Ephemeral habitats built in the memory of childhood

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Copyright: Swinson, Bethanie
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Abstract
The central subject of my research is children, nature and the investigation of our contemporary relationship to the natural world. I will explore Nature as an external environment that is separate from the manmade, and how our nostalgic childhood relationship to nature is often facilitated by a man-made construct of a natural space, or a man-made structure within the natural landscape. I will investigate how as children we tend to build transient habitats and shelters to create a new environment of imaginative space that is elsewhere. I am interested in the notion of Visual Collage as a contemporary form of non-linear thought process used to gather imagery for my work that then maybe recontexualised to form an esoteric dialogue. I will investigate how process informs meaning in the work by examining the methodology of relevant artists. Whilst being aware that I am instinctively drawn towards detail and traditionally female themes such as the home and children. I utilize a patchwork of visual material to form a unified drawing. In childhood and boyhood this ecstasy overtook me when I was happy out of doors…A silver haze shimmered and trembled over the lime trees. The air was laden with their fragrance. The temperature was like a caress. I remember…that I climbed up a stump and felt suddenly immersed in Itness. I did not call it by that name. I had no need for words. It and I were one. Surely most children are like that. I have retained that faculty through the years. Art Critic, Bernard Berenson.
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Author(s)
Swinson, Bethanie
Supervisor(s)
Sharp, Peter
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Publication Year
2015
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Thesis
Degree Type
Masters Thesis
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