| Photo Description: |
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This piece was all about thought and feeling. I was influences by the works of John Virtue and Leon Kossoff, this panorama aimed to reflect both my and natures connection with Brighton seafront. With a simple brief of structure, I set out reflecting on what structure meant to me. It is more than shape. It is space, emotion, suggestion and questioning: it was these ‘side-effects’ of such a creation that made the size, composition, contrast, medium and colour of the piece so essential during my planning. Initially I made frequent trips to the seafront to draw sections of the landscape, specific buildings, or take photos. I have been living here for all my life so I already had a clear interpretation of the area and what my main intentions were.
My main focus was structure and form: this could be best achieved in the absence of colour. As then colour does not become an unconscious distraction. The size of the piece was something I experimented with constantly. First, I started with only an A1 piece of paper, but it became clear that the piece seemed to need more space, it needed to flow off the edges. This constant need for a larger canvas for the real impact finally lead me to making my own 3.5m by 1.1m stretcher. It was at this size that the impact and composition could be appreciated.
The composition was made to reflect the natural balance of structure as explained in the ‘golden section’. The piece is essentially symmetrical; however the centre of mass is slightly to the left and the horizon line is placed near the bottom of the piece. This allows the space for the clouds, whose weight mocks the steady growing and shrinking of the structure below: so much at one stage that it actually invades the structures, showing the might of nature. At other places, it nearly disappears, like how weather varies through time. Hence, reflecting the timeline of the seafront which is also shown in the variation of architecture. Should you blur your eyes, the negative space (white emulsion and chalk) created by dark areas mimics the wavy calk cliffs just past the marina.
The use of ink, water, chalk and white emulsion on relatively raw canvas was meant to enhance the visual contrast of the piece, which in a sense reflects my personal contrast in opinion of the seafront. Like every place it has its pros and cons, which affect the people who move and live around the structures. The ink moves and drips sometimes uncontrollably but this aspect of its use forced me to work fast and energetically. I sprayed, poured, painted and rubbed it into the canvas, which aimed to show the fast, rapid changing of a landscape. I believe paint simply could not evoke the same atmosphere that this piece attempts to create in a room.
Another source of deliberate contrast was in the use of edges. The calm curving edge of the cloud opposes the brutal, sharp buildings below. Which therefore seem out of place and invading on the scenes natural beauty. A place of peace and rhythm is disturbed by the dirt and grime from the city, which spreads into the sea as you follow the panorama from left to right. For me, this piece is the largest I’ve ever attempted and the time put into it overtakes that of any other project I’ve undergone previously.
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| Author |
| Felix Sagar , 17 yrs |
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| School |
| Brighton Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College |
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