Tutorial 1
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Feedback and concept progression notes and thoughts. Started to try and focus down my concept into something less overly complex and unfocused, as I had many concepts that I wanted to try out and didn’t know which was the strongest to follow. I still was still very interested in exploring anthropomorphic imagery in relation to its reflection of the human condition and how certain specific animal connotations and symbolism could be employed in an insightful and critical way when looking at conceptions of enforced and hegemonic views of gender roles through our culture and media.
But there were also other ideas; such as the loss of our creative imagination and mythology weaving in a system which is obsessing over enlightened progression and accelerationism, that I wanted to briefly explore and experiment with to see what would come out of it.
At this point I also became very interested in Lacan’s mirror stage theory. It seemed very insightful in exploring how the perfect image of ourselves which is constructed from the mass of idealised imagery surrounding us cannot match up with what we are faced with in the mirror. It is a very jarring revelation, and the denial that we face when our image ideal is an absolute impossibility due to the amalgamation of imagery and ideals imposed on us to be ‘perfect’. I thought it would be particularly interesting in looking at gender and gender assumptions and how we are somehow repelled or alienated from what we think ourselves should be when they don’t or can’t match up. Also, how we are cast out if we do try to confront these gendered constructions outside of the mirror. I thought that using animal symbolism would make that jarring unnaturalness of their own image would exemplify this as well.
Rebecca Elysium 