Idea 2

      Idea 2 was actually my first idea with the mannequins but when exploring at the beginning of the sketchbook i trailed off with another idea that i felt more strongly about. This idea was to have three mannequins, painted black, hanging in the air at different levels. Representing where they are in life with success and overall achievements. The colour black would show how they are lost and unhappy with where they are as they dont do what they truly love due to needing to work and fit in with society. One mannequin would be multicoloured and in the middle. This mannequin is riding up quickly as they are fulfilled and happy with their life. With arrangements of levels im hoping for the coloured mannequin to look as if they are being worshipped by the others who wish they could be like that. It would also look unnatural as if they are being brought up into a spaceship in a glowing light which pulls into that fantasy play on fiction and believing. Despite being my first idea i got a little stuck with what would surround the mannequins, like a background as i wanted them in the light so it is primary focus.
   The mannequins positioning was inspired by this art piece by Anne Moore. The figures look like they are dancing in a circle very freely. It made me think about fairies dancing in the woods, which some people say create mushroom circles or dry grass patches. I drew some outlines of the fairies to help me think about the body levels so they don't clash when viewed at different angles, they all need seperate levels.

    I also like the idea of pieces of glass shards and mirrors hanging between the mannequins too. It would show a destruction like the person has broken out of their fantasy and these pieces are the broken left behinds. I wanted mirrors so the viewers could see themself in the reflection, look as if they are apart of the black mannequins. They would also have to think about their own lives and think if it's what they actually want, are they really happy? I wanted broken, clear glass to show the emptiness the black mannequins feel. Additionally, i could place these pieces so the glass hang around the colour mannequin as they are free and people wish to be them but can only look through the glass as they envy the colourful mannequin. Whilst the mirror pieces hang around the edges with the others so the viewer sees themself in that spot only.





    I did this quick sketch to show how i wanted colour to spray onto the other mannequins as if the colourful one is spreading their happiness/ideas. One person being nice can change someone's mood for the entire day. I wasn't sure how i wanted the colour to spalt onto the other mannequins but i did look into that earlier i the sketchbook and decided spraying/flicking paint of a paintbrush created a good amount of colour onto the mannequin with light coverage that doesn't completely take over the black.
      Next i looked at the levels of the mannequins. I decided to have one black mannequin nearest to the top so it shows how being the most successful doesn't give you all the happiness in the world. People choose things like money thinking it will give them everything but really miss out on better opportunities. The colourful mannequin not being at the top also shows again the not needing to be most successful to be happy. I did consider them being at the top so it looked as if the others were completely worshipping them but felt it lost the purpose too much. The colourful mannequin would be next in the middle just around the feet of the top mannequin. Then the next black mannequin would be above the knee height of the colourful mannequins and the last black mannequin by the feet. I want them close to each other so they can reach out like souls trying to pull themselves out. They are also close so it looks like the colorful mannequin rose higher faster and look like they are moving up.

   The next sketch focus on the positioning of the mannequins. I would have the colourful one with arms and legs down but spread out as if the light above was bringing them up and they feel powerful and full. Whilst the others would be reaching up as they try to achieve and pull themselves up but are not worthy and get left behind. The highest mannequin is reaching up instead of to the colourful one as they are selfish and haven't even noticed the others below.







      I really like the paint marks here as the colours are bright, but also how the paintbrush with less paint on spread the drying paint out. It looks rough and abstract, yet full of life. I find how the colours mix pleasing with the paper still showing. I would like to develop this into a bigger abstract piece where i can experiment with the colours and dry brush technique. With layering of colours in some areas in comparison with white paper and thin paint in another, i think could be quite interesting and expressive. 

 Finally, i created a mini practice version to see how the materials worked. The mannequins were a little difficult to get in specific position as they are very fixed. The main issue was how they constantly moved when tied up in the air. I used wire for the last one which worked better as it didn't swing around as much. I tied the string around their necks and body so they looked tangled and uncomfortable. This shows how they are suffocating in their life and cant get out. The colourful mannequin only needed the string so it would hang up in the air. I didn't want to tie it around the neck so it would look like it was suffocating but having it around the waist didn't make the head hang straight up as the body went more horizontal. I decided that this piece needed a lot more planning for it to work and be effective the way i picture it. Overall i felt it didn't quite show the connection to dreaming as i focused more on achieving happiness. Therefore didn't work for my final piece idea as i wanted a strong connection to recovering from being a constant daydreamer.