Future Past - Visual Research Two

Following on from my initial week of visual research, I continued to work from the images I had sourced from the archive visit, along with work I found in a range of books from the library. I noticed a lot of the West African silk prints used blocks of colour as a background, before being worked on top of with more intricate designs. I chose to bring this aspect into my work, as well as shapes and motifs I found in African Textile Prints (Catherine Carpenter, 2011). I also discovered an erratic quality within certain pieces, which I thought gave an unusual slant on the work, as oppose to the assumed repetition that can be seen within most african designs. I don't know if I will use these particular motifs or symbols in my future work, however I love the lack of repetition within it which I'm really interested to continue. 

Whilst visiting the Downing Collection, I learnt that the initial layer on the silk is created using a wax roller and then stretching the wax, so that it almost crackles. This straight away reminded me of a marbled effect and I wanted to recreate this myself. After spending an entire afternoon experimenting with different colours and techniques, I was quite pleased with my results. There is a close similarity between the silk prints and my work, although I don't feel that this is a strong area in my project at the moment. I'm unsure how I can continue this and translate it into my weaves, as I feel that it is going in an opposite direction from my 'block colour' focus. It has however sparked an interest in tie dye and dip dye so I may further research into this area and see if I could incorporate it into my work. 

To finalise my Visual Research period, I had a one-to-one tutorial with Laura, and I found this to be a big big help as I felt like my work was hitting a bit of a wall at this point. She suggested I added another element into my work, to give it more depth and make it more personal, rather than just recreating old pieces. I chose this addition to be cells. Yes, cells. I not only found motifs to be cellular-shaped, but also thought it would be a great way to portray the traditional, family, tribal side to the African art. I'm excited where these ideas may take me.