Where's Your Head At?

I take insperation and enjoyment from a variety of media; I especially love thought-provoking imagery and subject-matter. Underneath is a list of artists, books, films and video games that inspire and in ways add to my own creative practices.

H R GIGER

I have always loved H R Giger's work, mainly for its originality and intricacey. Above is a piece from his biomechanical landscape collection. Combining organic and mechanical subject matter is not a new idea, however, Giger's work is explicitly bizzare and strangely erotic. What I love about his work is that even though some can be quite grotesque or even horrifying to stare at, one can't deny that there is a certain level of beauty involved.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND (LEWIS CAROL)

Of all of the novels I have read I find it amusing that my favourite probably reamins to be Lewis Carol's "Alice in Wonderland". As a child I indulged in the novel and the various animated accomplists at the time, I loved the the insane logic and whymsical creatures but I also grew an attatchment to the main character as she would represent the reader's curiosity and fears. What I love even more is how the novel changed completely upon reading it through an adults eyes. Everything, every creature, every occurance was a metaphor. Alice's constant growing and shrinking represented bodily changed throughout puberty (the part where she out-grew the house representing teen-age clustrophobia was especially clever. The mushroom and the caterpillar can be seen as phallic references and the duchess as unwelcome sexual harrassment. But the part I find most relevent to the story and the reader is Alice's constant longing to get in to the beautiful garden but is unable to pass through the door-way due her size. This is a metaphor for loss-of-innocence, leaving behind the splendors of child-hood and the inability to regain the safety of being inside the womb. Ofcourse I drew these interpretations myself, meaning I could very well be wrong, but isn't it amazing that something as simple as a 19th century children's book seem so relevant to this day? 

AMERICAN McGEE'S ALICE

One interpretation, or rather re-imagining of the Lewis Carol novel is American McGee's interpretation of Alice in Wonderland. The story features a young-adult Alice facing the trauma of losing her family to a fire; thus this trauma also feeds into Wonderland, turning the residents into tortured, twisted versions of their former selves. I love the art direction in this game, particularly the gothic vibe reverberating throughout the characters and scenery. Whilst the game doesnt tackle the same issues of the novel it instead shapes Wonderland to a radically altered Alice; something which I too am experimenting with in my work. The video above shows a segment from one of the story sequences in the game: because of Alice's insanity and prolonged hospitilazation she now faces a labotomy as a last resort to her illness, however, she will subjected to a session of psycho-therapy in which she will delve into Wonderland once more in an final attempt to repair her destroyed mind.

BLACK SWAN

Black Swan tells the story of Nina, a young ballerina strives perfection and the oppertunity to dance the lead role in her company's performance of "Swan Lake". She is reluctantly chosen by the director stating that whilst she is practically the embodiment of the White Swan she lacks what encompasses the Black Swan. Thus arrives Lily, the perfect candidate for such a part and along with the role itself, perpetuates Nina's decent into madness. Throughout the film we see events unfold through Nina's eyes, experiencing her paranoia towards Lily and her motives, and even seeing her explicit transformation into the Black Swan. What I loved about the film is that the more times you watch the film, the more you discover about it. For example, Nina and Lily wear white and black, respectively, but as the story progresses they start addorning clothing of eachother's colour until at the end of the film they've both switched colours; this I believe signifies Nina's absorbtion of the Black Swan from Lily into herself. What I also liked is that you begin to find out that Nina is an unreliable witness, that everything you see is through her eyes and as a result is dramatically altered by her mind; thus materialising her paranoia.

NIGHTWISH

Nightwish falls under the Symphonic Metal category in music however I personally find the music to be far too unique to be categorized. For one, lyrically it doesn't conform to typical subject matter of the genre, instead each song tells a story as such. Another is that the style of the music they have produced has constantly changed throughout the last 10 years. It has evolved into something that managed to be theatrical and pop at the same time, which is a combination I have yet to come across anywhere else. What I like most about the band and it's music however is the sheer energy you can feel from the music; from the heavy guitars to the harmonic orchestra, contrasted by the high-pitched vocals adds to an experience unlike any other. I find music inspires me and helps me to feel rythm, which also fuels my creative process when producing artwork.

LEONARDO DA VINCI

Da Vinci will always be remembered as one of the greatest artists of all time, he practially represented the rennaisance movement and his paintings are now iconic throughout the world. One aspect in which I admired him for particularly is his grasp of the human anatomy. His drawings depicting the human form can be seen from a medical context and as artwork, which suggests a strange marriage between the two practices within his work. I have always loved replicating the human anatomy in my work and often look to Da Vinvi as a reference and as insperation.

INGLORIOUS BASTARDS

In my opinion if a film tries to be too gory, such as your average zombie flick, then it instantly loses credibility and stigmatizes any future productions in the genre. However, when a film is so gory that it takes your face and pushes it up against the window without a sliver of remorse then it becomes art. Inglorious Bastards is a fictional reimagining of the conflicts within the 2nd World War and the outcome had certain factors been different. What I love about this film is that it uses violence almost as a performer would use dance, to express something with a degree of beauty. I also love how the characters are all sterotypes yet they still manage to be endearing. This film achieves what I believe productions like Sweeny Todd try to achieve; A cohesive, compelling drama with an emphasis towards macabre.

WITHIN TEMPTATION

Another band that falls under the symphonic metal category is a Dutch band named Within Temptation. Whilst it has elements of uniqueness to its music it is still rather typical of the genre. What I like particularly about the band, or more specifically, it's album "The Heart of Everything" is that it tackled modern contreversy, war and religion. Again, these are not uncommon subject matter, however I believe WT executes their music with a certain elegance. The orchestra at times is dominant throughout their songs and an emphasis on classical soprano vocals is evident. The song "Our Solemn Hour" is a cry to God and reflects the pivitol moment durning WW2. The song is a mixture of English and Dutch, though the vocals are muffled throughout. I am unsure, but I believe it may signify the innability to be heard. I also love the album art; In one hand lies religion, the other suggests freedom, but are we too blind to see? Laus Deo.

EVA HESSE

I was never a fan of sculpture, particularly modern concepts of what sculpture could be. However during my studies at college I was introduced to the work of Eva Hesse, an extrodinary artist who created work which reflected her illness. I was familiar with the concept as I have seen in Frida Kahlo's work but I was unaware of a sculptor who worked with the same source material. Hesse produces her work using unorthodox materials and processes: the picture above displays what appears to be sheets of mosaline dipped in latex, or old skin. What I love most about Hesse's work is the power of the imagery; those old skins hanging from the ceiling open a window into the artist's mind and show the viewer how she feels about her illness. I wouldn't have thought such emotion could be felt from pieces of fabric.