Trace Project

So! Time to explain the Trace project that I undertook in my last semester at uni...

With all the different platforms for communication we have in contemporary society, I think art can be another form that creates a growing awareness for the decline of our wildlife. David Attenborough has been a substantial influence and drive behind my artwork!
“Many individuals are doing what they can. But real success can only come if there is a change in our societies and in our economics and in our politics.” - David Attenborough

I think art is another large platform that can help create awareness and tackle the many environmental problems that we currently face. We can only change the world if everybody decides to do something, so the aim of this project was to involve more people and widen my practice to not just my own relationship with nature, but others as well.

Gannet 2016 Acrylic and mixed media on A2 mount board.

I wanted participants to reflect on positive experiences they have had with wildlife and write to me explaining why it was meaningful to them. I then responded to their letters by creating individual pieces of art for each letter. The paintings were driven by the text, gathering information to fuel the imagery. This challenged people to think deeply about the subject and hopefully spark an interest in preserving the natural world. 

Hobby and the Dragonfly 2016 Acrylic and mixed media on A2 mount board.

The more traditional the material, the harder it is to make an original imprint, but these paintings I created will be unique, united by strong personal points of view and unified by people’s relationship with nature.

Fox 2016 Acrylic and mixed media on A2 mount board

When reading peoples texts for the first time, I could immediately imagine the types of colours I wanted to use to get their messages across. I highlighted key words in their texts, the emotive ones, and incorporated them into the backgrounds of my paintings. Hopefully this gave the viewers a better sense of the animal/environment I was recreating in my paintings. 

Bluebell Woods 2016 Acrylic and mixed media on A2 mount board

I gathered all the original letters from people, images of my paintings, a more detailed explanation/background of my work and compiled them into book! This way readers could see a direct correlation between the wildlife description and my painting. If you would like more info on the book please let me know!

Stone Curlews 2016 Acrylic and mixed media on A2 mount board

Swifts 2016 Acrylic and mixed media on A2 mount board

Little Terns 2016 Acrylic and mixed media on A2 mount board

Let me know what your favourite aspect of British wildlife is in the comments, I'd love to know!