The Eden Project.2

The Eden project, My work and photographs.

The Eden project was such a great experience for my creative process. Before the trip there I had never done much going out and just drawing my surroundings, so this was a brilliant new approach to different ways of working.

Cameron and I, touching the Seed :

The sculptural pieces at Eden, especially in the ‘Invisible worlds’ area were what I saw first on the trip. I thought the ‘Seed’ was very interesting and while I was there looking at it, I couldn’t help but notice the immediate reaction everyone was having, that was to go and put their hands over one of the rounded bumps or grooves. To me it echoed a reliving of our human reactions to touch something that symbolises the start of new life.

Dionysus, The Mediterranean room. While having my tutorial with Louise at Eden, she asked me “What would you visit again to go back and draw” if we were to come to The Eden Project a second time. My immediate answer was these sculptures depicting the ancient greek story of The ritesof Dionsus sculpture and The Maenads Trumpets. I think what drew me to these the most, despite the fact that the human form is something I find fascinating, is the myth and legend behind these stories that spurred Tim Shaw (Artist) to create this piece. For as long as I can remember I have adored things like folk lore and ancient stories, recently this passion has been growing. The imagery of this powerful, old, nature god who’s ‘followers’ depict balance, fertility and a link with the natural world.

“The Dionysian myths are amongst the oldest and most potent stories that link mankind with nature. Not only do they serve as an insight into ancient civilisations, but they also articulate truths of human nature that resonate with veracity to this day – beneath the veneer of everyday society lie dark and powerful forces of unpredictable magnitude. We chose to commission Dionysus so he could sit between the wild and cultivated lands, a reminder of the need for balance, a reminder of how delicate that balance is.”

Quick continuous line drawings.

Linking with my fascination with the natural world, I also collected different herbs and explored their magical properties. Rosemary : Cleansing/Purifying/Masculine energy/ a Solar herb/ Healing / Clarity / Courage/ Protection. “The dew of the sea” Lavender : sharpen the mind/ encourage or strengthen pure love/ encourage fertility.

I also went around taking various rubbings from different surfaces while exploring the project. On this page I had taken rubbings from tyres that’d been pushed together to make a seat. What pleased me about these was how alike they were to the patterns found on the back of leaves. On the next page I did a comparison by rubbing ink onto the backs of different leaves :

Connections between man made objects and the natural world have been a big part of my personal interests for a while so to explore this through different artistic methods was eye opening as I found many interesting new ways to present these ideas. If I were to redo this ink page I would definitely aim for a looser imagery rather than such a ‘strict’ or ‘obvious’ presentation of the plants I used.

#art #artist #university #nature #Edenproject #artschool #artwork