Friday 18 February 2011

Self initiated brief - Phantoms of the Brain.


Phantoms of the Brain - ©koo_pigeon

a paradoxical condition; many amputees like Ray Edwards MBE and Roy Wright (above) suffer the plight of phantom limb syndrome – sensations of cramp, pins & needles or greater pain in a part of themselves that no longer physically exists.

for many the relationship between amputee and their phantom is complex, as it can both be considered a desirable reminder of what once was (both the limb and the life before amputation), and painful complication. lord nelson claimed these unacknowledged body parts to be “direct evidence for the existence of the soul”, but science explains the sensation is down to a lack of sensory feedback from the vacant area back to the brain.

like the distortion that occurs when an image is projected onto an object, telescoping and deformation of the phantoms are commonly experienced. i've experimented a bit with this idea; projecting limbs onto empty spaces (very crudely)
- clearly needs a lot of work tho.

Limbcare have been very generous with their time and given me a greater insight to the phenomenon, treatments and other issues i hadn't considered, such as aiding the integration of injured service ppl back into society. their individual stories are incredibly inspiring too, so i'm really hoping i can create a mature response to the information i've gained and enter it into Arden's 'legacy' competition. pressure's on.

Monday 14 February 2011


a few fav's: 1.jean charles de castelbajac ss11, 2.acne ss11, 3.chanel pre-fall 2011, 5.jacket by alexander mcqueen.


just sosososo debonair darling!


david chancellor's huntress with buck - winner of 2010's Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery



Thursday 3 February 2011

Verk2.

havn't posted much of my work up for a while, so here's a couple
from the start of this term…

shop…

…one of the pieces chosen to be exhibited in kk outlet - hoxton square; this was a two week competition brief we worked on in collaboration with kingston illustrators. the project title; 'shop' lead us to focus on the compulsive buyer and the process they go through: the irrational want, the hit of buying, and the regret after. in response to this we created a 'rehabilitation machine'; a form of vending which simulates this process; garishly alluring passers-by to purchase a non-transparent capsule, which unknowingly contains their returned £1 coin and an illustrated piece of advice on how to spend more wisely ...so providing the buyer with a 'safe hit' as many times as needed along with a second chance to spend, whilst subtly reminding them about the negatives of compulsive buying.



moving image...

...a one week brief where we were asked to produce a 30second filmed re-enactment of a historical figure/event, but give it a contemporary twist. our group of three tried to realise stalin as a primary school teacher; reading what initially appears to be a speech to the nation, but then turns out to be nothing more than the week's announcements to the school children. was lots of fun, but we had to be brutal with our editing; cutting down almost an hour of footage to meet the required half a minute. could do with a re-edit as it ends a bit abruptly.