect the perception of older art forms, works and practices?  How do artist's use materials, techniques, application or skills to convey their life, experiences and interests

through their practice?

 How do artist's use investigational skills and personal interests to create a story in their practice?  How do artist's incorporate their personal culture into their practices?  How can the history of those who came before us be explored and investigated through art practices?

(FINAL INQUIRY QUESTION)

I started off my inquiry question progress by deciding what area of context I wanted to focus on. I decided to look into cultural as I wanted to delve deeper into the history of art and art practices. I came up with an initial inquiry question that explored life experiences and how that is conveyed through art practices. I then looked into how modern pieces of work are affected by older practices and techniques so I could determine the influence that the history of art has on art in todays society. I did look into the personal culture, meaning that I wanted to know how artists are personally influenced in their works but I decided to stick to a more broad cultural idea which led me to “How can the history of those who came before us be explored and investigated through art practices?” I decided on this question to be my final inquiry question as it will allow me to look into the history of art and our world and connect those two by researching and investigating how artists do so through their works.

Mossenson Galleries n.d., Brian Robinson - Mossenson Galleries, viewed 27 November 2019, <http://mossensongalleries.com.au/artist/brian-robinson/>.

Onespace 2019,Glen Skien | Onespace Gallery Brisbane,viewed 27 November 2019, <http://onespacegallery.com.au/exhibition/glen-skien/>.

Onespace n.d.,Samuel Tupou | Onespace Gallery Brisbane,viewed 27 November 2019,<http://onespacegallery.com.au/artist/samuel-tupou/>.

Reid,M n.d.,Sam Tupou - Artist - Represented by Michael Reid Gallery, viewed 27 November 2019,<https://michaelreid.com.au/artist/sam-tupou/>.

Schwarzman, C 2012, Glen Skien: MYTHO-POETIC | Artlink Magazine, viewed 27 November 2019, <https://www.artlink.com.au/articles/3801/glen-skien-mythopoetic/>.