I had been thinking that my trip to Paris for textiles was going to be something of a waste of my time, however I am very happy to be proved wrong as it was full of culture and I discovered and learnt so much. It was also a real laugh and proved a useful bonding experience with many of the girls on my course. Highlights of the trip included the Catacombs and the Pompidou Centre where I spent a pleasant afternoon looking at a lot of art, of particular interest was the exhibition of female artists.
The reason for the trip to Paris was to visit Premier Vision – which is a trade show, this wasn’t all that useful as it wasn’t really aimed at students, so many of the stalls etc were off limits to us, but the work being displayed in the Indigo section (which included many universities from the UK) was very instructional and provided plenty of food for thought and many ideas.
The Female artists exhibition at the Pompidou centre was particularly inspiring and really made me think. A fair amount of it wasn’t really in my taste, but I found myself becoming fascinated by the female perspective of the body – it is much more graphic than that of male artists drawing the female form. It can be very in your face and off putting – confrontational in many respects, it shows female artists taking ownership of the female form. This excited me and really made me think about things I want to express through my art. I feel I have my own story to tell and my art is a way to express this, particularly in regards to my depression as it is as much related to my body as my mind and soul, self loathing of my body as much as my personality.
One of the things I read whilst looking around the exhibition is that the best work you create is the work you feel uncomfortable creating as it pushes your personal boundaries. This is certainly true as I have so many ideas for things I want to create, but in order to do so I am going to have to leave my comfort zone far behind. I am going to have to confront my depression in ways I haven't explored and I'm going to have to own up to who I am both physically and mentally. I'm hoping it will be a cathartic experience and that it will help me to understand why i'm the way I am and the issues that I have. it might even provide me with a new way of dealing with my problems.
It is definitely a good thing I have sculpture now as it s the perfect medium to express what I want to express, plus I think I am a sculptor rather than a painter or drawer, as I tend to think in 3d!
