These are responses to the aphorism 'All animals except man know the ultimate of life is to enjoy it' as opined by Samuel Beckett. My first image i drew inspiration from our visit to the Horniman Museum, attempting to demonstrate this existential divide between man and other animals by having skeletal human figures observing vibrant and seemingly more substantial creatures than themselves housed dead within glass cabinets. I depicted the skeletons in a cold blue hue and the other animals in a warmer red to enhance this contrast.
Although I liked the image and my aphorism was correctly deduced, it seemed to encapsulate more of a message pertaining to death than life. I considered recreating the image with the animals in a more fiery red and with a greater sense of motion to imbue them with greater energy, and thought about reversing the perspective, having these creatures observe the lifeless, unaware figures of people through glass.
Ultimately, i devised my second image that was intended to reinforce humans as a minority oblivious to 'the ultimate of life', by surrounding them in a resplendent red while they rigidly remained blue. I also moved away from the theme of death, instead having the people in their static, blunt shapes to sit transfixed to long rows of computer screens, these mechanical and electronic aspects conflicting with the nature that encompasses them. The movement of the butterfly and the cat stalking it similarly embodied wild nature, while the circular ball of wool was a physical, playful alternative to the computers.
I chose to use this image for my screen printing workshop and while (on account of my inexperience with the medium) it did not perfectly translate, i found that the broad application of colours still clashed as i hoped and the general themes seemed intact and discernible.
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