Updated Artist Statement

My concept is about body image and identity. I am initially looking at how women perceive themselves in our society. We are constantly bombarded with products in the media and women who are buying into these advertisements because the media is telling us which A - list celebrities are using them. Within my project I try to visually describe the lengths women go to, to change their look and who they are, to try and fit into this particular image society has given us. If it wasn’t for our society today and our means of media, women of today wouldn’t have such low self - esteem and near to no confidence in their looks. To some, extreme lengths like plastic surgery and Botox, are their only way to get what they want. Throughout my project I am looking at the different surgical procedures involved in changing ones look, such and cosmetic surgery, Botox, chemical injections, etc. Looking through a magazine I notice all these different ads with make - up and weight loss ideas who claim to make miracles. Every second page is different models or celebrities focused on losing weight or changing their face and much more. Through different visual methods I tried to create a strong body of work to support my concept. I used silkscreen as a way of printing but I focused more on photography and Photoshop as my main studio practice and used drawing as my parallel studio practice. 

New Photoshop

Artists

I picked three artists who inspired my work and have relevance to my concept.
My first artist is Diego Fazio. He is an Italian artist who was originally a tattoo artist but is now a portrait artist. He uses pencil on paper. He doesn't overly complicate things because his drawings are so realistic that he doesn't need anything to assist him. According to a high rated website, h has also been awarded several honours for his work over the last few years. He has a personal website for his artwork: www.diegokoi.deviantart.com/.

My second artist is Lucy McRae. McRae is a very talented artist, known as a 'body architect'. She likes to explore the connection between technologies, the body and of synthetic and organic resources. She also uses her own body when in collaboration with other artists. 

My third and final artist is Jonathan Yeo. Yeo is a portrait artist with a focus on the popularity of cosmetic surgery. He doesn't want to criticise or provoke cosmetic surgery with his paintings. He chooses to look at the idea of women wanting to change their image. He has even asked permission from surgeons to observe first hand some surgeries. 

My Drawings Updated

Some of these are originally from my drawing project which was pencil on fabriano, but I continued to draw similar imagery in the same technique. In the last few I used pen on card to create these.