Talking color
For the project, I chose Australian performance artist Leigh Bowery as my muse. He was my initiation teacher about art. He as my muse seems to have always influenced my creation. He has a special connection to London, which he has been based in London all year round since he was 18. When I first met him online, I was fascinated by his gorgeous and quirky makeup styling and performance style. He often makes creations that shocked audiences. I am really passionate about the unexpected. He brought out the other side of my character such as rebellious and fearless.
My focus on him became more nuanced after I chose to study Textile. I was often attracted to his makeup and costume. When I zoomed in on his photographs, I found that his brightly colored costumes have a lot of three-dimensional fabric elements such as sequins, satin, feathers and even 3D structures.
I am not only interested in his costume and makeup. The more influence he had on me was a novel thought. He developed a fashion aesthetic that few dared to follow. Exaggerated makeup and grotesque costumes are just his manifestations. More importantly, he pursues boundless imagination and experimentation and freshness. And it is also the direction I have been exploring and looking for. Because in my creative process, I habitually add some experimental attempts. Therefore, I am glad to continue to explore and get to know him through this project.
8th November 2022 @ 4:25 pm
The inspiration – choosing a fashionable performance artist Leigh Bowery – for Aurora’s drawings is surprising, and I appreciate the thoughts outside the box. With such help, all her drawings are eye-catching and iconic.
First, her bold use of colours impressed me the most. I couldn’t move my eye away from the first portrait. The colour proportions are subtle and refined: green and yellow as the primary colours, with textural patterns of contrasting colours, and the finishing touch of the rich red lip. All of the details merged so well that help establishes a solid focal point on her inspiration, the exaggerated makeup, and created a harmonious but energetic atmosphere. The rest of her portraits are created by mixed media, and the repetitive mark makings and elements express her intentions of being rebellious and fearless. The three dancing colors are sketched in different colours and styles. Still, I prefer the first two since blending oil pastels and saturated colours are more exciting and match her inspiration for Bowery’s boundless imagination.
Aurora continued her bold style in task 2 and showed her developing process of refining patterns and fearlessly experimenting. She continues to expand her use of mixed media to digital tools. The vanishing blending pattern of the mask gives me a sense of fantasy and hallucinations. Moreover, I love the uneven textures of acrylic mark makings, and the brushstrokes are so free that they further embellish the avant-garde style. I loved and learned much from her creations, especially her bold mindset and exaggerated style.