Concertinas and Zines with Watercolour

Beginning work on my work plan as outlined in my study statement, I've been experimenting with paint and taking a step away from trying to refine things too much. I wanted to have lots of paper out at the same time and work on them concurrently. I used a combination of small sheets, folded sheets and larger sheets.

I added some washes to them.

I then worked over the top of these washes with a contrasting colour.

I was just marking out shapes and observing the effects of wet paint over dry. I like how the layers of paints overlap and add depth.

To move the paint around and see what it would do I also smudged into the paper with a sponge and dragged it over with a dry brush. Some figures emerged too. I'm trying to find a balance between simple mark making and forms developing from that. I want to stick to this phase of experimentation for the time being.

I looked at each small section of paint on the folded paper and decided to let a select few of these inform a slightly more refined experimental piece. I find the act of allowing one experiment to talk to another really satisfying. The challenge is to retain that sense of spontaneity though.

I started by doing a simple wash over each piece of A5 watercolour paper.

The first experiment:

And how it looked on its own, a second time round.

The same for this one:

This one became more evolved than the first I think. I like how the paint has layered well, with some details almost looking concealed or revealed behind others. Next, I'd like to continue this with some different colours and then try it on a larger scale.

The final 3 more refined experiments.

March 12th 2023

I'm really enjoying making these zines/concertinas. Even though I'm aware I'm struggling to move them on - maybe that's ok for now and I should't try and force things.

I love combining separate pieces of mark making with drawing one particular mark across the length of a whole zine.

I vary the brushes, which material go on first, layering, and use of pressure to make as much variation as possible.

The other day I was looking at the below example and realised that if I turned it 90 degrees a figure emerged.

I was instantly reminded of Macbeth, which is a play I'm really interested in thematically.

The piece was originally horizontal marks across the paper made using ink and wash.

When I cut it in half though, and turned the right hand side 90 degrees, it suddenly looked like a figure standing and staring into the distance (Macbeth, I thought!).

I added some marks to the background to make more of a suggestion of a landscape.

The other half now exists on its own as a sort of landscape. They work well as a pair I think although I think the landscape half might be worth experimenting with on a larger scale.

September 28th 2023

With a bit of a break away from experimenting with concertinas and paper manipulation, I've been forming some ideas that I feel could be communicated well using paper in this way.

Here I contemplate how fragmented memories of trauma can integrated into our everyday memory system. (Van de Kolk). I used folded and arranged sections of paper showing ‘good’ and ‘bad’ colour/form fragments to illustrate the idea of embedding and integration. I’m not at the stage yet where I know what forms I’ll draw, and how – but structurally, things are moving in a direction that feels right.

Certain colours and forms are gently repeated, identifiable at different points. Through this, I want to show how trauma memory can be integrated in our every day memory system. Furthermore, that the repetition of grounding activities (places, people, activities) create strength and empowerment.

As I reach these ideas, I've been reading some more from Van de Kolk, and found the abstract from one of his papers rallying and inspirational:

"The study of traumatic memories challenges several basic notions about the nature of memory: (i) that memory always is a constructive process; (ii) that memory is primarily declarative (i.e. that people can articulate what they know in words and symbol) (iii) that memory is present in consciousness in a continuous and uninterrupted fashion; and (iv) that memory always disintegrates in accuracy over time. A century of study of traumatic memories shows that (i) semantic representations may coexist with sensory imprints; (ii) unlike trauma narratives, these sensory experiences often remain stable over time, unaltered by other life experiences; (iii) they may return, triggered by reminders, with a vividness as if the experience were happening all over again; and (iv) these flashbacks may occur in a mental state in which victims are unable to precisely articulate what they are feeling and thinking. The present paper reviews the literature on traumatic memories and discusses the recent neuroimaging studies which seem to clarify the neurobiological underpinnings of the differences between ordinary and traumatic memories".

From: Trauma and memory

BESSEL A. VAN DER KOLK MD

First published: 04 January 2002

I used some simple wax lines across the paper.

Using an older piece of paper with a grey wash and aligning them in a grid. I need more than this to illustrate the idea more clearly I think. Also not sure if the idea of integration is fully clear.

Some other samples, with an accidental blob of red that I actually really like. It made me think about how some memories can take us by surprise or be triggered suddenly.

I sliced up a large A2 sheet which I have painted on both sides (nothing hugely formed, but one side being dark and the other light) and then folded each strip. Aligning them along the wall creates an interesting contrast but I think they are a bit plain. I want to explore what imagery and symbols I can use and repeat so there's a sense of experience being shown.

October 30th 2023:

I've been using masking fluid in some experiments recently. I'm trying to create some sense of journeys and travel on paper and found that masking fluid enables some interesting images to develop which can be worked into or layered. The main post on masking fluid experiments is here. (link)

Folding the paper in a concertina automatically frames small areas and leads the eye to seeing them as separate pieces. With this in mind, I can see some sections that work better than others and these are primarily the ones that are less busy. I want to create a sense of 'travel' in the images, but am planning on layering over the top with the figure sketches I've been doing and also want to explore the idea of transferring photos onto the paper afterwards. I don't want it to be too crowded.

Feb 2024:

Having had a yesterday, I wanted to test out the idea of how concertinas could play a part in an overall composition. Betty suggested the idea that they could be on the wall, but they could 'spill' onto the floor also. I don't know yet how this idea could work but I had some prepared large sheets of watercolour paper ready for chopping up so had a go to see what they'd look like, and also if I can begin to 'match' smaller collection of fragments with them to create areas of fragments over a large area (another idea that came up in the tutorial).

Testing out what a small concertina looks like with some other fragments.

Free standing. Could these on the floor look interesting - or might this be too busy with them mounted on the wall too?

I like how the structure of a folded paper can connect with ideas surrounding steps and ladders - and therefore, movement. Is there another way this can be conveyed? Do I need to? Maybe the arranged fragments in a 'top to bottom' journey composition creates a feeling of journey within itself.

I need to test this idea a bit more. Also conscious I haven't tried any stitching yet (this was in the work plan)...