OUIL405: Tell an Untold Story

Japanese folklore

The restriction of using black and red for my sketches has got the Japanese theme to stick. And it's lead me to research Japanese art more which I've always been interested in but never appreciated it for it's influence on art that appeals to me. Craft and precision are the most common attributes when thinking about Japanese art.

These two sketches appeal to me because of the energy captured. The complex network of the tree internet needs to be a busy layer of infinite connections.

These diagrams could be used as a repeated pattern

A whole page in the book just for a busy pattern? 

Trees relationship with people

I now want to focus on trees' importance through history up until now for humans. I will explore the mythical, ancient folklore more specifically in Japan as my gut instinct feels this is an interesting path I want to know more about.

Tone of my story so far?

Informative/mark making/symbols/Japanese aesthetic/diagrams/communication

I want to connect two areas that interest me

Trees talking to each other & the spiritual connection between people and trees

I now want to try ask what our relationship with trees is now and if we have lost the ancient relationship 

  

I had these books to hand and they were a huge help in learning about the traditional Japanese approach to image making

The Great Japan Exhibition had many drawings of trees and seasonal illustrations of blooming plants and cherry blossom. Cherry blossom have a brief period of blossoming and symbolise the 'fleeting beauty' of life itself and are given offerings and eventually became the hanami party, a festival of celebration held for centuries. Japanese Women Artists had some beautiful, delicate drawings and both books highlighted how important trees are in Japanese culture as symbols of beauty and how respected they are.

Trees in Japanese Culture

I researched the history of trees' in Japanese mythology and discovered the Kodama which are spirits that live within the trees. The spirits take the form of a tree and supposedly bleed if they are cut down. People would and still do (Izu Islands) pray and worship to the trees especially before cutting one down to avoid being cursed by the spirit.

Spirituality

I want to explore this spirituality more as I am totally scientific in my views and have no belief system but want to see understand the spiritual connection to nature people can have as I have a love of nature too and also want to continue including people in my illustrations.

I've done a few portraits using biro

I'm definitely developing my drawing technique to a point where I can express myself better, remembering the experiments in visual language.  

OUIL405: Tell an Untold Story - Sketchbook ideas

Wood Wide Web

I've sketched a few ideas out for the 'internet' that connects the trees together via mycelia, a huge fungal network that connects thousands of trees.

Diagrams - I think diagrams and symbols are going to be useful in the book and there are lots of ways of communicating the concepts.

I have an idea of a chaotic, silent internet underground that we can't see

I'm thinking about snapshots of electrical pulses like a nervous system

Apparently it's like a collective consciousness like a huge brain

I'm happy with the fine pen drawings below for tree rings.

They're a good, simple symbol that would make an interesting pattern

The expanding larger, outer rings could be signals beaming out to other trees about dangers from invading insects

I need to think about a way to illustrate the communication between trees. Both airborne signals and underground.

I 've thought about the ancient respect trees have had through the centuries and the stories that surround them.

I could be imaginative with the way they communicate instead of being purely a factual book.

Sticking flowers into the book alongside scientific text might be confusing if the text isn't relevant.

I've been using red and black ink for all the sketches and more and more felt overlapping the black and red symbols and diagrams is a powerful colour combination to continue exploring.

I can't help feeling a Japanese influence is creeping in and will research Japanese landscapes and illustrations to see if I can use it as an influence for the aesthetic of the book.

It's been nice to use gouache in such a free way and it's really effective for creating trees for possible landscapes. I don't normally use paints as I'm not confident with my painting skills but it does add a charm to the tone of the sketches.

OUIL405: Tell an Untold Story - Group Crit/Tree Talk/What next?

Group Crit

With a couple of the peer crits there were stories of people challenging their preconceptions about subjects and conflicts of belief and emotions which had me revaluate my story's direction and purpose.

My story had swung towards two possible directions exploring the emotions of intimidating environments such as the abandoned asylum and nature reclaiming buildings. But I was left wondering if I had put enough research into the original word, trees, and created a tenuous link to abandoned buildings in order to finding a more interesting angle.

I didn't seek expert advice on trees which left me only with opinions.

The group crit left me unsure of my story and that my journey had hit a momentary dead end

Chat with Matt

I wanted to talk with Matt again about my story's development. He said abandoned buildings had been done before so that's out and that any stories about the patients in the hospital may be tricky to do sensitively using illustration.

After further research into the life of trees and the communication between trees we both agreed it was an untold and interesting concept to look at.

