New Ideas

I went home last weekend and Ive come back this week feeling a lot more settled, more refreshed, more motivated and generally more excited about doing more work.

Ive been thinking and planning some ideas that I would like to experiment with.

What I would like to do is focus on photopolymer as a process for the rest of the year. I would like to create contrasting series of prints.

The first series of prints will be inspired by my time spent overseas travelling. I will make use of various photos that I took while I was travelling - crowded urban environments, and also make use of other images like maps and all the souvenirs and tickets that i collected while travelling. I would also like to encorporate text in to the images - using the typewriter in a very experimental way. either using diary entries, or general thoughts or statements that come in to my head about travelling or what i experienced, or words or thoughts that the people in my images might be thinking while they are on the move. I want to create harsh movement - I want busy images, chaotic and slightly confusing, colourful and exciting images through the layering of different photopolymer plates.

The second series of prints will be inspired by periods of homesickness that occur when you travel, of longing for home, for the familiar, or for the comforting feeling of arriving back in New Zealand after time away. I would like to create still static images. i would like to comment on being home in New Zealand - my home where I belong, where it is relaxing, peaceful, of being settled in one place and living a more predictable and routined life. Of isolation, of nature, of space. I would like to use images that i have of natural isolated New Zealand - of beaches and mountains and other New Zealand landscape, also I would like to use images of ferns as well to stand as an icon for New Zealand. I would also like to encorporate text into these images more fluidly - perhaps entries from my diary when i was homesick, or text from poems or songs that comment on New Zealand and how precious our country is. I want these images to be very peaceful and harmonious. I have already found some text from a song called 'Love you more' from a dutch Band called Racoon that I feel is appropriate..

'Ive been away too long,
And everyday I missed you more
You look like you did before, only prettier
Everyday I love you more' - Racoon

Also

'Well you're the part of my memories
That I never wanna live without
So long I've been gone
So many things have changed
But I know where I belong and I know when I reach that place
Fire
Starts in my heart when I reach that place
Home again where I belong' - Fat Freddys Drop

and

'It's good to see you again my friend
It's been a long long time
It's good to hear your voice again friend
It's been a long long time
It's been a long long time
It's been a long long time' - Salmonella Dub

and

'so welcome home,
see i made a space for you now
welcome home from the bottom of our heart
welcome home from the bottom of our hearts

there’s a woman with her hands trembling - haere mai
and she sings with a mountain’s memory - haere mait
here’s a cloud the full length of these isles
just playing chase with the sun
and it’s black and it’s white and it’s wild
all the colours are one
so welcome home, i bid you welcome, I bid you welcome
welcome home from the bottom of our hearts
welcome home, see i made a space for you now
welcome home from the bottom of our hearts
from the bottom of our hearts' - Dave Dobbyn






There is definetly a time for both
There is definetly a longing for both, feeling torn
A longing to be away on an adventure when youre home,
But there is also a longing to be at home when youre on that adventure.
We cant be doing both at the same time.

I want to create that contrast, but I also want to emphasise a balance - the importance of creating a balance in life between the two. Between constant movement and stillness. The importance of finding rest in our busy and exciting lifes. A time to be away and a time to be home.

I thought of how i could present my images. I thought of placing prints opposite each other in a corridor. They must be seperate and must be facing each other, not next to each other.
I like this because you cant look at both at the same time. When you have your back to the busy images you are looking at the still images, and when you have your back to the still images you would look towards the busy images. It would emphasise seperation and longing for each one.

Ive noticed that Im still working with the same related ideas as I was thinking about in the first semester, Its just interesting trying to portray it in a different way.

Its definetly important to me. I have a stong connection with New Zealand as home, where my roots are, but also a strong urge to be out discovering all there is in the world. And I cant be doing both at the same time.