Phoebe Dalton
Fine Art
Final year project
Adapting To The New Normal Induced By The Coronavirus Pandemic [Read more]
In Nature, I Find Myself
In these polaroids, I have used double exposure to merge my body into my natural surroundings. I have done this to illustrate how the pandemic has encouraged me to seek normality from nature. Further to this, polaroids introduce an element of real-time as they are quick to capture a moment instantaneously as opposed to other film processes like long exposure which I have used in other works to illustrate the slowness of the pandemic in my domestic surroundings.
Returning To Normality
This resin model reflects my feelings of entrapment throughout the lockdown and how I have sought normality and freedom through my natural surroundings.
This was a really enjoyable project for me as I had to design and create a plinth which would contain a battery-powered LED which would shine through the hand but would not be visible to an audience looking up close. Though this took many attempts due to uncured resin, I believe the final product was worth the wait.
If I Stay Here, I Exist.
In this film photograph, I wanted to portray how I have found freedom from the Coronavirus pandemic by merging into and appreciating nature.
I particularly like this image as it incorporates exposed film. Though this was unintentional, I believe it contributes to the idea of the pandemic’s confining and isolating nature as it resembles smoke.
My Bedroom
This is a still image from a video I created, whereby I have used a green screen to physically merge my body into my domestic surroundings. I wanted this video of me painting my body into the image of my room to show how isolation and lockdown restrictions have made me feel ostracised from the rest of society and bound to my own bedroom.
Freezer
In this image, I wanted to experiment with the idea of merging into my domestic surroundings through layering on Procreate. I believe these images were successful at capturing a strange and eerie depiction of reality.
The multiple layers create a sense of ambiguity with time and therefore, the viewer may question whether the figure is leaving or entering the freezer.
Initially, I planned on using long exposure to merge a ghostly figure into my domestic surroundings. However, I thought it would add another element of strangeness to merge myself physically into an enclosed space, abstracting against the intended use of the freezer.
I'm Starting To Lose Myself
The Coronavirus pandemic has completely disrupted and distorted our normal way of life. Therefore, I decided to create a strange depiction of reality in this image by distorting and editing the reflection using Procreate. This piece takes inspiration from Francesca Woodman’s use of editing and distorting reflections in her work which ‘increasingly blur the distinction between escape and reality’.
Phoebe Dalton
My practice draws upon my own experience of COVID-19, by incorporating surrealist motifs and Freud’s notion of the uncanny. These methods enable me to capture the strange reality that we have had to adapt to due to the pandemic. Freud suggests that the uncanny “is that class of the terrifying which leads to something long known to us, once very familiar”. However, my practice explores the uncanny to arouse comfort and reflection rather than fear. I do this to evoke a sense of unity to show how adapting to this abnormal reality is a shared experience for everyone. Though my work documents my personal feelings of entrapment and loneliness as a result of lockdown restrictions and governmental guidelines, I believe that my oeuvre of digital and film photographs, polaroids and resin sculptures tell a story to which most of society can relate. This story is presented through a series of works in the exhibition, documenting my way of coping with this strange new reality through my interaction with nature.
I would say that my skills lie in critical thinking, good visual communication skills and research skills. These are all qualities that have been enhanced throughout my time at Loughborough University.
My particular interest lies in advertising as a means of communication. I am fascinated with the psychology that goes into advertising due to the way that graphic design has the ability to sway consumer decisions and make consumers feel a certain way if they purchase certain products. Considering this fascination with the hidden messages behind advertisements, in my final year, I decided to write my dissertation on how Karl Marx’s concept of the commodity fetish can apply to car advertisements. I titled this as: ‘Commodity Fetishism: An Analysis on The Mystery of The Hidden Value of Labour in Car Advertising and Consumer Culture’. I found it really enjoyable to research into companies such as Citroën and Tesla as it allowed me to consider how car advertisements have developed throughout the years as a result of new social concerns. I would like to use the knowledge and the skills I have developed throughout the duration of writing this dissertation and apply them to the Graphic Design and Visualisation master’s programme.
Final year project
Adapting To The New Normal Induced By The Coronavirus Pandemic