It was good to have a chat with Jonathan about my latest progress and where I'm at now. Because quite a lot has changed over the last 6 months, I wanted to economise on time and so made a simple word doc with a few photos in it that chart this time period. I shared this on the screen and talked it through:
A diagram I made that really helped me distill the areas I'm looking at, and how they relate to one another:
Key points of discussion were over the balance I'm seeking over my work being autobiographical, but wanting it to be implied rather than too explicit. We discussed how I think I can see a way to do this, and that the (sort of) abstract or conceptual way in which I'm painting lends itself well to this. I'm not painting X and stating 'this is X' and then making something truly representational. The very nature of the process- led/automatic painting I'm doing means there is a more subtle aesthetic.
We also talked about looking ahead to the actual application of the idea I have surrounding memory integration and place. I wanted to gain some insight into what executes the idea most effectively: a large piece comprising of lots of smaller, fragmented pieces; or one large piece within which there are fragmented sections or areas. I want to find a way of representing the different memory types and association with different colours and forms. Jonathan mentioned how making lots of smaller fragments offers some flexibility - ie I could exhibit hundreds if I had a large space to play with, but also only 3 if space was limited. I really like this idea, and it fits well with all that's weaved into the broader concept about the mind being flexible and moving, and how memories punctuate and shift.
I think I'm pretty must fully decided on the separate fragments idea, building into a larger piece. What I now need to work on (other than finding a way to imprint the photos of real places and visits, and combining this with hand drawn elements) is to experiment with how these fragments are attached. We talked about the different possibilities for this, including stitching, which I definitely want to try. There's also scope for overlapping, folding, tracing paper overlayed etc. Lots of options. I also need to consider how it might be assembled: on the wall, floor, suspended etc. The next phase of work will be to work this out.