Initial Inspiration

My initial Inspiration came from my surroundings and looking at ones identity. At how we see ourselves and how others perceive us, due to the choices we make in everyday life and the routines we carry out each day. Looking at the conceptual artist Sophie Calle’s work, who investigates human behaviour, prompted this. In particular I found her process of collecting information very interesting and was something I wanted to explore further, her practice is focused in photography often with a narrative supporting. In doing this she herself has become a human surveillance camera. 

Sophie Calle; Father, Mother and son 1990 

I decided to follow in Calle's footsteps and collect initial inspiration from the streets of Manchester. I focused on a trace of where a human had been, such as footprints engraved in pavements and materials left by humans and I then tried to imagine the human that left this trail behind. This is also where I took inspiration for my initial mark making using charcoal to create a large basis on which to refine and develop later. I chose charcoal as my primary medium because of the vast array of textures it gives to the page, which I could later work on to give a more detailed account of identity. It’s a material I have always like to use and I find that sometimes when I use charcoal the marks start to look quite human like, from the shadows created which links to the idea of documenting human behaviour was something I wanted to explore further, her practice is focused in photography often with a narrative supporting. In doing this she herself has become a human surveillance camera. I decided to follow in Calle's footsteps and collect initial inspiration from the streets of Manchester. I focused on a trace of where a human had been, such as footprints engraved in pavements and materials left by humans and I then tried to imagine the human that left this trail behind. 

This is also where I took inspiration for my initial mark making using charcoal to create a large basis on which to refine and develop later. I chose charcoal as my primary medium because of the vast array of textures it gives to the page, which I could later work on to give a more detailed account of identity. It’s a material I have always like to use and I find that sometimes when I use charcoal the marks start to look quite human like, from the shadows created which links to the idea of documenting human behaviour.