Negotiated
My self-written project.
My self-written project.
At the beginning of this unit I felt inspired by the folklore of Japan.I found a particular fascination with their style of storytelling as well as the spirits and mythical creatures called Yokai (monster) and Kami (spirit) that are prevalent within Folklore tales. These supernatural beings are a very big part of ancient Japanese history, art, religion, and society. Many of these beings are set apart as divine, harking back to the folktales of Japans creation. Where as other Yokai play a much more humble, yet strange, part in everyday life, such as the ‘Akaname’ who sneaks into the houses of people with dirty bathtubs to lick them clean.
The Japanese folklore creatures are extremely numerous and range from malevolent demons to playful animal like beings that play tricks on humans.
The folklore of Japan is so deeply integrated into the people’s way of life, that these types of creature have been an integral facet of the countries pop culture for centuries.
Although there has been an extreme amount prevalence and popularity around these creatures in the eastern world they have never really made a successful jump over seas to the western world with the same impact that they have in Japan.
This realization drove me to imagine how invisible creatures could conceivably be affecting our worlds without our realization. So with my negotiated brief I set out to create a collection of surreal creatures that would be more relocatable for a western audience, and could potentially be to blame for the unexplained yet mundane phenomena that we regularly experience.
While thinking around this subject a famous quotation from the western philosopher George Berkeley came to my mind, ‘If the tree falls in the forest and there is no one around to hear it does it sill make a noise?’. This theory is called ‘immateriality’ (subjective realism) and denies the existence of material substance, rather it is contended that familiar objects are merely ideas in the minds of the perceives and as a result cannot exist without being perceived.‘To be is to be perceived’.
I connected with the fantasy that these creatures might exist but we are not open to perceive them.
The Japanese folklore creatures are extremely numerous and range from malevolent demons to playful animal like beings that play tricks on humans.
The folklore of Japan is so deeply integrated into the people’s way of life, that these types of creature have been an integral facet of the countries pop culture for centuries.
Although there has been an extreme amount prevalence and popularity around these creatures in the eastern world they have never really made a successful jump over seas to the western world with the same impact that they have in Japan.
This realization drove me to imagine how invisible creatures could conceivably be affecting our worlds without our realization. So with my negotiated brief I set out to create a collection of surreal creatures that would be more relocatable for a western audience, and could potentially be to blame for the unexplained yet mundane phenomena that we regularly experience.
While thinking around this subject a famous quotation from the western philosopher George Berkeley came to my mind, ‘If the tree falls in the forest and there is no one around to hear it does it sill make a noise?’. This theory is called ‘immateriality’ (subjective realism) and denies the existence of material substance, rather it is contended that familiar objects are merely ideas in the minds of the perceives and as a result cannot exist without being perceived.‘To be is to be perceived’.
I connected with the fantasy that these creatures might exist but we are not open to perceive them.
A Heavy Sleeper. With this creature the idea was to create a monster which could make you late in the morning by allowing you to continue to sleep soundly through the sound of your alarm clock, that inability to get out of bed is experience that we can all relate to. He makes you late for the start of your day and often will only allow you to wake up at the time you would usually be leaving the house for work. It could be that the monster does this thinking that it is doing a nice thing for you by allowing you to sleep for longer or maybe it just enjoys seeing you sleeping peacefully.
I designed this creature as a large eerie figure that stands at the head of the bed. I felt that it was important for the monster to appear ghostly but not malevolent a she emerges from the background. His large body shields the sleeping person from the early morning sun, keeping the entire room in cool darkness, maintaining the perfect conditions for sleep. The creature also has special extended fingers that are a perfectly snug fit for the human ear and are ideal for muffling loud sounds that may disturb a serene sleeper.
For the sleeper himself I felt that it would be important not to define this character with too much detail. The viewer should be able to relate to this individual and project him or herself upon the position of the character.
I designed this creature as a large eerie figure that stands at the head of the bed. I felt that it was important for the monster to appear ghostly but not malevolent a she emerges from the background. His large body shields the sleeping person from the early morning sun, keeping the entire room in cool darkness, maintaining the perfect conditions for sleep. The creature also has special extended fingers that are a perfectly snug fit for the human ear and are ideal for muffling loud sounds that may disturb a serene sleeper.
