My identity ideas

I did a brainstorm to work out what identities means to me. I found that one of the things that intrigues me the most is the difference between brand identity and personal identity...

Each advert I looked out promoted a certain way you should be and if you are like that you will automatically have "Bags of self confidence." This collage helped me develop some ideas but I also did a more personal collage made up of different drawing and objects that are important to me.

I came up with 3 ideas-

1) A face (probably mine to represent myself as a brand/personal identity) sectioned off into the mouth, eyes, section of the head etc. Each would be in a box that the audience can interact with to get a different story, e.g. the mouth would have a filmed interview, the eye would have a pixilation inside (dark image- what am I? who am I?)....

I have an extended idea of this. Instead of being just one face there would be 4 and each one would represent a different personality. Also you could choose which face you want as they would scramble around until you stopped it. Again each facial feature would have a different story.

2) My second idea is a more literal translation of a cabinet. I would have a cabinet with a number of books, a passport, cards and a letter. Each one would be interactive and link to a part of my life. It would all start with an introduction,maybe a pixilation of my journey to cabinet.

3) Finally, my last idea at the moment is to have a curiosity cabinet represented by a room. There would be a number of objects that you can pick up and look at, as if you are sneaking around someones room. Certain objects would trigger music, others would trigger the film to go with it.

 
Idea one
Idea one extended.

Active day in second life

A safari going wrong... there was nothing there. I thought it would've been cool to see some animated creatures!
Mischa Foxclaw went on a rollacoaster and got a few tips about second life from this creepy looking creature. I think the fun fair was good but you had to pay for a lot of the stuff and lets face it I haven't got the money to waste in second life. The ride was good but would've been better if you could move faster and in more directions.
Aww how romantic...
I worked out how to do more than just walk about I could sit down. Yay!

Second life

A day out in the forest- I climbed a mountain in less than 5 secs. 

Then I flew a helicopter. Something I've always wanted to do in real life but never had enough cash. It was quite good. i liked spinning round and round. Also it was good swapping the view to see the interior and exterior of the helicopter.

I explored second life a bit to see what uses it has within the world apart from games. Big companies use it for meetings as email has become unreliable in comparison. For this I think it is an ideal solution, bringing the world closer. The same system is used in education- modern learning or what?!

My Mood Board

This is an important collage to me because it reflects emotions and qualities that are important to me. Also I think they can all be shown through the eye. To be cliche- the window to the soul.

Back To London

The Serpentine Gallery

My favourite exhibition so far has been Highway to India. I found it really inspirational. One of the mixed media installations that stood out to me is Ghost/ Transmemoir by Bose Knishnamachari. He explores the transitions period and impermanence that is part of Mumbai's culture today. Personally it stood out because each TV was an individual piece of art work but they were all united with one voice to me it symbolised the growing character, growth in technology and socially. It gave me the idea to use special objects joined together with one theme (in my curiosity cabinet.) The theme could represent a side I don't reveal in every day life.

Another piece I liked was a striking film called The lighting testimonies by Amar Kanwar. To me is shouted power and sexuality but surprising from an Indian female. He intertwines threads of society- politics, gender, philosophical and religious opinions. What stood out to me was the way he approached this through tribal chants from a women with the camera faced beneath her it gave her almost a natural look of God with the trees in the background. I also liked it because not any pieces of Indian art work I have seen have addressed woman so directly. It is a sign that their culture is developing.

www.serpentinegallery.org/

We went to one last gallery called ArtproJX to see My Blood Self by Grace Ndiritu. It was one of the most disturbing yet intriguing exhibitions I have seen so far. At first I considered her work to be a bit sick because she paints in her own blood, some of it was still shining wet on the page but then I saw her film The Dolls Day. The music in the background made me tense and unsure. It was set in a phobic room the Mother dressed in pure white, Grace (the daughter and artist in grey.) She was clearly impure. There was sexual content and violence which confused left me wondering even more. What's going on with these people??? This was better than any horror film it actually sparked up some emotion in me, even if it wasn't good emotion. That said after watching it I had an idea to make the focus of my curiosity cabinets dark- really get into the depths of what isn't on the surface. It could involve objects that remind me of people that spark of different emotion. 

Second life-again

I thought I'd try something new else apart from walking around trying to work out second life. I started to get the equipment together for a skydive (definately doesn't compare to real life...) but the instructer was really helpful as it there was a bit more to it than I thought. I had to collect a chute that got sent to me in an email- random!

I thought I'd give her less of a pout and carry on messing around with her facial features.

My aviator mellowed out abit and went for a look at an art gallery. Nothings changed through I still couldn't afford the art. I liked the detail in the graphics of the painting. It could've been a real photo.

