THE PROJECT: “THE SUGAR SKULLS”

A very wonderful art gallery in my sometimes-hometown of London has offered me a solo exhibition next year (originally it was supposed to be this year) provided I launch exclusively with them and that I provide a complete project of new work. I’ve been mulling over project ideas for a while now, but I couldn’t get things going because to truly work on a fine-art photo set, I need to be inspired.

Inspiration: Paintings by Sylvia Ji.

Then, late in the summer I took a spur of the moment two and half week trip to Texas to see my friends (and now boyfriend). During the trip I visited the wonderfully enlivening cities of Austin and San Antonio, where we visited shops and markets crammed full of the most stimulating Mexican regalia. I was hooked. It had always been something I’d found to be interesting and beautiful as I have a strong interest in traditional tattoo art, but surrounding myself with such emblems only re-enforced this.

Enter the idea for a project.

THE REASON: “IDEAS, CONCEPTS & FOLLOW-ONS”

I wanted the new project to link with my last series I exhibited. “Conflicted” was the series I created for my final year of my degree at the University of the Arts London, it explored the theme of my growing up in a divided city (Belfast) and feeling lost for a real identity. As with most of my portrait work, it was self-portraiture. Five large photographs of myself, looking lost and destroyed in land which mirror my attitude.

Some sketches I did in my moleskines earlier this year. They aren’t connected but this kind of style has been running around in my mind for quite some time, I was figuring out a way to translate it into photographic images.

So ’The Sugar Skulls’ as I’m calling it for now, will be the start of hopefully many follow on projects from ‘Conflicted’. I am hoping with each project I will develop a body of work that does what every artist hopes for, expresses ones self.

Where’s the connection? Well, I want to shoot a series of photographs, much like ‘Conflicted’, self-portraits where my body and body language connects with the land (familiar land, primarily my home territory), but this time I will be more than myself, I will become characters. Each character will be a Mexican ‘Day of the Dead/ Sugar Skull’ Women. In simple terms, me dressed up.

The concept for ’Conflicted’ was that I was at a loss for cultural identity due to my upbringing in a city with such diverse cultural identities and I felt I belonged to none. The concept or ’The Sugar Skulls’ is that I am stealing or borrowing aspects of other countries cultures and bringing it to my own land. Then, I can perhaps start doing it with other cultures in the future. The important thing is that I am being incredibly honest with these projects, I can fully admit, holding my hands up that I am at a real loss for cultural identity – always have and always will be.

From my series ‘Conflicted’ 2008 (Untitled #1).

Of course, I now have a LOT of research to do because I can’t claim I am an expert of Mexican culture and my interest solely stems from a visual appreciation and my only connection (besides my Texan connection) is the fact that my fathers family were Catholic, so he can explain a little bit about the ‘Day of the Dead’.

JUST SO YOU KNOW: “HALLOWEEEEEN!!!”

I love Halloween. I’ve always been a fan, ever since I was little and my ever so creative parents would help out with some of the coolest costumes a kid could wish for. The past few years in my Halloween history have been relatively quiet and not so creative, but that’s all about to change. Despite my lack of solid Halloween plans, I have decided to use my ‘Sugar Skulls’ outfits which I am working on to double up as my Halloween costume and to get me into the swing of things! Hey, two birds, one stone.