Final year project
The distortion of anxiety [Read more]
Trolley dance
120mm photograph taken on a Holga camera. I used long exposure to capture my friends drunkenly spinning in a shopping trolley at a party. The distorted figure and curved lines of light work well to represent the dizziness I was feeling as a result of my anxiety.
Liquid light tiles
This image shows the ceramic tiles I made featuring my photographs. I hand-made ceramic tiles out of crank clay and covered them in a white slip. Once they had been fired and glazed I coated them with liquid light (a liquid photographic emulsion) which then allowed me to expose my photographs onto them using dark room processes. The reaction of the glaze and chemistry created aged, sepia tones, evoking the key themes of memory and nostalgia that my work embodies.
Daily drawings 07/10/19-31/10/19
I went through several sketchbooks of daily drawings through my third year, capturing my day to day thoughts, feelings and emotions. You can see a full flick through of my drawings on my YouTube channel.
I can't breathe, 03/11/19
I drew this after a camping trip where I experienced a panic attack in the middle of the night. I choose to use bright, joyful colours to juxtapose and make light of the true sense of panic I was feeling. I found relief in capturing these moments on paper, it took the seriousness and power away from my anxiety and allowed me to look back at them with a sense of humour, and pride at having overcome these negative emotions. I chose to include the bleed through of felt tip marker from the previous page in all my drawings, representing the previous day’s impact on the following day and depicting a whole story rather than individual events. You can see a full flick through of my daily drawings on my YouTube channel.
Neon London
This image was taken on 120mm film on a Holga camera. It captures the neon signs on a walk through London. The ominous glow of the signage is sinister and unearthly, bringing about a feeling of being lost, mirroring how I feel in a state of anxiety.
Swing
This image was also taken on 120mm film on a Holga camera. I used long exposure to capture the movement of my friend on the swing. The childlike action of playing on a swing brings about feelings of nostalgia from childhood memories, which is juxtaposed by the new sense of pressure and anxiety that often comes with adulthood, as represented through the distorted image.
Masked figure
This image was taken on 120mm film on a Holga camera. It captures my friend wearing a light up LED mask, through the use of long exposure and movement I captured an eerie, ghostly figure. By distorting my friend's appearance I hope to bring a sense of confusion, addressing feelings of anxiety and being in an overwhelming environment.
Tiled fireplace
This tiled fireplace is a digital plan I made as part of my degree show proposal. I modelled my exhibition layout on my home living room, replacing the art works with my own photographs. The theme of the domestic space is important because it represents safety and comfort. My work is a documentation of my day to day feelings, especially anxiety which I represent in my daily drawings. As such it feels fitting to display my work in a way that feels calming and safe. I kept staple features of the room such as the fireplace, which I adapted to feature my ceramic photographic tiles and the main sofa because these are essential representatives of home comforts to me. For more images see my Instagram.
Emma Lloyd
My practice is heavily photography based. I use analogue dark room processes to explore distortive techniques that represent feelings of anxiety.
My work is driven by daily documentation and observation of the world around me, within this exists a visual diary that I create to record my everyday thoughts, feelings and memories. Distortion features heavily in my practice, to represent the more ominous daily emotions I experience. I work with autobiographical themes, key elements of my practice are memory and diary style documentation.
I locate my work within a photographic practice. Destructive ‘pre’ and ‘post’ distortive techniques. such as long or double exposure; solarisation and chemical manipulation (chromo sabbatier) allow me to symbolise my feelings of anxiety by distorting the original content of the image. The autobiographical nature of my work further pushes me to explore struggles with mental health which I represent through distorted imagery.
I combine analogue processes of photography and daily drawings as a method of documentation. My drawings are bold, vibrant and humorous, I use bright colours and simplistic line to communicate the day's events. I use daily drawings as a secondary analogue process, this became an important tool for keeping me motivated, as it forced me to be creative every day.
I use ‘snapshot’ everyday photography to document what is happening around me. I prioritise the image’s content over perfect composition or focus. This quick method lends itself to the everyday subject matter as the images are honest and not orchestrated. I use my camera as a diary by adopting an unprecious technique and by not limiting my subject matter.
I use long exposure and movement to create blurry, unfocused compositions. This method of distortion lends itself to the feelings of anxiety I am trying to represent, through its ghostly and ambiguous aesthetic.
I evolve my photographic outcomes further by developing my images into ‘artefacts’, combining my work with ceramic materials. I expose my photographs onto handmade ceramic tiles, using liquid light (a liquid photographic emulsion). This method of display allows me to showcase my photographs as historical objects, as the liquid light and ceramic glaze react with the chemical developer to create nostalgic, sepia tones to the imagery.
I am interested in displaying my work in a way which reflects the safety I feel when in my domestic space. Hence, choosing to display my work on traditional household elements such as ceramic tiles on a fireplace and family photo frames, recreating my family living room as an exhibition space. To me, this reflects the comfort I seek when feeling anxious and works to juxtapose and defeat the feelings of anxiety that a lot of my photographs and drawings represent.
My Fine Art Degree has equipped me with a wealth of skills to tackle the creative industries. Experience on various committees has honed my organisational and team work skills. I feel confident at working to deadlines and able to collaborate successfully with peers. I have a strong sense for attention to detail as a result of my degree pushing my curatorial skills. My dissertation challenged me. It taught me about the value of reliable research and how to communicate my findings effectively, as a result my writing skills have flourished and my confidence has grown. I am a creative thinker who can problem solve effectively through undertaking a Fine Art Degree.
Post university I would like to pursue a career in the creative industries, I am particularly interested in photography and the film industry. I plan to develop my photographic practice further, having set up a dark room at home with the intention of selling work. I hope the creative practical skill set my degree has provided me with will enable me to be experimental and innovative, and push photography to new levels. This, alongside the writing and research skills that I have developed over my dissertation will lead me to find a career path that I am truly passionate about. Please see my Instagram for more of my work.
Dissertation
The erotic, pornographic and obscene: an exploration into how western attitudes towards sexually explicit art have changed in the 1960s and beyond
Final year project
The distortion of anxiety
Awards
Throughout my degree I have held several positions of responsibility within the School of Art. I have been a key member of the Welcome Matt Committee, helping to establish inter-studio exhibition competitions. We have organised monthly exhibitions, encouraging students to develop their curatorial skills and announcing a winner at the end of each academic year, based on the exhibition's promotion, execution of theme and curation process. This has been successfully running for two years now.
I was a lead for the Landed container exhibition, based in Shirley Pearce Square. This exhibition saw our cohort curate an exhibition in shipping containers, our group working around the theme of 'Interaction'. It saw us face many challenges in regards to promotion, the communication of ideas and the physicality of the space. Overall the exhibition was a success and we had attendance from all over campus.
In my final year of my degree I played a key role on the 2020 Degree Show Fundraising Committee. I helped to organise and promote events such as pyjama days, group drawing sessions and art auctions. We raised over £1000 in total towards the hospitality side of our degree show, which we hope to put towards an exhibition for the Corona Cohort in the future.
Experience
I have worked at the University Art shop throughout my degree. I have an extensive knowledge of art materials and have gained valuable customer service skills from my time here.
Recently I have acquired a job at Curious Rose, a small British company that specialises in hand made products such as gloves, hand warmers, hot water bottles, eye masks and wheat bags. I have been responsible for updating the accounts and customer orders, as well as gaining experience in marketing.
Placements
July 2019 - August 2019
Internal Production Intern, Jellyfish
June 2019 - July 2019
Aedas Interior Design Intern, Aedas
July 2018 - August 2018
Interior Design Intern, Berkeley Homes