Using a bin bag as a canvas

 

My research on the designer Mark James inspired me to create a piece of work using a bin bag as a canvas, much like he does (however he does it digitally). I used images of the floods found on the internet as I was unable to collect images of this nature first hand, and then imported them onto Photoshop. From there I used the posterize, threshold, and Gaussian blur tools to create a stencil that I could print and cut out with a craft knife. With this photo I aimed to capture the expression on the woman's face, as this would be a focal point of the outcome. Once placed onto the bin bag I used acrylic paint. A quick experiment onto a scrap of bin bag revealed that this was the most effective paint to use on this material as it sat well and dried normally.
I scumbled blues and greens onto the bag as these colours are often associated with water. To do this I used a scrunched up piece of bin bag, which created an effective rough dynamic look. This use of the bin bag represents how these victims have to make the most of what they have now, and how many of them will be relying on bin bags as a form of safety and protection (as said in the bin bag experiment post). I also felt that painting onto a bin bag using a bin bag added a sense of irony to an otherwise very serious piece of work.

Once I had removed the stencil I experimented with dripping PVA glue down the piece. I hung it up on a wall allowing the glue to run down the image like water. Once dried this created a dented look replicating the path left by a line of water. I feel this has successfully added a hint of the floods to the image, which could otherwise be interpreted as something else depending on the viewers perspective. The lines also add a sense of anguish and stress and they are reminiscent of forehead lines, communicating how these victims must be feeling in their current situation. This makes the piece all the more interesting and intriguing, drawing the viewer in on an aesthetic as well as emotional level.

This is another experiment that I feel is very powerful and therefore successful. I first found a relevant newspaper headline which I cut out and stuck onto a piece of paper covered with a bin bag. I created an inverted stencil this time, coating the bag around the cut out letters with white acrylic paint. The idea I had was to cover the bin bag so it can no longer be see or recognised as a bin bag, and have only the letters showing what is behind the white mask. This reflects how the government try to cover things up or sugar coat them, like they have done with the floods. They ignored the need for dredging and other essential measures needed to prevent flooding, instead opting to ignore and then sugar coat the problem. The letters where the bag shows through reflect how these stories in the news are revealing the short fallings of the government and the truth that they are always trying to hide. The news reports reveal the reality of the floods, not what the government want us to think (which is that they are trying to help, have tried to prevent this, will pay out money to victims, etc.).
The contrast between black and white has also proved very powerful. Not only does it catch people's attention, but it also reflects the very black and white statement that is being made- 'Why the hold up?'. It is a simple question yet when put to an MP the answer is avoided and instead an irrelevant answer full of useless information, statements, and accusations is produced, further proving my point of their 'sugar coating' technique (evidence of this can be found in my research folder).
I once again used the method of scumbling acrylic paint onto the bag using a scrunched up bag as this proved effective in the previous experiment.
If I were to create another piece similar to this I would do it on a larger scale to explore the impact it would then have.

For this piece I painted acrylic paint onto a bin bag with a paintbrush, which didn't produce the same successful effect as the scumbling. I like this experiment as the identity of the image isn't clear at a quick glance and so it encourages people to take a closer look. They are then met with the humbling image of a member of the services wading through flood water tin an attempt to help victims.

Using the bin bag to scumble in my previous experiments lead onto me wanting to explore using the bag as the material. Therefore I used this stencil made on Photoshop using a photo from the news as my base, as I like the simple black and white nature of these stencils. I then shredded up a bin bag into thin strips, which I dipped into a solution of PVA glue and water (much like paper mache). I then stuck them to the focal point of the image, similar to a collage.

This was quite a difficult technique as the image was very small and so it was hard to get the small details in, and so if i were to do this again i would use a much larger image.
I like the ripped up texture of the piece, and feel the bag reflects my previous points on how the bin bag is used as a form of protection and security for these victims.
The texture makes it eye catching and intriguing as viewers want to explore the material used.

 

In this experiment I created and cut out a stencil based on the headline I had picked from a newspaper. I wanted the paint to drip from the letters, bringing the theme of the floods to life. I added PVA glue into the paint this time hoping it would give the paint a more water like aesthetic. However this was slightly unsuccessful as the design dried translucent and so doesn't have the presence that I intended. However I feel the dripping has been successful, and the blue adds to the water like effect. I also like how the form of the letters has started to diminish and drip down into the paths below, as it creates an eery and slightly sinister aesthetic, reflecting the seriousness of the floods.

 I brought together a few of the stencils above and some new ones I had edited on Photoshop to create this piece. By bringing these stencils together it is as if I am bringing the story told by each individual stencil together to represent the whole communities of people affected by the floods. The bin bag's role has now become to hold the group of stencils (communities) together and protect them as a whole. Inside I stuffed the bag with newspaper so it is containing the stories of the people portrayed on the outside of the bag. The plastic bag is protecting these stories and lives, holding in the deeper side to the situation whilst we only see what is on the outside- the photos from the news. This encourages the viewer to look further than what they see on the news and actually think about and consider what these victims are going through, and how much more there is to the simple news stories we read on the subject.
Once again I used acrylic paint as this proved successful in my above experiments. I chose to use white paint to create a large contrast, hoping this would achieve the same effective result as in some of the previous experiments, and red paint to add a sinister, serious aesthetic to the piece. I feel the combination of typography and imagery has been effective as it makes the piece eye catching and more engaging. Some of the images aren't very clear, and so without text the subject of this experiment may have been less clear. The text clearly provokes the viewer to question the subject if the imagery hasn't already achieved this.