Final Outcome Evaluation

This is my final outcome, which was predominately inspired by Mark Jenkins.

I used a technique using Sellotape and modelling it on a person, to make it look more realistic. I modelled the Sellotape on someone else as it saved time. I had the idea to hang it up, so I created stand to mount the hands on. This didn't work as well as I'd hoped as the added weight of the hands made the stands fall over, so I attached them to the main board and they stayed upright.

 My initial idea was to cover the hands in newspaper, however this was not broached in the exam as I felt it would it would detract from the main point of the piece, which is to call out to the sense of touch by using Sellotape, which is used in the sense to stick to the audience. However I could of used newspaper or another kind of paper to fill the hands to give them more colour, which I had explored before and liked the look of. The hands were made to appear to be bursting from the board as it was more effective than just mounting the hands. 

Another sense I was trying to provoke was sound, as I added the phrase "I'm sticking to you", which came from the song by The Velvet Underground "I'm sticking with you because I'm made out of glue", which when seen by an audience, I hoped would make them sing the song in their heads. I changed the "with" in the lyric however, replacing it with "to", as Sellotape literally sticks to you. I was going to use the whole line "I'm sticking to you because I'm made out of glue", however I would have been too long.

 I wanted the typography and hands to be 3D, as it would increase the amount of how visual it looked and that would link it to the sense of touch. I decided to have it hanging in the air as I wanted the hands to be reaching for each other. This idea was inspired by Zim & Zou, who also hang 3D objects around in effective ways. 

 I chose the colours pink and purple as they are colours linked which the sense of Love and Passion, which is what the song is about. 

The Sellotape and glue glistens in an effective way that sparkles in your eyes and gives the piece a sense of light. 

My work has changed through-out the year as I have gained more ideas and found more influences. At the beginning of the year for my previous typography project, my work was mainly computer generated; finding out new skills on Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. This gradually came to working with handmade material as I decided handmade work looks more impressive as its where I feel most comfortable. In the retail graphics project, I used computer designs on a pieces I made myself, so it was a mixture of both. This piece is completely hand made.    

If I was to do this again, I would try to find away the make the hands and boards stick together as just using Sellotape to stick them together was time consuming and messy. I would also defiantly fill the hands with materials, so it could give the piece more colour.

Mark Jenkins In- depth Analysis

This piece, made by Mark Jenkins is one the pieces where he makes figures using Sellotape. The use of Sellotape could show that figures are here to stay and part of everyday life. The colour gives the figures a ghostly and luminous quality that draws the eye and suggests that this is what the figure did in life and has become the norm for them, so they haunt it after they died. Mark Jenkins, like Banksy places his art on the street to make a point about society. In this picture, the ghostly dogs could be haunting this mess as Mark is criticising the fact that that this dump will be there forever and no one will clean it up, so it becomes a hunting ground for scavengers. The light from the dogs are the only thing that give the grim background light, so they could be considered a positive sight in the middle of and eye-sore. I enjoy Mark's work as it has a interesting colour and 3D element, which I have been studying for my final outcome. This piece could be for people to think about the environment and to treat areas where people live better.

Model hand experiments

I have an idea for my final outcome to cover the Sellotape hands with a few pieces of newspaper, inspired by Mark Jenkins figures made of Sellotape and Newspaper. The effect worked well, except it took a day to dry and I need it to dry faster in the exam. I used PVA glue for this example however for the exam I was planning not to completely cover the hands in Newspaper, so it would take less time to dry. I could also use dryer glue.

I was also seeing if typography made out of newspaper would work. I found it was easy to shape into  a neat font, however to get the letters to stay flat I needed to stick it down. Also I wanted the letters to me in a red and purple colour, easily achieved by using crepe paper, so I scraped the idea.

This was made to see if using a mannequin arm would be effective. I found it too hard to separate and too flat to be realistic, so I scraped the idea as well. To save time, I have decided to model on someone else's hands.

review of progress towards final exam

My Exam Plan

Tuesday 8th May: 9am to 11am- Sellotape modelling of left hand and right hand
                             11am to 12pm- Crepe paper modelling
                             13pm to 15 pm- Preparation for mounting and sticking

Wednesday 9th May: 9am to 10am- Mounting
                                  10am to 12pm- Evaluation


I have experimented with using Sellotape and Crepe paper before using paper, which I enjoyed more than cutting out the paper and has a more effective 3D look. I have also decided to model on my own hand after experimenting with using a mannequin hand and my own hand, as the mannequin hand looked too unrealistic and it was hard to separate the piece after I had finished with the mannequin. I have also decided that the hand is positioned to look like it is coming from the wall, not the floor. Which I have been trying to create before but I could not position the mount. This way it relates to the theme of love and the sense of touch more as the hands would look as if they were stretching towards each other.
Before the exam I will have to experiment with newspaper hands, which is inspired by Mark Jenkins figure of a man made out of newspaper reading a newspaper.