Dream State

    This piece was inspired by the journey we take in cars, listening to music. Many people have mentioned the times they were younger and looked out their car window pretending to be in the music video to whatever song was being played on the radio. Listening to music help accompany us on our long journeys. which for me is the perfect time to daydream.
    I began with the focus on the literal journey. Taking a rough cutting of a map that had been coffee stained previously. I wanted this brown colour as it represented the Earth- dirt- real life. I also wanted it to stand separately from the strong black and white colour scheme so it would be a contrast to show a disconnection from reality and fantasy.  Using purple paint, i painted a line on the map to show an actual journey being taken. Unfortunately the paint was very liquid so created a thick line but i would of preferred a more delicate, thin, line to show careful planning for the journey. Furthermore, to improve this i would of liked to have shown a more realistic journey, taking other directions to show a more complex route. Or to have an actual route i have traveled before shown on the map but as i did not have a map of an area i know i have been i didn't get the chance to make it more personal.
      Next to the line i wrote some lyrics from the song "Dream State" by Son Lux. I have used this song previously in my work as the whole context of it is intriguing and contains many different aspects that can be pulled apart and recreated for new ideas, for instance lyrics, melody and specific sounds and feelings created throughout the song. The lyric i took for this piece was "Days we were young we took photographs of everything we could be" i thought this was very fitting but also melancholy as it sounds as if they have lost the hope and excitement they had as a child believing they could be anything. Photographs capture permanent memories and i remember as a child taking photos of landscapes and fields full of horses when going on long travels, they were all so new to me and pretty so i wanted to keep them. However, i hardly ever look at those photos and have even lost some of them showing how we forget and move on but still hold on to something with a little hope.
       Roughly around the map i painted black, acrylic paint to show an absence. This gap cut out portrays the fantasy created during the journey, therefore memory of the journey is lost, cut out, and replaced with the daydream. I glued down strips of ripped book pages to create a new story, these words would influence people's dreams so plays a major part in the dream itself. Mixing PVA glue with purple to create a light colour that seemed glossy and allowing the words to show through. The colour appears more delicate but still rich just like dreams are, they are full of creativity and potential but can be forgotten and lost so easily. On top of this i used scrabble pieces to create the name of the song as the entire sound is important to me in creating all these ideas, unlike the single lyric that was just relevant to this piece. Using some leftover scrabble pieces, i painted them black and filled in some gaps around the words, i thought this would add an interesting composition with the letters as if they are connect block pieces from a game. Thus making them random and containing gaps that are free to be filled with new ideas and a new version of the dream. The purple colour is the same as the roadtrip line, showing how they are connected, for instance on the returning journey they could repeat the same dream by being inspired by the similar surroundings.
     To improve this i would first need a stronger background like cardboard or canvas as the paper is too weak with the scrabble pieces stuck to it. I would like to try pulling different aspects of this piece apart and experimenting them separately to create new outcomes. For instance the map journey, scrabble pieces and the black and purple area; i would take these apart and see how they look reused and what they inspire me to create. For this piece alone i would definitely use a map of a journey that i have taken. Maybe coffee stain the paper so there are more visible markings or paint the map with the PVA purple paint. I would also draw the journey with a thinner, bold line because i think it looks too messy with the paint. I like how the map is cut out with straight lines, it looks very cut off and open but i would like to try with it ripped or the black paint seeping into the map as if the dream is conquering over the reality. I could also try painting it all black and then sewing or painting on the journey map lines so it is solely focused on the journey and no other part of the mpa. I think this would be very effective on a large piece with lyrics painted out next to the map lines in bold letters. It shows how the dream really takes over throughout the journey therefore would have no recollection of the actual journey.