New work: Invasion and Eradication Day

Invasion, 53cm x 53cm, Paper Collage

Eradication Day, 53cm x 53cm, Paper Collage.

In preparation for my hand in I have produced two final paper collages which were inspired by my earlier experiments. The first Invasion, features a swirling vortex of invasive species contained within a circular tondo composition. The second, Eradication Day, was inspired by trip to the Wensum Valley to observe the clearing of Himalayan Balsam also constructed as a circular composition around a central point.

 Of the two I feel Invasion is the more successful. With this collage I combined coloured alongside black and white imagery which I placed around a central point to create the impression of a circular movement. This format differs from the earlier paper collages that I had been experimenting with which were constructed on a horizontal and vertical axis. I felt that the circular movement contributed to the impression of displacement and a layering of time and memory exacerbated by the juxtaposition of coloured and black and white imagery and the use of multiple invasive species alongside one another. I also felt that the circular movement gave the image more of an organic feel whilst hinting at an underlying drama, tension and fragmentation.

Although retaining the same format as Invasion I decided to further break up the composition of Eradication Day by including a series of different sized stars across the surface of the piece and surrounding border alongside fragments of text from newspaper articles written about the damaging effects of Himalayan Balsam. Although effective in parts I feel that the juxtaposition of the stars overlaying the backdrop of the contractor clearing the Balsam was not totally effective, as they draw the viewers eye away from the landscape creating an unnecessary distraction.

 My thinking behind using them was that stars are often used as a symbol for celebration or high achievement and would work in direct contrast to the title of the piece Eradication Day and the subject matter: multiple images of a contractor attempting to eradicate the Himalayan Balsam from the landscape. I felt that this paradoxical contrast would  imbue the piece with a degree of irony. I feel that the more ambiguous and organic nature of invasion is more effective however creating a more visually arresting image, which contains within it an underlying tension which operates in more of a subtle way than within Eradication Day.