For my first project I chose to portray the emotional aspect of flame. As I explored the city of Sydney with the word “flame” in mind, I began to notice metaphorical flames in the people and places around me, as well as within myself. I noticed flames in the flushed and burning face of a friend as the person she fancies passed by. I noticed flames in the way my heart warmed as I watched fireworks over the harbour and fell more in love with Sydney. And I noticed a similar sensation of flames as a lovely stranger accidentally brushed his hand against mine when he sat in bus seat next to me. It was a collection of these moments, as well as others, that led to my project.
I began my work with a quick sketch to outline my idea:
While this sketch unfortunately resembles chicken feet more than anything, it was helpful later when I explained my idea to a friend and asked for help. I wanted to express the rush of internal warmth/flames that I had seen and felt since I’ve been in Sydney. I drew two hands slowly reaching for eachother as a simple image for perhaps a budding romance with a sense of risk and excitement. Then, as soon as they touch, a real flame sparks and takes over, just as the feeling of internal flames sparks and rushes all over the body and mind.
I then set about to find all the tools I required for my project:
- A lighter.
- Paper (I used water color paper; I thought it was an interesting metaphor for the human body consiting mostly of water, and also a nice contrast to the element of fire. I regreted it later however- this stuff is so hard to burn!)
- A camera and friend to help me take photos without burning all of UNSW down.
I began by drawing the hands on five pieces of paper. I originally planned to do more but hands are very difficult for me to draw, and even just five was very time consuming!
After this, I found a friend to help me take photos of these sketches. After the preliminary photoshoot on a grill outdoors, I set the first three pages on fire as a test to determine how to capture the flames I was envisioning. This process in itself was symbolic of the cycle of destruction and rebirth caused by fire: I created this art in the name of flames, and then destroyed it by flames as well. I momentarily struggled with the idea of creating something just to destroy it, but I then considered that this process adds value to my experiment in many ways. Aside from stepping out of my comfort zone, I was also able to both give my art more meaning (as it could only exist for a short time, thus this time became more precious), as well as more meaninglessness (as it was only created to be destroyed).
Since the paper was resisting the fire, my friend and I found the nearest solution, a can of cooking spray, and coated the paper in various ways to assist the fire. Finally, after hours of sketching, an experimental photoshoot, a few minor burns, and good amount of editing, I was able to create “Engulfing Flames.”