Unit 1
I
Gloom invasion, Acrylic and Oil paint on Wood Panel, 90cm*60cm, 2021
This is the first painting I did for Unit 1.
In this painting, audiences can intuitively see that there is a person with real facial features but no mouth. People with depression can perceive the unkindness of the world, but they are unwilling to speak out. The wooden board in front of the portrait symbolizes the pressure from the different work in the city, which also reflects the insignificance of the individual and people are unwilling to face it. They want to hide behind the board.
In terms of materials, I used Oil paint to show the facial features to express their original selves, and Acrylic is used in other parts. The formation of professions was examined in Ward G. (2008), Acrylic paints were widely used by artists from the mid-20th century to achieve extremely thin or thick surfaces. For my painting, acrylic can better express the texture that I want to show. Through my research on materials, Acrylic is mostly used in the commercial paint industry and it has a certain symbol of commercialization. There are some irregular wooden boards blocked in front of the portrait, which symbolizes the buildings in the city because "Wood" is the building material.
In the beginning, cutting wood is a big challenge for me. I got a lot of guidance from the teachers at UAL's woodshop. A new skill has been acquired since then.
Urban Depression
Acrylic
90cm*60cm
Concrete Shading, Acrylic on Wood
Panel, 90cm*60cm, 2021
II
This work shows human beings under reinforced concrete.
Marx's theory of alienation has deeply influenced my painting. For example, for workers in cities, "I build a house, but I can't afford a house", which shows the oppression under capitalism and leads to people's depression.
During the first critique, it fell off the wall because it was not hung securely. This made me very frustrated. From this fall, I felt even more depressed through my work. Not only the final presentation of the work but also the process of creating it.
III
Skin Pain, Acrylic on Wood Panel, 90cm*60cm, 2021
This painting mainly shows the skin pains of patients with depression.
I had used a lot of flesh colour and peeling feeling with texture to represent “physical pain”. For some depressed patients, they are more willing to use physical pain such as self-injury to relieve their psychological stress.
IV
Earthliness Resignation, Acrylic on Canvas, 150cm*100cm, 2021
The piece of work shows the Growth of the City.
Through my piece of art, the head of a portrait exploded. This painting expresses that the passive life makes people depressed, and the depression in the heart continues to accumulate. Finally, the heart collapses totally.
Untitled, Acrylic on Canvas, 51*51cm, 2021
Untitled, Acrylic on Canvas, 51*51cm, 2021
These two paintings were created primarily to investigate the role of texture in painting. For the first one, I chose to use a light blue background, which allows for some contrast with the portrait in the foreground. The second one is pure white and I used a different texture to distinguish the portrait from the background.
Untitled, Acrylic on Paper and Cardboard, Around 180* 120cm, 2021
For this piece of work, I used paper shells as geometric shapes to build together as a portrait and pinned them directly to the wall. The body part of the portrait is made from Drawing paper. I made this work as an attempt of unit2 to continue the development of my topic. In the next unit, I will be using aluminium sheets to create abstract pieces. And install those pieces directly on the wall.
Untitled, Acrylic on Acrylic Paper, 30.5*40.5 cm , 2022
