Final Piece

The use of this "decollages" style is significant, as it symbolises how air pollution is capable of destroying the different elements of society. Since the layers are built up out of images of both people and places, by having each layer be torn apart, it connotes how air pollution permeates throughout all these places and people, ultimately destroying them. Moreover my decision to have a canvas that does not have entirely straight borders, symbolises how air pollution destroys the structure of things, since air pollutants chemically do that to people cells, which is what causes cancer. I have printed the word 'SEVERE' in the corner, since if air pollution was to be summarised with one word, this word best reflects it holistically, due to the severity of its impacts on people and places. Moreover i have printed the number 7,000,00 several times to emphasise the extremity of this large number. Furthermore, each of the artists that i have researched have helped influence the creation of this piece, with some informing how i structured the collage and others the technical aspect of creating it.

For my final piece I was able to produce a mixed media collage that incorporated aspects from all of my researched artists and skills developed through experimentation of different media and their application. This final piece provides a conclusive and holistic representation of the impacts and effects of air pollution since it demonstrates the physical and mental impacts it can have on both places and their populations. I have painted a girl in a mask twice to connote how air pollution is particularly hazardous towards peoples health, which is why there are two. Moreover, i have drawn using a biro pen, a building in London to demonstrate the physical impacts it can have on places, especially local areas, which further emphasises the severity of air pollution and the necessity to combat it at a local level. Finally i have used primary source photographs of places in London that are particularly damaged by exposure to polluted air, which further highlights how this is not a foreign issue, but instead a major local one. The composition of the collage is also significant, with it being built up in layers, reflecting Mimmo Rotella's "decollages" technique.

Firstly, JMW Turner provided me with the technique to apply watercolour effectively for portraying visible air pollution and creating an atmosphere reminiscent of that when exposed to toxic particles.

Moreover, John Virtue inspired me to apply harsh and dark shades of black, which through experimentation i found emphasised the physical impact of objects and as a result created a bleaker atmosphere. This amelioristic atmosphere is successful in highlighting the bleak future if air pollution is to persist.

Supmanee Chaisansuk is another artist who inspired my application of ink and paint. Since through experimentation i discovered that dripping ink was an effective manner of displaying ink as it gave the ink a looser feel. The meaning behind this looseness of the ink is to connote how air pollution is able to engulf environment as a whole and are capable of spreading throughout entire environments.

Alex Williamson inspired my overall layout of my information and artwork, since he digitally is able to present his attitudes towards specific topics through his layering of images in a digital format. Therefore the overall structure of the piece and my decision to incorporate layers of statistics and images was inspired by my research of him.

Ian Murphy is another artist who influenced my application and presentation of media, since he inspired me to produce the paintings of the people in masks using acrylic paint.

Finally Mimmo Rotella was a significant influence in developing my overall final piece as my research of him inspired the technique of physically layering images and paintings through his "decollages" style, as well as creating a canvas of different materials. The significance of this is that air pollution is able to corrode and engulf both people and places.

Therefore all of my artists have influence d and inspired my work in different ways, with these influences varying from creative structural decisions, to application of paint or presentation of themes.

This final piece therefore provides a resolved response to the question established at the beginning of this investigation, which was: "What are the impacts and effects of air pollution?". Through the incorporation of all the ideas that i have developed through media experimentation and research of artists, this final piece provides a holistic answer to that question. Air pollution affects both people and places which is demonstrated in this mixed-media collage from the photos, paintings and drawings of both people and buildings, being destroyed or engulfed by the ink that symbolises air pollution. Moreover, these statistics provided give a factual demonstration on the impacts that air pollution has on the world's population. Therefore to conclude air pollution has numerous detrimental impacts on both people and places, which is demonstrated through the structure and features of this final piece.

Below shows the different stages of creating this final piece, with annotations as to how and why i completed each section that way.

The Process

Making the Canvas

The first step to making my final piece, was to create the canvas. After studying Ian Murphy, i experimented with using different materials to create different textures and present my information. I made this canvas out of cardboard, book pages and newspaper articles. The newspaper articles were significant as they were taken from reports on air pollution, with information ranging from the effects of air pollution on health and the sustainability of combusting fossil fuels. I chose these materials as they made the canvas have a range of textures that impacted the appearance of the paintings and drawing, as well as presenting information on the topic.

Painting and Drawing

The next step in creating my final piece, was to draw and paint some of the primary source photos. I decided to draw one of the buildings using a biro pen, since as i established from one of my previous experiments with a biro pen, it gave the drawings aesthetic a bleaker atmosphere, which connotes my attitudes towards air pollution. Moreover i used acrylic paint to create both of the people in masks, since the paint allowed me to emphasise shadows and highlights, i had learnt how to effectively usea cryclic paint after studying Ian Murphy.

Applying Ink and Layering Paper

After creating the base of the canvas as well as the paintings and drawing, i began building up the layers of the collage as well as began applying ink. By building up the layers of the collage, it reflects Mimmo Rotella's "decollages" style, since to see the image below the current layer is torn apart. The significance of having this "decollages" style, is that it represents how air pollution physically affects places by building up in layers. The second meaning of having these layers being torn apart, is to symbolise how air pollution corrupts and destroys different aspects of society. Moreover, i applied ink throughout each of these layers, with the colours being different shades of red, orange and black. These colours represent air pollution and so by having them permeate throughout the piece it visibly demonstrates how air pollution engulfs settings and corrupts them.

Lino Printing

The final stage in creating my final piece, was to add statistics to the collage. I did this by creating lino prints which i could then use to print on the data with ink. I decided that the ink that i use should be a mixture of light orange and red, so that it fit the aesthetic of the air pollution , however would stand out against the darker inks beneath it. The idea to incorporate these statistics came from Alex Williamson, who does this in his own collages, however i figured out the best way of doing this physically by producing a series of lino print experiments on previous collages.