University for the Creative Arts   2009/2010

Dawn Badland

The focus of my arts practice is centered on displacing factual information into new narratives, shifting the notion of value in order to invite the viewer to re-consider their position and relation to an object, text or artefact. The research process is an important part of my practice and occurs through direct observation as well as reference to artefacts and documentation, largely in the field of natural science. My work explores the visual culture of nature and creates an opportunity to transform our perceptions and understanding of the natural world. It produces multiple references through highlighting and distorting that which is normally perceived.

Through the use of print and other reproductive methods I am able to remove imagery from its original form, whether this is archival material or simply a photograph I may have taken. The outcomes create a vaguely familiar or recognisable idea, a sense, rather than direct replication. It is this ambiguity which holds interest for me in my practice. A sideways glance rather than a gaze, counter to the notion of scientific examination.

AA2A offers me the opportunity to create large-scale images by using etching and stencil printmaking methods. This seemingly simple process requires extensive preparation; inking a very large collograph base and developing a complex stencil which can only be used once. Hopefully I will produce a series of succesful pieces during my residency.