Wood Wide Web

I looked up the relatively new scientific research into how trees 'talk' to each other and share information and nutrients.  

Suzanne Simard TED Talk

Simard talks about below ground communities

Fungi connects one plant to another

Larger trees can act as mother trees and distribute excess nutrients to other smaller trees around them

Complex systems called the Wood Wide Web by scientists as it is similar to the way the internet is connected 

Dying trees pass their no longer needed carbon and nutrients on to the younger generation - like a legacy 

Scientific American

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/artful-amoeba/dying-trees-can-send-food-to-neighbors-of-different-species/

A labyrinth of fungal connections

The Mycorrhizal network (wood wide web) transfers water, carbon and other nutrients

This is a fascinating area that I had never even known about and changed my understanding of trees as a silent, collection of individuals competing with each other but in fact are far more sharing and look out for each other, even with other species of tree.

There is a danger that cutting the biggest trees down can severely effect the smaller trees that rely on it for growth and nutrition.  

What next?

Find experts on tree communication - Leeds Uni?

Start creating diagrams/conceptual ideas with different materials/drawings

Observational drawing of roots

Diagrams of the internet and how it is linked around the world

Social networks - are they similar to trees talking?

OUIL405: Tell an Untold Story - High Royds Hospital

More exploring - High Royds Hospital, Menston.

I went to the now closed High Royds Hospital with a friend. We couldn't get into the main hospital building as we needed a ladder but had a look at an outer building. Most of the buildings have been converted into a housing estate which still has the feeling of a hospital layout.  

It was more of the same derelict scenes but I hope to check out the main building as it'll be much more interesting.

There were some charming reminders of old technology and more ominous things like the basement which feel uncomfortably like the ending of the Blair Witch Project. There weren't as many examples of nature taking over the building as it has been totally stripped.

I did some research into the hospital's history which is troubling but there are still people alive today who have fond memories of their time working there if not as a patient. I had a look at http://www.highroydshospital.com/ which has loads of information on it's history and I'm glad wasn't tacky or exploitive and was respectful of the former patients.

Ada Ward

Ada Ward entered the asylum in 1911 and spend the rest of her life there until 1967. She was one of the last patients to be to buried at the Buckle Lane Cemetery. The website has hospital records about her first few years at the hospital and words such as 'silly' and 'hysterical' now seem very inappropriate. It was different times and the attitude towards mental health was usually shame and embarrassment. I wondered if today Ada would have been given more of an opportunity to treat her problems and recover with more modern services.

OUIL405: Tell an Untold Story - RAF Church Fenton

Nature reclaiming

Me and an equally stupid friend visited RAF Church Fenton, a collection of derelict buildings near York. 

The tomb at Harewood got me interested in abandoned places that soon will be recaptured by nature. The RAF barracks was huge so I got plenty of photos but the aspect of nature wasn't as dramatic as I'd hoped. It's only been a few years and the growth was impressive but maybe my jump from the original subject of trees was a bit of stretch.    

I was surprised at how unnerving it was to enter the buildings alone. My friend was running late so I had a quick look on my own. Straight away my senses were heightened and I was very on edge. The fact it's an abandoned place perhaps gives it a no mans land feel and it felt like a set from The Walking Dead.

There were signs of the outside trees slowly suffocating the building and even breaking through windows.

My friend turned up and we explored the rest of the base after it got dark. It was fun to do but not sure I'd be brave or stupid enough to do it alone as some of the floors were unstable.

The temptation to capture the more spooky aspects of the abandoned environment took over my search for a narrative and I struggled to find a meaningful link with nature that I wanted. I thought the project could focus on the emotions I was feeling while exploring. Feelings that you don't experience as often in day to day life..fear, tension, fight or flight, thrill seeking, high alert.

OUIL405: Tell an Untold Story Part 1: The Visual Jouranlist

Trees..

I decided to do Trees as a subject because I know little about them and want to find an interesting narrative with them where ever that may lead.

I went to Harewood near Leeds to get some photos. I realised I'd spent a whole hour in the church grave yard photographing trees and found it a peaceful place to be. I didn't hear or see another person for ages which is a change from spending time in Leeds. 

Patterns and shape

Each tree has it's own personality once you get a closer look. I enjoyed making some drawings of the trees' bark and structure. I tried to focus on silhouettes and patterns of the trees.

The forest was a kind of graveyard of dead wood and fallen trees. I started to think about the exposed roots and what happens underground.

Layering and pattern

Overlaying line drawing?

Infinite amount of leaves

Repeated mark making?

I also found an old tomb under the church