Studio Practice Project #1

Studio Practice Project Numero 1:

Remake

First project of the semester is due Wed. (Tue. for all of you Americans). We had to choose a piece that we made in the past and remake it...be it different media, different size, etc. I chose a 24"x36" pastel and charcoal sketch of a Dodo I did a couple of years back. That work was based on a few images I collected from story books so it's a tinge on the whimsical side. I'm getting really interested in bird/animal preservation so I wanted to remake it in a more accurate and "scientific" way so I chose to use a photo of an dodo skeleton. The final product is covered in a very simple and sterile frame (reminded me of preparing slides for a microscope) and then I painted directly onto the glass with acrylic paint - just pulling out highlights and shadows. It makes for a bit of a 3D effect.

Dodo Subfossil Specimen from the Natural History Museum in London

Massey is a very researched based university which is very different from my previous education and one of the reasons I chose to come here. Anything that makes me work in a different way is going to yield a different outcome of work and that is what I'm down for. I may be pulling my hair out in a few weeks time when papers begin to be due in art theory and research class but in the long run I think that me and my work will be better for it.

Stoat/New Zealand Bittern

As I've mentioned, I'm becoming extremely interested in the archival conservation of animal specimens. Taxidermy, bird skin specimens, the works. Upon coming to NZ I was blown away at how many indigenous species of birds were decimated due to human contact. We introduced a heap of non-native critters to these islands which literally wiped out a huge number of animals species for good. This semester in Studio Practice we are to produce a body of work which I'm beginning to work on...well the idea anyway. Above is a combination of a New Zealand Bittern that is now extinct due to the introduction of the stoat.