Inside Outsiders.

     I was set a brief recently based on outsiders/ outcasts and Albert Camus' short novel "The Outsider". Here's what I've been up to...

     I wanted to base my work on the image-based code systems used by existing groups of outcasts such as gang/ cult insignia, hobo signs and, of course, the tattoos worn by sailors and criminals. The very thought that an image can be imbued with enough meaning and significance that it can be read like a language to those who are in-the-know appeals to me a great deal, and I've come to realise that it is this quality (along with overall aesthetics) with which I form an opinion on pieces of work.
     This being said, I decided I should create a visual language for a currently under-represented group that could be considered outsiders. Coupling this with the secondary realisation that throughout the course it has been briefs in which I could relate to and have subsequently immersed myself in that have been the most successful, I decided to begin producing imagery that pertained to myself as an outsider.
     Luckily, I suppose, right at the beginning of the new university year I was finally diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and depression which both come with the delightful stigma that is associated with mental health issues, so I had inadvertently been given something with which to work. Groovy.

     The above image is a screenprinted reproduction of a drawing I made. The wee demon chap, whose pose I hope looks somewhat noticeably like a human skull as I intended, represents the presence of OCD within the mind, and the trident he holds represents the intrusive divide between happiness and depression (the sun and moon) that it can cause.

     I also screenprinted the image onto cloth patches that could be sewn onto clothing and worn in the same way as military insignia or scout badges: the idea being that wearing it would signify to others that the wearer had had to experience something in order to "earn" it. Whether or not it was clear to others what said experience consisted of was arbitrary, and being the reserved introvert that I am I decided that when it came to displaying my work (pictured above) I would give no clue as to the meaning behind the images, other than the obvious notions of "being an outsider" that the title of the given brief indicated. Leaving the image open to interpretation by the viewer.

     This is another, less successful, patch I made using a laser printer on leather at Laserlea in Manchester. Having never used or researched laser printing before, I had no real idea of what the final outcome would look like, and I think it's obvious that my work needs some tweaking in order for it to suit the medium better.
     It's hard to make out in the picture, but the design is of a three-eyed human skull (the third eye representing the mind) underneath which is a broken arrow that is meant to signify (would you believe it?!) something that is broken; in this case, the mind.