Framing Statement, MA Fine Art, Year 1

My original proposal, and intent, was to research Palaeolithic Goddess figures, Goddess theories, how women’s work was the basis for human development and how this was downplayed by the patriarchy. However, due to my deteriorating vision and the difficulties it has, and continues, to cause me I had to abandon that project. 

As I struggled to deal with the reading assignments for our tutorials, it was apparent to me that the amount of reading I had planned was not going to be feasible. Even with accommodations, and the ability to convert digital and print files to audio, it was not going to be possible to do the research I had planned. I made a start on my art making - sculpted a Goddess figure, made a mould and did one (flawed) casting of it – and this activity proved to me that my vision was going to make working in that medium potentially hazardous.

I floundered for about a month, coming to grips with the delays in my treatments (I am supposed to received treatments every 6-8 weeks; the gaps since last year have been 16 weeks, then 13 weeks…) and had to figure out a way to continue working towards my goal of completing an MA Fine Art with the accelerating deterioration of my vision.

When I took the Print Making Studio induction last December, I was excited to discover monoprinting. This medium is something I can do without needing visual acuity and, as it is a new process to me, I don’t have to deal with the frustration of not being able to do it “how I used to” when I was able to see clearly. I can bring in my skills sets and knowledge from other media and experiment continually with the process. 

For the last five months I have been working exclusively with Print Making, and have produced some work I am proud of. I purchased my own A3 press and am acquiring the rest of the kit required to start production at home. Over the summer I will be working in the Print Making Studio and plan to do some A1 prints using ink application techniques that come from my make-up career skill set.

For the research component I am going to look into what aids are available to deal with the issue of visual impairment in artists specifically, seek out information on other artists who are dealing with loss of sight, and see what research or references are available academically through RNIB, online and the Library. Ideally, I would like to make contact with other visually impaired artists to talk about the issues and how they have navigated through adapting their practises to continue with making and creating.

In our Year End Show I have 11 framed monoprints plus a series of 10 standing on a rack to illustrate what happens when you pull prints from a single plate. This is a very small selection of what I’ve created so far.

I was a little tentative as we started to set-up for the show, as it was a rather ugly space and I couldn't see how it was going to come together. But ultimately it looks  good. The rest have their work concentrated in one area, while I have my prints in five different spots. I got the space left after everyone else was set-up. But it works fine as my prints are in small groupings.

The opening was pretty well attended. We really weren't sure what would happen. But it was nice to see so many people there.