Unit 2 Critical Reflection
After the two exhibitions, I got feedback on the works at that time. What was different from what I expected was the audience's feelings and reactions to the aroma.
According to feedback, the two fragrances used in the two exhibitions more or less made some viewers feel uncomfortable and even had allergic reactions. This is something that I have never encountered before in formulating or presenting fragrances for other people. Because of this situation, in order to prevent the discomfort of the audience again, I had to temporarily give up applying the real aroma to the next work for the exhibition. I consulted my aromatherapy teacher immediately after getting the feedback to find out the reason for this situation. After analysis we found several problems with these two fragrances. The first is the choice of essential oils. In order to achieve the desired effect when I wrote the formula, I used several slightly irritating essential oils. It is relatively difficult for people who are rarely or even first-time exposure with essential oils to adapt. The sage, juniper needle and hyssop.
Making process of “Grow” artwork for Bargehouse Exhibition.
I used in the second work are all strong impact essential oils, and the aroma of the added pine needle will be more uplifting than other essential oils. At the same time, because I did not consider about the balance of the perfume, the formula I wrote is lack of base note to stabilize the overall aroma, thus amplifying the discomfort that the aforementioned essential oils can bring to people. The perfume used in the first work also has a similar problem. If it is only used as a compound essential oil, there is no problem with this formula, but the combination with alcohol will produce a sharp sense of aroma, and more essential oils as base notes should be added to stabilize and make the aroma softer. After the conversation, I realized that I was too careless when making the perfume, and I didn't think well and make reasonable arrangements. When a piece of fragrance is made for facing the public, it needs to be carefully considered in every aspect rather than without any concern.
Making process of “Forest” artwork for the Filet Show.
I have summarized several measures that can be taken in the exhibition to reduce the possibility of essential oils causing audience allergies. At the same time, artists can also protect themselves and the audience:
1. Understand the ingredients and functions of essential oils
Before using essential oil for artistic creation, artists need to understand the composition, use and side effects of essential oils in order to better control the amount and risk of usage.
2. Skin test
Artists can perform skin testing before using essential oil for art creation to determine whether they are allergic to essential oils. The method of skin testing is to apply a small amount of essential oil to the small area of the inside of the arm to observe whether there is an allergic reaction.
3. Choose low -sensitive essential oil
Artists can choose low -sensitive essential oils for artistic creation to reduce the risk of allergies. For example, the sensitivity of essential oils such as Lavender and Neroli are relatively low compare to the others.
Artists can choose low -sensitive essential oils for artistic creation to reduce the risk of allergies. For example, the sensitivity of essential oils such as Lavender and Neroli are relatively low compare to the others.
After that, I also analyzed more reasons for appealing, and conducted relevant investigations into "allergies", including the type of allergies and possible allergic reactions. In addition to the physiological rejection of allergies, psychological factors may also have a certain impact. And allergic reactions also vary from person to person. Even when facing the same kind of allergic source, some people will feel mild discomfort, and some people may endanger their lives. Therefore it is always important to make sure things are under control.
During the investigation, I became interested in "psychological allergies", that is, the body would not have an allergic reaction to specific substances, but it was difficult to accept mentally in the contact process. This is based on my personal experience. I am very afraid of contacting paper products. Even if I am not touching it directly, as long as I see or imagine its texture, even seeing related words will make me uncomfortable. The specific manifestation is that the heartbeat accelerates, anxiety and cannot focus on other things. My fingers feel like it is becoming dehydrated and make me desire to pull off my nails. I know this is the result of my psychological defects, but it is still unable to adjust itself. I can only avoid using paper products, instead using the medium of other materials in the situation of learning and drawing, try to avoid imagining the existence of "paper". I can find very small research materials in this regard but find out more about physiological allergies. However, I don't think I am the only person who having this reaction, I also assume that some of the discomfort symptoms that the audience appears in the previous exhibition may be related to this. Even if it is relatively rare, it also makes people in it feel painful.
