IB VISUAL ARTS 2024
ROSA R
Curatorial Rationale
My body of work has evolved and refined since its inception although it has always related to the multifaceted relationship between humans and water. For me, it is important to maintain this broad scope as I have incorporated works which explore oppositional aspects of this relationship. My final exhibition examines the abiotic in relation to the biotic, specifically focusing on human experience. For example, the fine line between the sensual pleasures of swimming and how quickly that can turn to drowning. More specifically, I aim to explore the converse nature of our interactions with water and aquatic environments. I have tried to reference and explore many of these different relationships, joy and nostalgia, danger and risk, water availability and intake. Essentially, I aim to explore the idea that water is a constant yet multifaceted force and can simultaneously, give immense pleasure but also pain, can harm and be harmed by humans.
Conceptually inspired by my own connection and memories with water and the ocean, my biological investigation has visualized the ideas around aquatic ecosystems responding to human interference as well as the growing necessity to preserve and utilise water as a resource. To accurately portray this concept, I realised I needed a balance of literal and metaphorical works (ironically water is a symbol of balance and peace). This motivated me to include a variety of art forms in my exhibition and influenced my decision to feature photography, traditionally a very literal art form. It was key that my representation of water was not purely two-dimensional, however, and in order to depict the physical presence of water and its effects, I incorporated two ceramic works, the small-scale ‘Pool; a Still Life’ and the water eroded ceramic tiles, ‘Shores of Ischia’.
Photography was my primary artform for this body of work as it offers a literal representation which can be manipulated, either conceptually for meaning or physically using editing software. For example, my photograph ‘It’s not that deep’ I have manipulated the qualities of the pool water; extending it and emphasising the refractions and ripples of light. This idea of light and water texture is central to my entire exhibition as it is also crucial to my digital illustration and the textile wall hanging ‘Estuarine’ which depicts the natural textures and reflections of seawater as opposed to the highly chlorinated water seen in an artificial pool. I also employed photography and digital editing in creating multiple photo-stencils for screen-printing and the photo reference for my digital drawing.
Imagery depicting inviting swimming pools was inspired by David Hockney and Brad Walls, two artists renowned for their simple yet powerful depictions of human-constructed swimming pools. I took further inspiration from Hockney’s artistic style, not through emulating his acrylic painting techniques but from the creation of water texture and bright colour palette which is evident in many of his works.
By approaching my exhibition from both a biological and philosophical standpoint, I have attempted to showcase a multitude of relationships, from mutual and symbiotic to parasitic and lethal. In this way, I aim to synthesise science, human morality and emotion. We depend on water intake for survival as a species but ultimately the question of how to deal with water scarcity is a moral one.
In curating this exhibition, I wanted to take a linear approach to visually reflect my conceptual ideas and the linearity is reminiscent of water currents and tide-lines. It was important to me that my artworks were not perfectly aligned, with the exception of the vegetable drawings which appear as scientific plant species studies. This asymmetry is representative of the organic nature of aquatic environments and all nature, hence the saying “there are no straight lines in nature”.
Through my exhibition, the viewer is invited to question and reflect on their own relationship with water, from fond memories in a relaxing pool, to considering their daily household usage, consumption and waste of this valuable and finite life source.
5.It’s not that deep
6.Film photographs on paper (series)
6.Film photographs on paper (series)
6.Film photographs on paper (series)
6.Film photographs on paper (series)
6.Film photographs on paper (series)
6.Film photographs on paper (series)
8.Step 1: Commodification
1.Phnom Penh Street; Rainy Day
2.Shores of Ischia (detail)
3. Estuarine
4.Pool; a Still Life
7.“Oh my god, the hotel has a pool!”
9.Eat your veggies
Installation view
Artwork statements
1.Phnom Penh Street; Rainy Day
Oil on canvas
45 x 50.5cm
Depicting an urban scene during wet season in Phnom Penh, which I visited last year, my intention is to capture the experience of traversing this exceedingly busy city during the rainy, monsoon season. The focus on the slippery, wet road texture alludes to how people must continue to drive, live and work despite the intensification of anthropogenic rainfall. The title references my inspiration, Gustave Caillebotte’s painting Paris Street; Rainy Day.
