New Collages and Reflections on Research and Practice so far

I think it is worth noting that green issues have not been a leading force in my research into non-native species, although these are pertinent in light of current events relating to the environment. I have conducted my research to date in a scientific and rational fashion, leading to some interesting and thought provoking results but don’t wish for it to become an overbearing feature and for the work to lose its spontaneity or to become overly methodical and planned.

In a previous blog I discussed how I had started to experiment with collage creating two giant Hogweed collages from found images, one by hand and the other using Adobe Photoshop. I felt the handmade one to be more effective due to its handcrafted, less seamless and more chaotic juxtaposition. I chose a circular rather than rectangle or square composition to frame the work and to strike a balance with the content, which was chaotic, busy and full of contrasting elements.

Giant Hogweed Collage, created using found images, with paper and glue.

I decided to stick with this circular format, as I felt it was particularly effective. I created an additional collage using found images of Himalayan Balsam and another using found images of Japanese knotweed. In both although retaining the circular format I attempted to experiment and break up the composition. In the Balsam Collage I used images of clumps of Balsam for the bottom left area while I interspersed close up images of Balsam flowers with felt tip pen to create the top right of the composition which I felt created more of a hallucinatory and fragmented sense. I included figures in both the Hogweed and Knotweed collages but decided not to include any figures in the Balsam collage.

Himalayan Balsam Collage, created using found images with paper and glue.

Within the Japanese Knotweed collage I experimented with the composition by using felt tip pen as well as burning the paper in order to change the appearance of the collage by breaking up and fragmenting the surface further. I felt that the burned areas added another dimension to the piece as they changed the feel of the whole surface by creating more of a used and destructive feel.

Japanese Knotweed Collage, created using found images with paper and glue.

Detail from Japanese Knotweed Collage, showing areas that have been burnt.

I created one additional collage using images of Muntjac Deer. I initially started by again using a circular composition as a starting point however as I made progress I decided it would be interesting to see what happened if I placed the imagery outside of the circular composition. I also experimented with the effect of using deer that were dead, and images of the deer that were having sex to see if this added or detracted from the end result. The effect of the deer breaking out of the bottom of the composition not only breaks up the seemingly perfect circle but creates an impression of ejection, escape or expulsion.

Muntjac Deer Collage, created using found images, paper and glue.

One of the issues that I have found particularly pertinent surrounding my research into invasive species is the apparent conflict between 19^th century knowledge and attitudes versus contemporary knowledge and the manner in which it has changed. 

Many of the species were initially introduced into the UK as ornamental in order to enhance one's back garden before they escaped and evolved into something which was a pest, nuisance and incredibly costly; inhabiting disregarded places, borderlands and peripheries. It implies a fracturing of knowledge and highlights the change in attitudes between then and now. When I made my trip to the Wensum Valley in order to observe the area being cleared of Himalayan Balsam I had the opportunity to capture some footage of the process, which involved a contractor using a strimmer in order to clear the area. 

I considered various ways in which it would be possible to capture and contrast this change in attitude and fracturing of knowledge and decided it would be interesting to juxtapose some footage of the Himalayan Balsam being cleared with a soundtrack which consisted of music from the Victorian era when the species was first introduced. After some research I discovered that a popular leading English Victorian pianist and composer Sydney Smith had been born in the same year that the Balsam was first introduced into the country in 1839. I created a video of the Balsam being cleared and used one of his popular piano scores the Fairy Queen as a soundtrack.