Chiaroscuro

Light and shadows within design and art can be used to manipulate mood and enhance visuals. Composing light in the centre, I’ve created hand printed, contemplative wall hangings that give the spectator a sense of falling inwards. Alongside this, I have created a collection of wearable designs with bands of light and dark that work to flatter the figure, giving the wearer a romantic and alluring quality. To create the impression of expansiveness in my work, I took influence from the concept of microscopic imagery mimicking larger views. Deliberately not including any anchors that would distinguish size, my photography focuses on close ups of ink in water to inform design work which resemble vast scenes like skies or space. I worked on silks which allowed me to layer up lighter colours to develop a sense of glowing light reminiscent of renaissance oil paintings. Working on silks also allowed me to create splattered highlights that resemble galaxies of stars, giving my work a dreamlike quality. My hope is to capture the almost intangible sense of the ethereal.