On this newspaper, I used the thread as a tool. I covered a caricature of Donald Trump like Anzeri covered old photographs, but this time I followed the angles of his face more, so it resembles more of a Morland Caricature. Next, where the writing would be on a Newspaper front page I blocked out with black thread, leaving only a few words. Again, this ties back (literally) to an idea of restricted voices and fake news, only revealing what is intended to be heard. The bar chart shows a coronavirus timeline of cases in the USA. The actual graph has an increase in cases, whilst the sewing is the lies spread; a different story of cases going down. I liked a newspaper format where I could present my ideas, and I wanted to carry that forward.

So, all the experiments above were done by dipping different materials into pottery plaster in an attempt to make a base for my work. I started with newspaper; the first one completely crumbling in the plaster. The second one I layered up, and put pins in the corner. It still cracked and tore, but held its shape, and I liked how fragile and broken it looked. I then dipped different types of cotton, a duster, some tea towels, and some polyester. I experimented with different levels of thickness and consistency, but liked the overall effect I was creating. They provide me with a solid surface to work on that resembles a discarded newspaper. On one of my experiments, I tried working with paper mache on top of it, and liked what the result was. What these experiments do, in a way, immortalise and solidify what would have been thrown away. The messages that Whitlock think to be weak are now stronger. That is more interesting to consider when thinking about the piece on the left. It sort of resembles an old Greek or Roman statue, which immortalised heroes and Gods. Going forward, I wanted to continue with this idea and start combining previous ideas with these templates.

Next, I decided to bring back the thread that had worked so successfully in the past. First, I used it on a bit of cloth I had already dipped in plaster. Quickly, I learnt how difficult it was to force the needle through the thicker areas, but the end result was positive. When photographing it, I thought it looked better on a plain background, so the thread stands out more. The thread - like with Anzeri - helped too immortalise the plaster, and the material beneath. That being said, there was nothing on the plaster yet, just a plain background. My first attempt to change that was by projecting a newspaper onto a different experiment. With this one, I dipped the paper and thread already intact into the plaster. The result sort of worked, but the writing was fuzzy and the result was not exactly clear. Also, it meant that whatever I created had to be stationary and fixed.

Mod Podge is a transfer glue. I started using it because the whole overall question of the unit asks how art can tell a message in the media, so sewing into blank slates simply wouldn't do. What I hoped to achieve was to transfer images from my unit (i.e Neshat and Morland work) onto the plaster which, when manipulated, would then fit into Whitlock's theme of throwaway culture. However, the only image that successfully tansfered was the one on the right. I think this was because of both the flat nature, but also the dark nature of the piece. Mod podge worked great on ordinary bits of paper, but not plaster. This was ok though; I like the result on the right as it unintentionally fractures the photograph, whilst enough is still left to identify what it is.

What did work with the mod podge however, was text. Text from articles or emails are

transferred onto the work above. In places, the mod podge still tore up the plaster, but that was almost a desired effect. Overall, I could use the mod podge again, just sparingly.

I then tried combining two bits of plaster work together. The idea was that, if successful, the thread could be linking the two ideas presented on each bit of plaster and strengthening their bond, but I didn't like the result. The thread was too taught, too parallel and straight. Although I still stand by the initial concept, it needed to be looser and more fluid.

Either way, the time came to start creating a final piece, and what I did on this page would be invaluable.

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Continue to the finale

Throwaway culture

By this point in my investigation, the deadline was drawing ever closer, and I knew it was time to start resolving all my ideas I had developed over the past 2 years.

I had worked heavily with satire, propaganda, and different forms of art that appear in the news. For my final piece, I wanted to incorporate this all into one project, and thought newspapers would be a good start. So I wanted to combine newspapers with previous elements, resulting in me sewing a newspaper:

Kirsty Whitlock

KIRSTY WHITLOCK uses recycled materials as a response to the throwaway culture of consumerism. Her work exploits the overlooked qualities of discarded materials by adding thread (in a way like Anzeri) and other materials. She likes to challenge preconceptions of embroidery and also explore how it can communicate social messages.

She believes embroidery has the power to transform, enables the properties of materials to be manipulated.

She graduaed in design crafts at De Montfot University in 2009 where she first started using discarded materials and thread. She says the media she chooses is often dependent on the concept she is exploring.

Physically, the materials Whitlock uses link to what I have been working with, but also thematically her work links to looking for deeper meaning inside newspapers and materialistic items, restoring life into these items, and exploiting their often-overlooked qualities.

This was my first and initial response to Whitlock's work. I found a caricature of the queen, and then pulled select images and text from other newspapers and stitched them on. I only chose select parts of the title though - again telling a story about restricted storys. The 'easing lockdown' and 'meet family outdoors' is actually apart of a segment asking when will we finally be able to do this, not that we can do this now. And, unsurprisingly, there are no killer mice.

I liked the result, and the message Whitlock was saying. Whitlock's way of passing on a message is more in your face than, say, Neshat, but she seems to be suggesting something I had yet to explore. I have been looking at how media carries a message - Whitlock seems to be suggesting that no matter the message, it has no lasting effect. Whether it is Neshat's photos or Morland's caricaturs, the message

is only temporary in the minds of the public. With this in mind, I went on to take some primary source photos inspired by throwaway culture

The paper photographed above, admittedly, had nothing to do with me. I actually noticed it on the way to take photos in the nearby fields, and saw it almost embedded into the ground. I loved how even before I began taking staged photos, an example of what Whitlock's message was just there. Whatever was on this paper, whatever message was there, is there no longer.

Here, I put a TV guide into a puddle (don't worry I picked it up after). TV guide's are a prime example of the throwaway culture that Whitlock is trying to exploit in her work, because literally as soon as the day passes, it is rendered inane and useless.

Here the newspaper is strewn across a park bench, as if literally dropped by a member of the public. It is torn, wet and unreadable. Discarded and thrown away.

This time I added an element of comedy that is so often with associated with elements of satire. The newspaper is talking about the sun and the spring but the background tells a different story. Again, it shows how a newspaper that can be read one day is no longer important as soon as something as trivial as the weather changes.

Here again the newspaper is discarded, this time in a bin. The different shapes these newspapers take in the above photographs are great, and spoke about how easily discarded newspapers often are. I wanted to work on this template, both as a response to these photos and to Whitlock's work.