INSPIRATION - NONEON

NONEON is a gallery/shop in Frankfurt, curated and ran by Fabian Thiele. He collects and refurbishes old fabricated and illuminated letters. The letters are reclaimed from old signs, auctions and online sales. The most inspiring part of the store for me, is the merchandising in the front window. Depending on the time of year or chosen theme, mismatch letters from hundreds of different signs are curated to spell out phrases, words and names. The possibilities are endless, just as with my own sign, they can be used as individual letters rather than one whole piece, to create new and exciting combinations.

ARTIST - EIKE KONIG

Eike Konig is a German artist who creates strong typographic work, heavily influenced by consumerism, popular culture and post-modernism.

His work 'Wool' appropriates the strong style of Christopher Wool, and is tufted from actual wool. It is quintessentially Post-Modern. Using the style of another artist to create a new piece of artwork that not only uses his signature type, but also his name. It is simulacra in a nutshell.

"According to Baudrillard, the simulacrum becomes more important than the original, rendering the original irrelevant."

Post modernism is based on the notion that nothing new can be created - we have consumed so much. Nothing we create exists in a vacuum therefore it is impossible to not be influenced by everything around you, rendering nothing truly original. This is especially prevalent in society today as our addiction to social media means we are constantly consuming, and fast. So fast that it is almost impossible to determine whether any idea is truly unique.

My own work takes inspiration and influences from many sources, so although I believe my work to be original, it has clear and strong direction from numerous art and culture.

PAINTING

When painting my letters, I decided to use a more abstract and free graffiti-style approach.

I could have gone for perfection as I usually do, but I felt this would have taken from the context rather than adding to it.

I started by mixing some acrylic colours, choosing bright, happy, colourful tones. This would make the piece more appealing and aesthetically pleasing.

I originally used a small trowel to apply sporadic stokes of paint all over the letters, trying to be as expressive as possible. This was a challenge for me! I am usually extremely considered and have a high perfectionist complex. However, once I got going, I found myself enjoying the process thoroughly. I began to water down the paint to create splashes and texture with large brushes.

This was the highlight of the entire process for me. Allowing myself to relinquish control to create something new and exciting was liberating. This painting style only further reinforced the urban, graffiti inspired style of the final piece – creating layers of texture and colour like those often found in graffiti hot spots.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with the letters. The colours are bright and not muddy, but layered beautifully. The freedom allowed me to create something unexpected, and something that hasn't been highly planned and detailed to every inch.

I considered adding some text and drips, with some help of the graffiti artists I know. I decided against this though, as I was prefer the nuance of the layers, colour and texture, over a literal graffiti'd sign.

As I curate my piece I will add to them if I feel called to. As they are travelling to their destination to be photographed, I don't mind if they crack, get scratched, or even break. I feel as though some wear and tear will add to the overall effect rather than take away.