At this step, I gradually clarified the direction I want to explore, that is, using the essential oil allergies that appeared in the previous exhibition as the starting point, and to explore the other side of the essential oil. By exploring the visualization of how to make "allergies" visually rather than limited to the characteristics of essential oils, and more extensive conveyed that allergies will make people feel unpleasant or having special experience. By learning the case of different kinds of allergies, this theme can be further discussed. For example, for allergies, art works may be a way of relief and comfort. In addition, exploring the idea through artwork can also increase the public's awareness and attention to allergies, help more people understand and cope with allergies.
I am inspired by a talk by three young Chinese artists Jingwen, Yoyo and Hanqi which discuss about and relationship between art and allergies. There is one thing they mentioned about that interests me is allergic reactions are more like climate change rather than a bipolar result. People’s reaction toward one same material may change over time, this may cause by the weather, living environment, current state of mind or even when under excessive pressure. For example, in the situation of psychological allergies, we have a sympathetic adrenaline system, hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenaline cortex system and other neuroendocrine systems in our body. This system is a social factor, a connection mechanism system with immunity, just like the domino cards, once any link in the above system is touched, it will lead to an immune response in our body, the most common of which is anxiety or depression. Anxiety and depression can activate the immune response of the sympathetic and adrenergic systems. When our individuals cannot adapt to the environment or face the pressure and regulate emotions, psychological stress can make the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal cortex system respond out of balance, resulting in Emergence of autoimmune diseases.
I am interested in Ariana Page Russell’s work which gives me inspiration on how to due with allergies reactions. Ariana Page Russell's skin sometimes reacts abnormally to minor scratches: within minutes, her skin feels warm, and the scratched area becomes red, swollen and raised like a hive, this phenomenon happens because of dermographic urticaria.
Such an allergic reaction did not scare or repel her, on the contrary, she was inspired by it and decided to paint or write on her skin. Her act is an inspiration to others suffering from the same condition, more people realise that allergies can bring more than just pain, try to learn to accept its existence and live with it, and use the characteristics of allergies to explore more possibilities. In a way Russell’s point of view is on the same side as mine. I'm trying to glorify the phenomenon of allergies and force perceptions of it, because the discomfort of allergies is real and cannot be masked. But adjusting your relationship with allergies makes more sense than simply being pessimistic. Just like when I create works, I need to keep thinking about the symptoms of discomfort to ensure that I can accurately convey the message I want to express. Of course, this process will make me difficult to accept, but at the same time I also realize that I can gradually communicate with it, I am at a more flexible position when allergies are less of a burden and more of a source of inspiration. Personally, I am very happy to go through this kind of pain. What it can bring me is more unknown experience. If I have never felt uncomfortable due to allergies, it will be difficult for me to create works that fit this topic. I can only guess how others feel about it as a bystander, trying to record things that I don't understand, then my work will be incomplete.
Hanna Cormick is another artist that I am looking that. She is an actor, acrobat and contortionist. Unlike the situation of Ariana Page Russell, she is suffering a much more serious reaction of allergies. Rather than using it as the theme of her artwork, Cormick has to keep away from anything that can cause allergies in order to sustain life. Plastic, pesticides, cigarettes, perfume, some food smells and even everyday objects such as ink from books can trigger allergic reactions in her, and she is prone to hives, throat swelling and anaphylaxis, as well as "very violent" seizures. Even in such a dangerous situation, she still managed to create the conditions to showcase her art.
During her show “The Mermaid”, Hanna Cormick suffered seizures in front of her audience.
Cormick create the performance "The Mermaid", part of her motivation for it was to confront her past attitudes about disability. She said she would be forever indebted to performer Liz Carr, who brought to her attention the idea of a "social model" of disability, the idea that disability is created by the way society is organized.
For me Cormick’s choice of dealing with allergies is a way to create art with own body, her body becomes an integral part of the work. This kind of defect completes the uniqueness of the work and the characteristics that cannot be copied. I believe that as an artist, one who is good at using one's own strengths and weaknesses can better show one's own specialties. Just as everything has two sides, there is no need to avoid the dark side, anything can be used as the starting point of inspiration. Under the premise of ensuring the safety of life, even if safety is not considered, I think it is possible to develop artworks in this direction, and I am doing the same for this project.
