Madeline Maskrey
My work mainly explores themes of identity such as Misconception and Recognition as I aim to explore identification of myself and others through photography, print making, and portraiture.
My work mainly explores themes of identity such as Misconception and Recognition as I aim to explore identification of myself and others through photography, print making, and portraiture.
Within the topic ‘Sense of Place,’ I explored how sense of place can be in fact a changing person. I wrote automatic writing letters to individuals (past and present) whom I once considered my sense of place. I displayed these in chronological order- burning the ones in which are no longer my sense of place. I used mono printing to attach a single phrase to each of the letters as well as the individuals initials. It does not matter what the letters say, it is intended for the viewer to focus more on the meaning of loss than the letters within the envelopes. I projected layered images onto these letters. Blurry photography was used to illustrate this ever changing sense of place showing how people change and grow. This combination of blurry photography and mono printing continues to influence my work.
I find cyanotypes intriguing as it subtly picks up the intricate detail of the photograph. This has been one of the main focuses of my work by combining this blurry photography and mono printing throughout.
For my final major project, I explored the theme of ‘Recognition’, looking more closely at the lack of recognition. I combined past projects such as ‘Sense of Place’ and ‘Misconception’ as a major under tone to my work as they all project the major theme of Identity. I focused on cyanotypes and mono printing as I illustrate the process of lack of recognition through fading and blurry photography.
Within the project ‘Misconception’, I explored the misconception in ourselves which eventually leads to a lack of recognition. I explored this as a process in which perception becomes distorted. I thought ink would be a good media to illustrate this. The spontaneity of the ink mixed with water led to a lack of control until the portraits became what they desired to be, only then would I add more intricate details. This produced intriguing textures which added to the composition.
For my final major project, I continued to explore cyanotypes by doing them on different materials such as muslin. This allowed me to distress the fabric at different levels illustrating the ways in which lack of recognition is a process which continues to progress. I combined audio by interviewing individuals asking the question ‘Tell me about a time you did not recognise yourself’. This helped me to understand how recognition is lost which is something I wanted to portray in my work.