London Trips

I haven't been to London in over a year and in the last week I've been twice! Today's trip went a lot better (as far as looking at art goes,) I mean it's free so why not?! Anyway last week I paid a visit to an exhibition called Dispersion. It was a pointless trip. We got lost and when we got there there was only 3 rooms to look at, not forgetting the corridor. 

Dispersion was about bringing international artists together to present a show based on film, photography, video and performance. My favourite was the above photography work by Anne Collier because of her bold approach to gender and sexuality through facial/ body features. This emphases the way we look and see as she shows as what we are most drawn to as humans. Wat we crave when we look at another human being. I also like the fact that she photographs film posters as well as 'normal' people because it compares how we'd like to be seen (brand identity) and how we are see (personal identity.) 

On the other hand I hated the rest of the exhibition, in particular Hito Stererl's work. Stererl's work is based on an artist's search for a photo of herself as a bondage model. I thought this was pointless film of her looking through book, describing porn. The film didn't grab me and make me want to watch more I just got bored of her talking about what book she's going to look at next.

 

Budapest, 2007.

This curiosity cabinet stood out to me not because I like it but because its brutally bold. no other cabinet I have seen is like this. It is a symbol of their brutal culture and society. Although I don't like it as art I think it is a startling way to show what your culture is like.

Every Little girl remembered the little mermaid and all her trinkets. I like this one because it reminds me of how I was as a kid. I used to have a little box of things that were important to me- a photo of my best friend that moved away, a plastic Disney ring, a few of my drawings of me and my family etc. 

This is one of my favourites because of its lay out. I like how it is all linked but through the composition of the bird yet it is separated. I could make the separated bits into links?

I've started to look at more curiosity cabinets. I really like the simple layouts as I can make them bolder and draw peoples attentions to certain aspects such as an animated logo. I have also come up with more ideas that I have started to put into a sketch book but I need to buy a scanner so these pics will have to wait! 

As well as an animated logo I though of making the eye a link to some personal work such as photography etc ( I'm still thinking of what I can link that to.) I was going to make the mouth a link, possible to a film of an interview of me to tell a more realistic story. Also I was thinking of making each side of the head a link so that one side could be an animation/ interactive narrative to do with my childhood. I think my childhood and my family background is an important part of what has shaped me today. (different ethnic influences- grandad= Nepalese, dad= NZ mixed in with living in England. 

I have also started to look at brand identity vs personal identity. I have found with brand identity, especially for women that we are represented with an image of beauty as our ideal (magazines.) By giving us that ideal in everyday life people are reminded of a brand such as Gucci or Dior by these beautifully presented women. It almost suggests that by buying that product you will turn into them. I have taken this on board when it comes to making my own curiosity cabinet as it will be like presenting a brand, an image that they will associate with you. I thought when I create an aviator I will design as I see my inner self that has a darker edge. It will show how different peoples perceptions of you can be.

I have found an amazing photographer on the Internet. It has nothing to do with my work at the moment but I thought his use of colour makes a great impact. I love the contrasting colours that give the house an isolated feel against the vast sky. The photography is by Troy Paiva. The photography is always taken at night, which allows him to find these barren objects. He plays with the "painting with light technique." Troy uses techniques such as over exposure times, flash, natural light and coloured gelatin. So far these two photos are my favourite because of the use of light and dark with the colour. The light and dark tones create a feeling of space.

Second life diary-day 1

After a bit of a Xmas break I've started looking at second life. To be honest second life isn't my kind of thing. Although I am passionate about multimedia and how it is changing the world my first thought on interactive games like second life is that they are a load of S***. I think the best way to live life is to experience with your own eyes to get a real appreciation for the world we live in. However I can see how it benefits some people that may not have the resources to travel to these places for the experiences second life offers. Also second life can be good for certain types of personalities.

Once I started playing second life my opinion has changed a bit because it's new to me and leaves me wondering how to navigate this new world that man kind have created. The first thing that I did was chat to an Argentinian guy who was also new to it. To me it felt kind of awkward but I guess I could say anything and it wouldn't really matter. Whose really going to know it's me. That is the beauty of second life. you can express through these human graphics who you'd like to be. I was more interested in creating a character than anything else. I wanted to choose a character that was so far away from what I was really like that I could change it into any part of my 'personality.' By doing this I was inspired by the graphics to create my own aviator. I want to find a middle ground where I can express more of my own personality as hopefully I can learn how to make it form scratch. I would change the hair, clothes, eyes etc to symbolise the style and personality of me as a person and brand. 

One other thing that stood out to me was that real world issues where brought to my attention, such as rubbish. One of the first things I came across was a recycling symbol so in a way treat second life as you'd treat you real life or learn from it.