Reworking my FMP focus
After writing my own brief for my FMP, to reimagine London as a new place, and working observationally based on visits to Kew Gardens and the Barbican Conservatory, I felt like I got myself into a situation where I was pointlessly mark making and the illustrations themselves, even just in my sketchbook weren’t helping me develop my initial thinking. I put this down to the fact I had been exploring nature spaces and drawing that’s somehow made me feel like I’m being slightly closed minded.
My Tutorial feedback also suggested that I need to go beyond my observational drawings and maybe figure out a new way to document nature.
Sketchbook pages from when I was thinking about nature spaces
My final two colour riso outcome at Hato Press based on nature spaces I observed
New Approach New Brief
I remembered my visit to the RHS Lindley Library and coming across a quote in Gordon Douglas Rowley’s ‘A History of Succulent Plants’ that talks about our fascination with plants asa curiosity. I felt this very much resonated with my personal obsession with nature and is perhaps the approach I need to take towards investigating nature in the city as opposed to investigating nature spaces in the city.
I will look at nature as curiosity within the city as a reflection of my obsession which will encourage me to look at victorian ideas of collecting, early botany, specimens and the origins of botanical illustration. All of which will enable me to detail the nature I collect, to the public as though it’s not been encountered before. I’m very much drawn to the concept of collections having looked at collections and cabinets of curiosities vaguely for my reporter project for the studio.
Cyanotype by Anna Atkins
Siphonophorae by Ernst Haeckel
Plant portraiture by Karl Blossfeldt
Reanne Bolah 