Problems

Some notes I made whilst feeling stuck at the station the other day.

• They're doing their job, they are busy
• Their time off is important/they have other stuff to do
• Don't want to pester them
• Its their space
• Cant follow them around station
• Not all keen to talk
• Welcome wearing thin possibly 
• Poorly approached by me
• Lack of authority/legitimacy

It felt good to get out my feelings on paper. Although it was perhaps self-fulfilling to consolidate these excuses and make them more real by writing them out, it was therapeutic to express them and assess them more objectively than just in my head. I think they are all valid points to be made about the situation and the project as it stands. Instead of making me feel worse with a list of problems, I felt a bit lighter having stepped back a bit and reflected on the situation. 

Reflective Post 2

 I have visited the fire station 3 or 4 times over the last month or so. The guys there have been very welcoming, friendly and open to me hanging around drawing, taking photos and being at the station. 

At first the images had little focus, and with being told to stay away from anything political by the media department, I was unsure what direction the project could take. Documenting the space itself has been an important part of the work, attempting to tell a vague story about what goes on at the station, building up a sort of portrait of a space rarely seen or displayed. Apart from the initial sketches of an RTC training, I have made images free of any people. I am still unsure of whether this is because of me being uncomfortable with drawing people and the firefighters, or whether I have instead chosen to tell a story of the life there using the space itself as visual subjects. Either way, I have tried to focus on the latter, which is something I believe works in this body of work, and also something I enjoy doing in general.

As much as I like a lot of the drawings made on location, drawing from photos taken during my visits has been essential. This is something I have had contention with in the past, but for this project I have enjoyed trying to gather as many photos as possible to then work from in the studio with brush and black acrylic later. Not only has this given me the opportunity to reflect on the work retrospectively in the studio without the pressures of being on location, it has also allowed me to use a medium which I have found very effective and enjoyable, one which would not be readily available on location. I am really beginning to see the value of both processes, and how both can be used side by side. I still think the immediacy and energy captured in the drawings from life cannot be replaced, but having the time offered to reflect on the images while making them when using reference can ensure that they have a narrative or substance to them. Reference offers more reflection and analysis. 

While the image side of the project is somewhat resolved, I am still struggling with the narrative and backstory to the project - the context. My last visit turned out very mixed. It started with my approaching the guys to do an interview, and them brushing it off and not seeming keen. I then sat for hours whilst they were out, feeling uncomfortable and hopeless about getting any useful material to tie the images together. I then grabbed a 10 - 15 min interview with one of the guys on my way out, which will be very useful in the story. I don't think this is enough to go off, yet I feel like I have over stayed my welcome at the Leeds Central Station.

To go forward: 

• I am visiting a different station tomorrow to attend a celebration event for the Prince’s Trust Emergency Services training week, as I draw some of the young people during their visit to the station this week

• I am going to approach another station, a fresh set of faces, a new environment and hopefully approach the situation better, being clear what I want from them and how the project will go

• Continue to work from images and build up body of visuals, and continue to reflect and tell the back story of community engagement and prevention, using the interviews I have and any more I gather.

7X7 no. 2

7X7 no.1

Editorial illustration for a Guardian article about Dutch rail paying compensation for transporting Jews to nazi death camps.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/28/dutch-rail-pay-compensation-jews-nazi-death-camps

Reflective Post 1

At this stage I am unsure of the specific projects that I am going to carry out for 603, although I am aware of my aims and hopes for this module. I want to create work that is honest, serious and valuable, focussing on reportage/editorial work, mainly drawing on location from life. I want projects that can challenge my story telling abilities, and give me the opportunity to really focus on how I make work, what that work looks like and where it fits into contemporary illustration industry. This main focus of this module for me, to really develop my image making to a point where I have a successful approach to answering briefs or completing projects, and where the work is recognisable and distinctive of my own. With this, however, I don't want to put myself in a box, but instead create an imagine making method that I can apply to a variety of briefs, problems and projects, whether that is reportage work, editorial or book covers. This will come with defining a manifesto of sorts, a tone of voice and visual literacy that is my own and that works best for me.

The themes I would like to cover are politics, activism, community and place, allowing me to learn about and document current affairs, preserve untold histories and tell untold stories, giving a voice to unknown communities. I see my work coinciding with documentary photography and journalism. A lot of the projects I undertake I suspect will be self-directed. 

Going into the group crit I had a few ideas of the projects or topics I would like to do projects about, these being:

• WY Fire Service, documenting their struggles with public sector cuts, disrespect from the public and telling their often untold stories.
• Fracking, visiting protest sites in Lancashire, telling the activists stories and highlighting the negative aspects of the industry.
• Housing Crisis, visit communities struggling with housing issues due to governmental cuts
• Human Interaction, practice drawing people, telling stories and capturing emotions, similar to the practice of street photography, documenting human interactions and relationships

Alongside these, there are a couple of live briefs I would be interested in submitting to:

• BiCeBe poster competition
• Penguin design awards 

Feedback from Crit:

• Look into Leeds List website, see if they want illustrations to accompany articles they post
• Consider construction as a subject matter, ongoing building works within city centres
• Pick projects that allow development of work, challenge yourself 

Statement of Intent

Who Am I? - Presentation

- Slightly confident starting point - themes and subject matters and reasons
- Direction - focus on practicing and expanding visual literacy and tone of voice, capturing moments, places, people to improve process and build confidence with working
- Have more specific focus when approaching reportage projects - starting idea to explore and investigate upon arrival