Month: November 2020

29^th Nov

I talked to a homeless guy, asking his backgrounds and current life situation. Although his answer was aggressive and fully of negative complain of the society. I can feel he is emotional and sensitive to people’s reaction, which completely changes my perception of homeless people. This observation creates the contrast around my thought on homeless people, which is rude and mental and their personality in real life.

       The interview changes my way of working with cardboard. I decide to create wearable object in homeless condition. Cardboard was teared into smaller pieces in responding to the fact that homeless people may not have any tools to work with the cardboard. This thought reminds me of Timpson’s only employee people came out of prisons. I am going to talk to organizations that helps with the homeless crisis to see how they help with the homeless issue by raising people’s awareness.

       The cardboard pieces in random shapes lose a sense of uniqueness. They will not create any different visual contrast after the casting process. I think it might be good if I add other materials such as glass or gold leaf in the bronze cast. I came up with several ways of composing cardboard with gold leaf and glass.    

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I kept developing the contrast idea by looking at Ugur’s other photography pieces, which informed my decision on making material contrast and apply it to jewellery design. Putting objects that has different surface textures together makes viewers link the object with homeless in a straightforward way.

According to people’s feedbacks on my test pieces Bronze bracelet with shinney surface and cardboard ring with gold-leaf stick on the surface. They think the latter one has a better association with homeless people in comparison with the former one. The contrast between cardboard and gold leaf represents both luxury and tough quality. As they said homeless people can be poor from the outlook but rich in the inner part. The material contrast helps them think of the homeless.

Their feedbacks informed my decision making on material choice and surface finishing. I decide to patinate bronze make its surface darker and dirtier. Creating visual response to homeless people’s tough situation. I also investigated cardboard’s inner structure. Find out its inner part is fragile and delicate whereas cardboard often been used as a protection when transporting goods. This observation brings up another contrast on cardboard’s materiality, which is like homeless people’s tough living situation and their short life expectancy.

15^th Nov

The anthropology research of homeless people caught my attention on their gestures. Their sitting postures are as powerful as the words written on the cardboard sign. I observer that the way homeless people sit are similar to myself or other people’s sitting position on a sofa. This though brings me the idea of making visual contrast by placing homeless people in a piece of luxury sofa.

       I looked at Ugur Gallenkus (Turkish graphic designer)’s photoshopped images as a starting point. His works express heavy messages by putting two pictures one is better than the other together. I realized that not all of his contrasting images deliver clear messages.For example, the ice cream with the nuclear bomb confuse me, because I can not understand the relation between the ice cream and the bomb.

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Whereas the image of injured boy with his mom and Lady Gaga express better message. From my point of view those two women are both crying, the former one is crying for her child who is in war condition, whereas the latter one might cry for her own glory. I think putting two images that shares a common emotional feeling works better.

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       I am going to investigate the contrast idea by making material contrasts such as produce works both in rough material cardboard and delicate materials gold leaf. Make people questioning the material contrast in order to bring in the conversation of homeless issue.

8th Nov 2020

Referring to last week’s research I decide to investigate the anthropology of homeless people’s (rough sleeper) body gesture and the way they place their property. I think their  body gesture might affect passenger’s reaction to them.

This image was taking at nighttime around 8.15 in Oxford street, when most of the shops were shut and the street was cleared out. He curled up in the corner because it was cold, and he did not want to take much space on the pavement. He did not have a proper sleeping bag. His body gesture seems interesting to me because it is like what I might do on the sofa before going to bed. I think it might be interesting if this image was photo shopped with a different background such as placing him in a much better place such as a piece of luxury furniture.

I talked to this guy while he was playing accordion his music attracts my attention. Before I walked to him. There was a passenger playing the keyboard part of the accordion’s keyboard part with him. I think the shape of his accordion is really inspiriting. Some of the homeless people carries instruments with them to attract more attention. I might develop accordion’s shape into a piece of jewellery.

1^st Nov

I kept working on the bronze objects. They were produced as a response to the homeless issue. These objects were direct burn out from cardboard, after grinding off the attachments. I saw card board’s texture on bronze surface, which presented an interesting visual contrast. In our perception cardboard is light and cheap. It can be found on street beside rubbish bins.

 In terms of the industrial usage, cardboard often used for heavy duty, due to its thickness and superior durability. It also been used as packages and container. Most types of cardboard are recyclable for industrial or domestic use.

       Similar to cardboard casted bronze used for casting is also recyclable. As I can always melt down my previous bonze works into liquid and form into new objects. In contrast with Cardboard, casted Bronze is heavier and inflexible. Once bronze was casted into a specific shape it becomes brittle the shape is no longer changeable.

Cardboard was chosen among other material is because homeless people are often hold a cardboard sign on the street. Reproducing cardboard sign creates a direct link to homeless.

       ‘Jewellery’s social role was highlight by drawing it out of its usual social context, through radical expression.’

Bronze was used to represents cardboard is because I want to create similar visual response to the cardboard sign that holds by homeless people. As well as draw audience’s attention by creating this bronze cardboard jewellery.