WELCOME

^{AN EXPLORATION INTO THE BARRIER BETWEEN ART AND ILLUSTRATION}

Due to my complete affinity to illustration, I have never quite found a space operating within the ‘art-world’. At university, it felt like my illustrations were never enough physically or contextually to be taken seriously as ‘Art’ so I would try countless times to reinvent my practice. I realise now that this  was a silly complex to have. My art practice would never have been as engaging or as interesting without the inspiration of illustration. But even still, I felt on the outskirts of the art-world that I had become a part of. 

When I got my residency at CBS, I was excited to have an opportunity to investigate this relationship I had with art. The splitting of different artistic fields within education has created a harsh divide between these methods of creation. This is what I have focused on during this project; specifically, the line between ‘fine art’ and ‘illustration’. I would argue that this separation leads people to believe that illustration is solely a commercial thing: something to be used to boost brands or promote events. It lends itself to this, but this is not the be all and end all of illustration. 

During this project, I reached out to digital illustrators and collected an illustration from each of them. I then viewed these pieces not as social media posts or potential print purchases but as what they are – pieces of art. In looking at these works in a more emotional light, I then went on to create a piece of music for them. The music was based on how they made me feel, thoughts they brought up and the atmosphere they had. This process immediately opens up the illustration to being analysed and understood on a different level even if there was no context to begin with. Music has been the one consistency in my artistic practice as it creates a space for contemplation and pulls out emotion in people. This is why it was vital for this project. The music attached to the illustration leads people to spend more time with the work and view it in a more serious light. It creates a space for the viewer to connect with it in a way that maybe they wouldn’t have after double tapping it on Instagram.
I am intrigued to know how these pieces are perceived with the music attached, so please email either me or CBS gallery your thoughts on the pieces. Here are a few questions to maybe think about when writing your responses:
How does it make you feel?  What is the story of this illustration? Does this piece bring up any memories / feelings?