29.1.21 - Objects in the Bath and Shower

One of the first things that came to mind when I got the re-arrangement brief was to do something with my collection of beanies. Because they are so colourful, I decided they should go against a plain background, so I cleaned the bath out and started filling it with the animals. 

The first set of photos shows the animals in a random arrangement where I photographed them from different angles...


For these close up images I placed the camera in the bath with the animals and blindly took the photographs, not knowing what the results would be. The flash came on for these pictures which makes the in-focus areas appear very sharp with a clear representation of the animals' surface textures.

They also remind me of claw machines in arcades, which gives the images a nostalgic feel - all of these beanies were manufactured in the 1990's and early 2000's.



This is the thing that opens and closes the plughole in the bath, and it created some strange reflections of the beanies which look distorted and stretched. The image however would be improved with some cropping to make the composition more effective.

The next images show the beanies in a rainbow arrangement.










I based this drawing off one of the arial view photographs. First I painted a rainbow using masking tape to create sharp edges, then I drew over it in fine-liner with continuous line, mostly looking at the photograph rather than the page. This was actually quite difficult because my eyes started to get lost in all the different overlapping forms and it was really disorientating. Still, I like how it came out and it has a delicate quality with the fine, unsteady lines.

I used a 3B graphite pencil to draw out the shapes with some areas of rough shading and then added a watercolour wash over them. I think this media worked well to represent the softness of the animals.



Filling shower cubicle with soft toys

This involved finding as many soft toys from around the house and away in storage as I could and throwing them all in the shower cubicle.

In this image you can see the large bear's fur pressing against the glass which gives a sense of confinement and claustrophobia, it makes me want to free them all from their glass prison.

Photographing this was difficult due to the lighting of the room and lack of space to work with, but I still enjoyed the process. It may have been easier to record it through drawing rather than photography.

contact sheet (screenshot)








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