Last week I had a tutorial with Jules where she provided me with lots of resources for academic readings regarding the themes I am researching and what to base my FMP around which was useful for helping to progress my ideas as I begin to conceptualise idem.

This blog post contains a deeper analysis and reflection, as well as bigger images/mood boards, which are relevant to my sketchbook pages 19-22.

I began by reading ‘Stains’ by Barbara Baert which helped me begin to question how I could portray identity through physical objects and highlight their story. I was particularly inspired by the image below which shows handprints from the Magdalenian period (12000–9500 BCE) found in Chauvet Cave, Dordogne. This was created by blowing pigment through a bone tube to create the handprints on the wall and leave a lasting image.

Baert states ‘A stain is the evidence of something that was. It is a trace.’ This has helped me identify how identity can be placed onto an object, whether metaphorical or physical (in the case of a stain or residue).​

 

​This made me want to explore the themes of hands, touch and stains/residue. I then went on to read ‘Textures of Memory, The Poetics of Cloth’ by a collection of women who investigate the concept of how we are complex and multi-faceted. The idea that we are full of folds that slowly unveil who we are ties in strongly to my previous research into the concept that we are made up of layers that are built up to portray ourselves a certain way when we are being socially perceived. I contrasted this concept with the idea that when we are alone, we do not need these built-up layers. 

I then read ‘The Eyes of The Skin, Architecture of the Senses’​ by Juhani Pallasmaa​ which questions the role of the body regarding its primary senses, focusing on vision and touch. The quote ‘touch is the sensory mode that integrates our experience of the world with that of ourselves’  shows how touch is integral to how we interact and leave imprints on the world around us. I have also questioned how we view others and ourselves in a critical sense and so the concept of how our sight impacts identity and viewpoints is highly interesting to me. 

I feel that this opens up a new way to explore the concept of identity through the physical body and how we interact with the world around us, as well as leave our own imprint.

I found this excerpt interesting due to how it questions the use of hands and how they are integral to how we as people interact and engage with the world around us, as well as use them for our crafts. I am considering investigating how our hands allow us to engage in activities that we use to form a part of our identity. For example, crafts such as crochet and knitting can be used to create garments that are used to convey identity. I would love to source a model who creates her/his own garments through a craft using their hands.

This is a quick mood board I created inspired by the themes of touch, sensation, craft, and interaction. I will use this as a visual starting point for beginning to plan photography that captures identity through storytelling. 

​This is another moldboard I created, this time focusing on the themes of stains, bodily fluid, and residue. I particularly love the idea of telling a story of identity through physical objects using the theme of residue, which inspired me to think of objects such as washing up residue and things that are thrown away, such as cigarette butts.

 

 

This mood board was again inspired by Stains, exploring the idea of residue on materials and surfaces such as textiles and skin. I love the idea of leaving an imprint on an object, a remaining sense of identity and touch.

 

Finally, this mood board shifts from focusing on stains and ​traces to the concept of touch and craft. I love the concept that through touch we can place a sense of identity into inanimate objects, such as through the means of craft. This has led me to investigate crochet as a form of craft as it has become more popular since Covid-19 and has been proven to be positive for mental health. Due to my focus on mental health in idem it would be great to include crochet as a form of relief from the heavier content as it could be pitched as a coping mechanism.