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Looking at Childhood
I find this inspirational war poem, 'Prayer before birth' by Louis MacNeice highly inspirational and relevant to this topic. It touches on the same ideas of vulnerability and innocence which caused me to select studying a newborn child. Click on the video to view it.
Click or drag the images below to flick through the unedited primary photos.
There is a vulnerability to childhood, partiularly new-borns that I find myself drawn towards. Perhaps it's their innocence, or their inability to comprehend basic social traits such as communication through language or literature. It could be the fact that they are incapable of changing their natural environment around them like we are, to record their stories through mediums of literature or art. There is such a vast openness to their expression and countenance, with no trace or even understanding of deceit which evokes a sense of protection and mindfulness towards them.
Additionally, this time in our lives is forgotten, and this lack of memory intrigues me as these new-born children are entirely unrelatable and furthermore, the few memories that we do obtain from early childhood are entirely visual.
Click on images to magnify
I found this primary image interesting and striking as the baby is wide awake and glaring almost accusingly or in fear at the camera. I haven't used it further as there is a lack of composition. It is striking but I seek to find a photo which embodies the bliss peace and ignorance of a new born whilst also implementing elements of dreams and Imagination.
Rotting apples primary
I proceeded to photoshop and edit on procreate the primaries of the sleeping newborn babies displayed unedited on the right gallery, to create an image of a baby slumbering over a pile of rotten apples. This was by far my favourite as it touched on the topics of:
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Subconscious (Dreams)
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Innocence
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vulnerability
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Gender stereotypes
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Biblical elements
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Abandonment
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Childhood
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Symbolism
whilst also looking very visually striking in a compositional manner as the round apples and the head compliment each other. The spherical shapes of the apples lead the eyes to see patterns between them and the baby's head and shoulders.
What is the meaning?
Women have always been associated with Eve from the Garden of Eden, and her weakness as she gave into temptation. Whilst in modern days these views of all women being weak have faded, they nonetheless have greatly shaped Society now. These apples have rotted to show the mortality of ideas. That old beliefs and associations still linger in the background of society and surround us from a young age, where we are incapable of recognising it in our innocence.
Drawing from my primary, I used the style we learnt in Ian murphy, of cross-hatching in various directions and heightening the biro in sections of darkness. I found this so sucessful that I used this same technique on my Large Scale Drawing with the same image, click on the button on the right to view the drawing in documented stages.
Rotten flowers primary
When editing the image on photoshop to layer an image of rotten flowers with that of the child. I decided to mix up the proportions in order to make the child almost the size of 2/3 rotten roses and brightening their colour whilst dimming the colour of the baby. this was with the intention of drawing the eye away from the child, As by natural instinct the human eye is drawn towards faces.
What is the meaning?
The roses in society have always been associated with beauty, romance and often the prime of one's life. Therefore rotten show the impermanence of beauty. It's a beautiful juxtaposition or contrast placing a baby, still so young and yet to bloom, in a bed of roses which expired and are so near death.
This contradiction of youth and age represent the indelible passage of time.
Drawing technique
The first drawing was a simple pencil sketch, then afterwards I used biro cross hatching inspired by Ian Murphy, and much like the 'rotting apples' but the marks I used this time were much looser and splashes of watercolour were to draw attention to the discoloured roses.
“There is something horrible about a flower;
This, broken in my hand, is one of those
He threw it in just now; it will not live another hour;
There are thousands more; you do not miss a rose.”
― Charlotte Mew
Frosty Grass
When frost is on the ground it's obviously absolutely freezing therefore insulation is necessary. Children, the younger the worse, are especially susceptible to the cold. the photoshopped image makes it seem as if the baby is in thin clothes surrounded by ice which puts the child at a fatal risk of intense illness or even death. Despite this, the baby sleeps peacefully as if unaware.
I designed this image to shock the viewer and unleash paternal feelings of protection towards the child.
It shows even though the surroundings of the child are miserable-but in deep sleep, reality doesn't reach the child.
The image is also supposed to be dimensional- with contrast between the blue or green grass and the baby's reddened face. the dimension is shown by strands of frosty grass closer to the camera and overlaying the baby, which then brought the focal point to the infant's features behind the grass.
i used a mix of diluted and strong Indian ink to respond to my image .
