This project was the first ever project and brief we had been given since starting our Foundation course at csm. Initially I felt very shocked to be given a project on our first day but more excited to get really stuck in. And see what my peers can do and how I could learn from that. When we got put into our groups I was excited as it mixes up the class and lets us get to know more people. I had Bright and Oldive in my group who were both very nice; Bright seemed very confident however Oldive was much more shy. For this project we were given three words feminism, concrete and fold. Bright’s reaction to our three words was very negative as he has done a lot of work on feminism at the moment and did not like the cliché feminism work he has seen at the moment. Even though I felt the same way as a group we did not let this ruin our brainstorming session. Words which came out of the brainstorm for feminism was Balance, mother, self-esteem the future and history. Pointing out particular words will help me to stay focused and not branch off too far from the original words/ideas. For concrete words which came up included strong, stable, grey, powdered, structure and for the word fold was skin, origami, squishing. I felt confident with the broad brainstorm we did in 10 minutes but made sure not to get too many ideas in my head without doing core research also.

Next, we had 10 minutes to do 5-10 sketches of any rough ideas we had using our words. I found this very difficult to do because it is not the order or process I am used to doing; design ideas generally used to come after research not before. Nevertheless I pushed these thoughts out of my head and drew. I was surprised with the mix of really successful and really un-successful drawings I had. Next we continued to draw ensuring we stayed on focus with the three words. I found it very tough and pressured to do because I was trying to force an idea to pop into my head and nothing was coming. When I got home I did some initial research into a concrete material called ‘concrete canvas’, I also researched into artist Louise Burgeous. The next day we did observational drawing in the morning not relevant to this project but very helpful to improve our drawing technique. In the afternoon I talked to the tutor about my idea off a Concrete Kaleidoscope I had developed from research; he liked the idea and I found this chat gave me a lot more confidence and excitement in my work that I was not feeling before.

On Wednesday I was at home continuing with sketchbook work and filling in the gaps of blank spaces. I enjoyed having a whole day to do drawings and collage however looking back I didn’t need to worry about how many pages I do or the blank spaces as much as I did. This is because it put more pressure on me to fill pages then create really interesting and inspirational collages. However I am glad I did these mistakes on Wednesday because I have learnt from this. For the final day of this brief on Thursday was one of the most stressful days of the project as I was happy with my sketchbook and workflow research but had no clue what kind of presentation we had to do. So when we came In on Thursday morning we had half an hour to create a presentation with an A2 presentation board, prototypes and speeches; which was really tough. I decided to create an a2 presentation board with collages and drawings on them ensuring it was super colourful as I did not have time to make more experiments. I also did not have time to make enough time to prepare some prompts and speech which I think really scrutinized me when presenting. Although all these mini mistakes would really help me for the next project and presentation. Overall, I am pleased with my final outcome and sketchbook drawings/ideas. But improvement should be made in the execution and presentation of the idea.

WhendevelopingtheseimagesIstillwanted the message of feminism to come through and produce a thought provoking message. I was really happy with how these edits have turned out as you can still see words from the posters and peoples emotional faces.

Now that I had a rough idea of what I was making I wanted to do some research on sculptures which had shapes inspired by the body. This particular piece by Sammy Cucherlooks at the body but one that lives with AIDS. I was really inspired by its folds at the middle and how areas bulge out towards the side and front; this also reminds me of Louise Burgeous’s inspirations and sculptures.

From reading this page I have learnt about the properties and textures of concrete. I have also learnt about a variety of artists and works who also used concrete. This opened my mind to how versatile the material is and will help further in my design development.

When I viewed these images I was moved by the intensity of them even though there is no face shown, I think this is because of the black and white contrast especially highlighting every detail of wrinkle and fold in the skin. I was also moved by how raw the pictures are; this represents a women to me who has worked hard over the years from her hunched over position and sagging breasts. 

People who visit the exhibtionare moved by what they are looking at. Whether it’s wondering, “Is this what I’m going to look like?” or remembering a loved one, the response seems to be universally emotional on some level.” - Anastasia Pottinger

This image demonstrates my idea of folds of skin but in a controlled way where string has been wrapped around the body.

“body, headless, rendered strange, in human even- like a piece of meat tightly wound with string” This quote actually shocked me a lot because the description was distressing but true; it made me want to know the women’s face and her past; the struggles she has been through.

"I am constantly trying to reflect the way women are treated. It’s hard to interpret that in clothes or in a show but there’s always an underlying, sinister side to women’s sexuality in my work because of the way I have seen women treated in my life. Where I come from, a woman met a man, had babies, moved to Dagenham, two up two down, made the dinner, went to bed. That was my image of women and I didn’t want that. I wanted to get that out of my head.”

The opaque colours layered one and over the other work really harmoniously together particularly around the edges it looks like the queens crown jewels.

Feminists have been anticipating the arrival of a fourth wave since at least 1986asmovements like #MeTooand Time’s Up pick up momentum; especially through online interaction in platforms such as twitter and Instagram. And there are results rom these movements for example a record number of women prepare to run for office this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZL5Ec9GuCo

Third Plynth 1990-early 2000

•disparities in male and female pay and the reproductive rights of women. 

The beginning of the third wave is said to be when Anita Hill an African American attorney and professor accused US Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment. Thomas Clarence was her supervisor at the Department Of Education. After Anita Hill lost the case she said she would not "stand by silently and allow Thomas, in his anger, to reinvent me."

First Plynth: 1830’s – early 1900’s

After doing some research I noticed the history of feminism is generally described as four waves. This could link to how many kalidescopes I would make to stand on the four separate concrete plinths; each one representing a different waves

Today when researching I learnt that Feminist history refers to the re-reading of history from a female perspective. It is not the same as the history of feminism, which outlines the origins and evolution of the feminist movement. It also differs from women's history, which focuses on the role of women in historical events.

This exhibition explores Bourgeois’s core themes of femininity, sexuality and self perception. The personal aspects of this exhibition allows me to feel particularly inspired as its something which does not look like cliche feminist art. I want to learn more about her ideas behind each piece especially the materials she uses as some of the sculptures pictured look to be made of concrete.

 “This innovation is especially remarkable for enabling the construction of rapidly deployable shelter and food storage structures in disaster relief situations,” - Dr. Andrew H. Den Library & Materials Research at Material ConneXion  A safe and durable material with the simple addition of water really interests me as its properties are very different to the normal perception of just concrete.

Stools created by folding fabric thats impregnated with cement then drenching it in water called 'concrete canvas'. This fabric can be manipulated before being soaked then hardened. Interested in how the fabric is 'impregnated' with cement this links to my word of feminism and mother hood.  The stitching has also introduced another idea of crafts like stitching that women were expected to do historically and how this could also represent the history of feminism.