I began this final stage of my course wanting to explore human nature, and our ability to be disgusted by the human form in its natural state, alongside the role society has played in warping the public’s perception. One of the first anecdotes that I found during my early research for this, was the Gillette marketing campaign that utilized Hollywood cinema to sexualize hairless women. A campaign so successful they managed to double the price of pink razors. The theme has progressed into a fascination with body dysmorphia, a warped reflection of our own bodies driven by societal pressures, in the form of unrealistic expectations created by the media. Adverts glorifying skinny girls and muscular men, hairless female bodies and skin photoshopped to look like porcelain bombard us on a daily basis. The uneasiness experienced by many young people daily when confronted with their own bodies in the mirror is propelled by this, and is the uncomfortable feeling I have sought to portray though my depictions of the body.

An artist that played an integral role in the development of project, both practically and theoretically, is Jenny Saville. Saville’s piece ‘Propped’ also shows the emotions that can be conveyed through the body language of hands. Her work demonstrates the power that is linked to the human figure, a tool that every person on this world possesses. we are all bodies after all. Francis Bacon is another artist that has inspired me throughout this project. Bacon explored human natures darker side, his distorted self portraits, deformed figurative works or his creations of monsters fit for nightmares give us a glimpse into his troubled mind. The effect of looking at Bacons work is surreal, and uncomfortable, a feeling I tried to create with my own paintings.

In the early stages of this project, I started where I feel most comfortable, drawing. From charcoal to ink, graphite pencil to oil pastel I explored tone and colour to create discomforting imagery of my own body in the form of teeth and orifices. I found technical success in these works but the subject matter didn’t reflect my theme, as the imagery didn’t have strong enough links to the theme. My process developed with the combination of mediums and inclusion acrylic paint, a creative tool I’m less comfortable with. Some medium combinations were more successful than others, for example, the combining of ink and oil pastel, which instigated the next direction I took in my development.

As my project progressed my figurative depictions culminated into an exploration of hands, and the insight they give into a person’s state of mind, especially when captured manipulating the body. I began to collect imagery of hands and flesh, and work from the images with acrylic paint and oil pastels. This became a stagnant stage in my project, during which I received feedback in the mid-project crit to explore new compositions and more experimental mediums. I however continued to be bogged down in repetitive imagery and processes, stuck in the safety net of my sketchbook. To get over this rut, I returned to photography, creating new imagery to work from. Capturing my contorted body using directional light, I focused on composition as well as the aesthetic of the pictures, and how they would convey my theme. I then worked from these images.

This process had mixed results as I was having difficulty making singular works using multiple source images. The drawings/paintings lacked the realism I wanted to be effective in conveying my theme. After the cicular process of photography and drawing and painting, I came to the realisation that I could use photoshop to create the multiarmed figures I was trying to paint by filling in the gaps. This is how I created the imagery for my final development that I worked from to create my final artwork.

My resolved artwork ‘Distorted’ explores the self critical minds of young men in the 21st century, in particular my own. The abnormal scene of four hands pinching the fat of a slender body shows the self critical nature of this self portrait, and delves into my mental health concerning my appearance. The hands are filled with tension, showing the discomfort of the personal scene. The dream like scenario of the subject matter is enhanced by paint on the left and right borders of the image having been scraped away. I did this to create the illusion that the figure has materialised, emphasizing the idea that this critical view of the self is based in the mind rather than reality. This self portrait is depicted without a face as I wanted the image to be relatable, and used the four tense hands and colour palette to convey the emotion of the piece. Pale yellow and red tones contrast blues and greens in the shadows, creating a cool environment around the pale figure. I chose acrylic paint as the medium for my final artwork. Although I explored combining oil pastels with paint throughout my developments, I wanted to fully invest myself in an artform I am less comfortable with, inspired by the work of artists such as Jenny Saville and Francis Bacon. As I continue to explore the medium of paint I would like to learn more about colour theory, and experiment with painting from life. I am happy with the outcome of this project but feel there is much room for improvement. The painting demonstrates elements of the form of the body but I know that more proficiency in colour theory would allow me to create a more illusionistic depiction of form. Bringing highlights closer and shadows further away from the viewer using cooler and warmer colours. My research into the work of Jenny Saville, and a conversation with my friend Reuben (a talented oil painter) have highlighted areas of improvement I can work on.