OUGD403 - Ice Breakers

Here we are finally, the first week at LCA! During induction week we were handed several sheets of paper filled with very ambiguous questions to answer as part of a series of ice breaker activities. At first, I struggled to think of anything to say but after a while I had plenty to talk about. Here are a few of my thoughts:

• A few things that directly inspire me are my friends and family. I have a great group of friends back at home and amazingly a lot of them have ended up here in Leeds, spooky. Do you reckon they're following me? They are extremely outgoing, up for anything and everything, they give me a lot of energy and inspire me to be adventurous. When I am feeling down they are always there to pick my spirits up. We all have our own separate interests but agree on plenty of things which is brilliant

• My parents work incredibly hard and have always inspired me to keep my head up. Growing up they allowed me to express myself however I wanted to and never held me back. My brother is my best friend, and even though we don't always see eye to eye we will always be there for one another.

• Urban environments and everything they encompass directly influence my practice as a visual artist and designer. Growing up in London has directly inspired and shaped my artwork for a very long time. This is something I want to continue in Leeds, exploring its urban landscape through various media. The contrasts in forms, textures, colours and different types of light found in urban environments really captures my imagination. 

• Abstract expressionism as an art movement inspires me. Abstract art in general inspires me. Abstraction is incredibly clever, it can be painfully obvious or beautifully subtle. Abstract art seeks to break away from traditional representations of physical objects. It explores the relationships of forms and colours, whereas more traditional art represents the world in recognizable images and this is what inspires me a lot of the time. Gerhard Richter is one of my heroes of abstract art. I took the image below earlier this year of the Regents Canal in London. The reflection of the office block on the calm surface of the water really caught my eye. The colours were so beautiful and the patterns created by the ripples produced an image resonant of Richter's' blurred paintings that he produced throughout his artistic career.