For the sleeper himself I felt that it would be important not to define this character with too much detail. The viewer should be able to relate to this individual and project him or herself upon the position of the character.
Bonce Blues. This is a creature that makes men of a certain age start to loose their hair. This creature is attracted to the heads of men, it’s rare that they will ever choose the head of a women to make its home since for them the flavour of the hair of certain men is just so tasty that it’s a deliciously that they cannot help but constantly snack on.
Once one of these creatures has latched onto the head of a man whose follicles are particularly yummy it will never let go, making this mans head the creatures home for life.
The design of this creature was partly based on the idea that a creature like this would be a kind of parasite; in a similar way that a moth eats holes in our clothes this imaginary being eats the hair of men.
I felt that the most important part of this creature would be it’s mouth so I wanted it to be the focus of attention within the image. The mouth was inspired by a combination of the vertical mouth and antenna of a moth combined with the feelers that snails have.
As for the human character I though much the same as I mentioned earlier, by avoiding to much detail and character definition hopefully that will allow the audience to project themselves onto the character.
Once one of these creatures has latched onto the head of a man whose follicles are particularly yummy it will never let go, making this mans head the creatures home for life.
The design of this creature was partly based on the idea that a creature like this would be a kind of parasite; in a similar way that a moth eats holes in our clothes this imaginary being eats the hair of men.
I felt that the most important part of this creature would be it’s mouth so I wanted it to be the focus of attention within the image. The mouth was inspired by a combination of the vertical mouth and antenna of a moth combined with the feelers that snails have.
As for the human character I though much the same as I mentioned earlier, by avoiding to much detail and character definition hopefully that will allow the audience to project themselves onto the character.
Wonky Wood. He eats the very end of the legs of tables and chairs as a delicacy; this results in an unstable piece of furniture that wobbles. It maybe that the monster wants nothing more than to cause a mild irritation for us human beings, or it just might be that this monster is providing a compassionate service transporting the souls of the trees that were killed by loggers to furnish our homes.
While designing this creature I thought it might be interesting if the creatures body reflected the qualities of the object that it interacts with. Its limbs are shaped to match those of a table; additionally the split down the center of the creature shows rings of colour that are reminiscent of the age rings within wood. The affect that the being has on our environment is also depicted within the image.
While designing this creature I thought it might be interesting if the creatures body reflected the qualities of the object that it interacts with. Its limbs are shaped to match those of a table; additionally the split down the center of the creature shows rings of colour that are reminiscent of the age rings within wood. The affect that the being has on our environment is also depicted within the image.
Misplaced. This monster is responsible for the temporary disappearance of our everyday objects. If you’ve ever put something down, only to find that has vanished a few moments later when you go to pick it up again, then you’ve had a run in with this monster. The objects that he likes the most are the ones that seem to be the most important such as car keys, mobile phones, house keys, train tickets,socks, remote control, reading glasses, passport ect. Often the items that he hides are part of a pair making a more valuable steal for the monster since he loves to see your frustration as you struggle with only one half of the set.
In the meantime the creature keeps the stolen items safe and stored away so that once you have stopped searching for the item it can be returned unharmed to the exact same location that you originally placed the item which you swear you searched a thousand times. Often he can also be responsible for putting the red sock in the white wash.
While creating this creature I imagined that it would have magpie like habits, an irresistible urge to collect objects. I was also interested in the imagery of dragons sitting atop his heap of treasure.
The creature has a big wide mouth with a long tongue so that it can easily swallow our belongings and keep them out of sight.He also has a huge belly that is bulging with recognizable items that often go missing in the home. These items are made visible my means of a cutaway section in the tummy.
In the meantime the creature keeps the stolen items safe and stored away so that once you have stopped searching for the item it can be returned unharmed to the exact same location that you originally placed the item which you swear you searched a thousand times. Often he can also be responsible for putting the red sock in the white wash.
While creating this creature I imagined that it would have magpie like habits, an irresistible urge to collect objects. I was also interested in the imagery of dragons sitting atop his heap of treasure.
The creature has a big wide mouth with a long tongue so that it can easily swallow our belongings and keep them out of sight.He also has a huge belly that is bulging with recognizable items that often go missing in the home. These items are made visible my means of a cutaway section in the tummy.
