21.02.2019
As Easter is fast approaching and the piece for the university needs to be complete by then, myself and the students union need to get press releases and posters around campus as soon as possible. Spreading information about workshops and drop off points for bottle tops is essential as I will be relying totally on students and staff coming together for materials for the work. Coming up with a photo for these posters was at first a difficult task, as the work wouldn't be complete or even started until after said workshops and campaigns, getting a photo that relates and connects with the end result took a while. After going through ideas about drawings or having a collection of bottle tops laid out in a certain way and photographed, I wanted to create an image that was more of a completed outcome itself. I brainstormed a few ideas sticking with the theme of a wave and thought about creating a wave that looked to be from the ocean but instead was formed entirely of plastic waste. This later developed into using Hokusai's original print but replacing the white with plastic waste instead. I found an image with 4 water bottles on it in different usage conditions from filled and new to screwed up and crushed. In Photoshop I then manipulated them to look as though they were naturally apart of the original piece and the wave.
Using water bottles within the image instead of bottle tops (which will be the material used in the artwork), will remind everyone that there is even more plastic being thrown away than they can see when the work is complete, and that one water bottle consists of two separate pieces of plastic.
I am happy with how the image has turned out as the movement is still captured of the wave and on a quick glance you wouldn't notice the bottles within the print. I am excited to share this with the University at our next meeting.