STUDIO DAY

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Waking up to assumedly just a tutorial day has transformed into a solid studio day of filming, creating and documenting pieces. This has been so refreshing and extremely needed after relaxing from the chaos of the Body Exhibition at Centre space - an amazing eye opening experience nevertheless. Creating art for me is not a constant affair; after a piece is made I need time to recollect thoughts and rebuild energy to get back into the swing of creation. So today was about experimenting with studio lighting on a wire/wax sculpture, to give it depth and imagery more powerful than the object itself. This is because the sculpture is not sustainable, with little fragments falling from it every time it is touched. The images look rather dramatic at a glance, but the editing process will be done another day. Today was also about filming for a piece inspired by John Akomfrah's Vertigo Sea exhibition currently on at the Arnolfini. The depressing images of whale slaughter and polar bear hunting juxtaposed with beautiful vivid life within the sea was a concept that intrigued me. Life is beautiful, yet destructive. My piece is based on the life of an octopus, as being smart beautiful creatures, and I do not feel their lives are valued as much as land animals or maybe even at all. The decision for me to become a vegetarian recently has been a tough one, being a meat eater all my life, and a recent conversation I keep having... "So you're a vegetarian now?" which I would reply "actually i'm a pescatarian" So allowing fish as a part of my diet was supposed to help me become this better person that is not contributing to animal agriculture which is destroying the earth and of course not murdering animals. But actually this conversation makes me feel ignorant. The idea that I do not value the lives of fish as much of that of a chicken. In all honesty it is because I feel a whole world away from fish, and I do not feel as connected to them. But I love octopuses, so the piece is about them, and contrasting horrid imagery of them being cut to pieces with their beauty and smartness. I am also highly interested in exposing our relationship with animals and how they are treated, suggesting alternative ways we could interact and think about animals that could maybe bring equality and connect us strongly.