Robyn Alexandra

$Ephemera: Capturing Light2 x A5Watercolour paper, watercolours, metallic acrylic paint and oil paint For my interpretation of Ephemera, I wanted to capture the properties of light. I photographed the light from street lamps at night shining though frost on a car window, which I painted using a mixture of oils, watercolour and acrylic. I wanted to interpret the reflection and refraction of light in a textural way, along with the fading of light, which is why I destroyed the image to the left by saturating the paper and rubbing/tearing it.$

Destruction3 x A4Digital photography, dried flowers, fire, oil paint
My obsessive documentation project based on the confinement of green spaces in London lead to the series of work which these pieces belong to, based upon the destruction of natural form and the control of humanity by modernisation/technology. This is the culmination of the project - I had taken various photographs of female models in the natural landscape, printed them on cheap white printer paper (A5 size) and altered them with oil paint or by burning them. I then framed them by scanning dried roses, the black and white image of which was printed (A4 size) on cheap white printer paper. I chose to print the roses in black and white as it is nostalgic and seems traditional, whereas the scanning element came from the desire to make a crude copy of a dead organic object. The photograph to the left is of a dark haired girl surrounded by dead trees and reeds, the central image is a variant of Jericho blowing smoke whilst the rose is between her teeth, and the image to the right is of a model with a crystal in her mouth, referencing the Celtic idea that crystals/rocks were the bones of the earth (idea that humans ingest the resources of the earth).

Response to Music4 x A5Pen/paintbrush and indian ink
4 visual responses to 4 different pieces of music by Vashti Bunyan; conceptualising a quick emotional response to music.
Links to music:Top left: Flower and the Lion http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfzoxF6z19MTop right: Go Before the Dawn http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_VEHZvn41cBottom left: Train Song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AGD78mWcssBottom right: Hidden http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=if85ra98xUE

MeganDigital Photograph
To create an image where the landscape became an ethereal textural pattern, I surrounded Megan in a sea of ferns, photographed with a shallow depth of field and intensified the red channel when processing as a black and white image.

Jericho IDigital Photograph
My obsessive documentation project based on the confinement of green spaces in London lead to the series of work which this photograph belongs to, based upon the destruction of natural form and the control of humanity by modernisation/technology. I asked the model, Jericho, to blow cigar smoke over a rose, to symbolise life (breath) softly bringing death (toxic smoke) to natural beauty.

Self PortraitA1Bamboo pen, paintbrush and indian ink.
Whilst suffering from a particularly dark depression, my self esteem and perception of my image was particularly low, and upon instruction to complete a self portrait I conceptualised the desire to escape my reflection in the mirror in an awkward angle and the reality of a form I hated in erratic lines and dark shadows.

Abstraction of the letter M IIA1Indian ink (pen/paintbrush), red acrylic paint, iridescent acrylic medium
I conceptualised the idea of blood in this image, experimenting with the properties of ink. I kept only one M red to portray the source of blood/wound - the red signifies life, which at source is contained by the body, and upon escape, is just a spilt liquid.

BearA4Pencil - mainly soft
As part of a project on Native American art, I looked at animals which were important to them and typically idolised as gods and used in their art/stories. The Native Americans were known to personify the animals and see them as spirits, so I looked at the stereotypical characteristic of the bear (fierce contrasted with softness of fur) for this drawing.