2.Shores of Ischia
Glazed ceramic tiles in sand
2.7 x 47.5 x 42.1cm
Featuring approximately 10 ceramic tiles, made from clay and bisque-fired before being painted with ceramic glaze, the tiles are placed sporadically in a pile of sand. My aim is to capture the transformative and erosive power of saltwater. Presented organically in the sand, the tiles feature patterns that emulate those that are found washed up on the beach surrounding the Castello Aragonese, Ischia.
3.Estuarine
Textiles, photostencil screen print and acrylic marker on calico, driftwood
Overall size,125.5 x 144.8cm
This textile made using photo silkscreen printing, depicts the mingling of bodies of water but focuses on brackish water, in an estuary, which is neither saltwater or freshwater. The textile wall hanging incorporates different shades of blue and green and water textures to explore the fusion of lacustrine, fluvial and marine waterways. It highlights an estuarine environment through the motifs of marine life and the driftwood branch from which it is hung.
4.Pool; a Still Life
Glazed ceramics and resin
4.1cm x 26.3 x 17.4cm
This sculpture, made from glazed ceramics and filled with clear resin positioned on artificial grass, depicts a raised, backyard swimming pool. This work is inspired by David Hockney’s iconic pool paintings and simplistic, pop-art style as well as the synthetic, artificial beauty of 1950s Palm Springs. This aesthetic allows me to present the pool as a symbol of the dichotomy between pleasure and peril. The title ‘Pool; a Still Life’ references the very real risk of drowning in backyard pools.
5. It’s not that deep
Digital photograph on paper
28 x 107.7cm
1nspired by Brad Walls’ photos of swimming pools around the world,
this large-scale digital photograph, manipulated using editing software, depicts a man swimming in a hotel pool. The figure is presented with his projected trajectory before him, highlighting his insignificance in the expanse of water. My intention is to portray this pool with the same depth throughout, thereby drawing attention to the light refractions and ripples on the water’s surface.
6.Below the Surface
Film photographs on paper
Series of 6, approx. 25.7 x 36.5cm each
This series of film photography series depicts a young girl in various positions underwater, giving the appearance of simultaneously having fun and struggling. I encourage the viewer to question the safety of all people, in water. These images allude to the way that on the surface it is nearly impossible to tell whether she is having fun swimming or struggling to breathe, and underwater the reality is revealed.
7.“Oh my god, the hotel has a pool!”
Digital illustration on paper
33 x 52.5cm
This digital illustration, depicts two girls jumping into a hotel pool in Italy. My intention is to focalise the two figures and the water thereby confining the coastal architecture to the background. This drawing, and its accompanying title, aims to encapsulate the joy that we as children experience swimming in pools on holiday. Correspondingly, it also reflects the nostalgia and childhood memories that I tend to associate with a swimming pool.
8.Step 1: Commodification
Digital photograph on paper
32.7 x 38cm
Taken on a digital camera, this photograph depicts an Indonesian supermarket fridge containing rows of bottled water. My intention was to through arguably the most literal art form, capture the commodification, due to limited access, of a resource considered to be a fundamental human right. Human-induced climate change has exacerbated existing water scarcity in countries like Indonesia, where tap-water is non-potable, and means that the bottled water industry is increasingly inaccessible.
9. Eat your veggies
Coloured pencil on kraft paper
Series of 6, 19.2 x 14.7cm each
Coloured pencil drawings feature 6 illustrations of the most water-intensive vegetables: tomato, cucumber, capsicum and radish. This work reflects the mutualistic relationship that we share with organic foods as in cultivation, humans provide crops with copious amounts of water, a process which is reciprocated by the water and nutrients which we acquire through ingesting vegetables. My intention is to allude to a broader scientific purpose and the codependence we have with food.