I found a interview about artist Willy Bo Richardson. One day in February 2016 he suddenly realised that he is allergic to paint, which never happened before. As a painting teacher, he can no longer step into the classroom to teach, nor using the solvents and cleaning agents which are necessary for art creation. Unlike the two artists I mention above, who are allergic to specific material since they were born, Richardson’s discomfort was acquired as an adult for unknown reasons, he was not born with an allergy to these substances. This became a completely new experience for him, he had to start over learning how to deal with his allergies and adjust his lifestyle to live with it. Food, daily consumption, healthiness, sports etc., everything is new to him, it happens without any warming, just start randomly. For me it is a good study case and give me the opportunity to understand how allergies for different reasons and in different situations can affect a person. At the same time, I also find it as a chance to observe people's adaptability to unexpected situations and the way they deal with different perspectives, and how it brings changes to the body. Even though they are all about allergies. When the same thing happens to different individuals, differences in physical condition, thinking and environment can bring completely different results. What these three artists have in common is that they did not let go of allergies as an available source material. They are good at converting it into what they need, and applying it in their works, or let it become a part of their life.
Richardson’s workshop
After series of research and studying from others artist. I decided the method that I would like to use for creating my artwork for this unit. I still choose to convey my ideas in the form of drawing, which I think can bring an intuitive visual impact. Compared with the traditional way of drawing directly on paper, I prefer to do it digitally, which can let me calm down and avoid any contact with paper. When I need to present the idea of “allergies” in the drawing, I only need to remind myself about how I feel each time when I have to touch paper physically as a last resort which will hit me enough. There are several elements I frequently use in drawing in order to emphasize and symbolize keywords used for description of allergies, which are flowers, hands of mine, fingers, sharp lines, and triangle. I wanted to demonstrate the inclusivity of the human body while expressing its fragility. Also the choice of colours is considered, rather than choosing variety of colours like what I did for last project. I decided to stay with white, red and black colours to further emphasize the role each element plays in my drawings. Rather than suffering, my paintings are more about objectively viewing the impact of allergies on the human body, express personal experience while detached from oneself and observe multiple feelings from another perspective. Try to restore this kind of personal feeling that is difficult to describe and share with others. Try to make it as easy to understand as possible and make it more intuitive for the audience to experience and bring in personal experience. Although in the previous exhibitions I chose to display the works in the way using installation, I am still more interested in exploring the possibilities of what drawing can bring to artists and audience. I found it as a convenient way to jot down my thoughts anytime I want, it is clear and simple enough and easy to share with others.
Digital drawing for the theme of “Allergies.
Overall, in the unit I try a lot things new and are doing further research on topic I had never consider about before, but which are developed from and linked with my previous projects. More readings and study on plants and allergies make me come up with clearer ideas about what to do, what is the next step for my project. I would still like to keep going with the theme of “plants energy”, to look at the topic from a more holistic perspective based on my past and current research, expecting a satisfactory answer when get to the final point.
References:
The Art of Anaesthesia (no date) Science Museum. Available at: https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/medicine/art-anaesthesia (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
Chamovitz, D. (2013) What a plant knows: A field guide to the Senses. New York: Scientific American.
Ghosh, W. by R. (2022) Gardener’s World: Inside raqib shaw’s private eden, ELEPHANT. Available at: https://elephant.art/gardeners-world-inside-raqib-shaws-private-eden-17082022/ (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
If these shelves could talk (no date) Kew. Available at: https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/if-these-shelves-could-talk (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
Jingwen, Y. (no date) Āáǎà, RSS.com. Available at: https://rss.com/podcasts/aaaa-aaaa/ (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
Plants and the evolution of anticancer drugs (no date a) Kew. Available at: https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/plants-and-evolution-anticancer-drug (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
Plants and the evolution of anticancer drugs (no date b) Kew. Available at: https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/plants-and-evolution-anticancer-drug (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
Taking a skin allergy and making it art (2012) NBCNews.com. Available at: https://www.nbcnews.com/healthmain/taking-skin-allergy-making-it-art-734115 (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
Wrichardson (2023a) A painter who became allergic to paint?, WILLY BO RICHARDSON. Available at: https://willyborichardson.com/projects/painter-who-became-allergic-to-paint/ (Accessed: 29 May 2023).