Identity has become a large part of my print project. Through looking at hand prints, my work has developed into studying palmistry and how you can tell what a person is like through the lines on their hands. I have also produced work surrounding the idea of people's unique identity and their fingerprints.
As mentioned in previous blog posts, I wish to research other fine artists in my project that link in with the ideas evident in my work.
Frida Kahlo is one artist who uses the concept of identity as a vital understanding in her work. Kahlo was born in Mexico and had a Hungarian Father which led to her work being fuelled by the idea of a dual nationality and the idea of there being 'two Frida's.' She not only encircled the idea of cultural identity but also the identity of her body after she was involved in a bus accident at the age of 18 where she sustained a fractured spine, crushed pelvis and a broken foot.
I really admire the way in which Kahlo uses her artwork to cope with the confusion of a double cultural identity and also to cope with her injuries and recovery after the accident. I quite like artwork where there is a clear narrative or personal aspect to it, helping the viewer look past the visual depiction of this in the artwork and think about the real person within who you can relate to.
Orlan is another artist who can be linked with a thread of identity in her work. The work of this artist is highly controversial with her under-going plastic surgery whilst awake to constantly shift the way she looks and furthermore her outward identity.
Orlan's work calls into question ideas about whether what we think about ourselves represents what is seen on the outside and also the pressure of the media and people around us to conform and look a certain way. I interpret this concept to be a representation of the pain and money people will spend to look 'perfect.' I especially think that the way in which Orlan stays awake during the surgery represents the pain people go through in order to achieve a socially acceptable body.
My third artist is one that is slightly different and produces work that is more relevant to the way in which I have been working with my fingerprints.
This is the work of Nigel Poor who has used fingerprints in his work much like I have done with mine. He launched a project to collect as many fingerprints as possible to put into an archive for his artwork. Whenever he was out in the public he would ask random people at any opportunity to take part to keep on increasing the collection and to also note down their name, gender, age and occupation. The collection reached 5000 and over different print of fingers complete with the participant's details. Poor doesn't just reflect upon the uniqueness of everyone's identities but also the interaction between him and all those people at the time when they contributed to the project. He also addresses the importance of the use of fingerprinting in forensic science.
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