Thursday 31 October 2013



This video from the UNESCO WHC page about Luang Prabang helped remind me of some of the key areas I should focus on when illustrating the map. I have decided that the key elements to illustrate should be:
1) the mountains 2) the river 3) the Buddhist alms giving ceremony 4) the night market 5) the myth that two hermits selected the site of Luang Prabang 6) the lush greenery 7) the foot steps of Buddha that can be seen on the hill 8) fishing boats and fishermen 9) food 10) colonial architecture 11) mosaics and motifs from temples and 12) the sacred hill that over looks the town. 

Wednesday 30 October 2013

I've been looking at illustrative maps to get some ideas for my own. I really like the work of Martin Haake who uses lots of different textures in a sort of collage style along with drawings and some more graphic elements.




I also really love old style medieval maps with lots of decorative boarders and illustrations mixed in with the map. I saw some like these at the Greenwich observatory in first year.



Saturday 26 October 2013

Initially I had thought that my prints may just become posters for UNESCO WHC however I have found that they run an educational programme to help encourage young people to get involved in the preservation of heritage sites. The site states that the aim of the programme is for 

'Young people to  learn about World Heritage sites, about the history and traditions of their own and other cultures, about ecology and the importance of protecting biodiversity. They become aware of the threats facing the sites and learn how the international community as a whole unites to save our common heritage. Most importantly, they discover how they can contribute to heritage conservation and make themselves heard.'

More can be read here

I can see my prints turning into an educational pack as well where some sort of narrative about the town could be involved. Steve and I also spoke about making an illustrative map that could be broken down in some way, perhaps a book or an installation of some kind.

Friday 25 October 2013

I finally made it to the print room! I've been drawing a pattern inspired by those covering the temple walls in Luang Prabang that I'm thinking could be used for a colouring book. Today I experimented with printing open screens trying to achieve a gradient effect. I also started to overlay the pattern using different colours and deliberately mis-registering  the lines. I think I got the knack of gradient pulls and mixing colours on the screen!





Inspired by the Paper exhibition, today I played around with making my own paper. I used different coloured silk that was then pressed between sheets of mesh with wall paper paste to form the paper. After leaving it over night, the silk and paste dried out to make a stiff sheet that I'm hoping to print on top of. The bright orange and silky texture of the paper reminds me of the saffron coloured robes that hundreds of monks wear in Luang Prabang.




Wednesday 23 October 2013

Here are some initial research drawings taken from my own photos of Luang Prabang. They show the alms giving ceremony and various temples and motifs from around the town.








Here are some of the photos from my trip that have been informing my drawings

















Sunday 20 October 2013

Since one of the main things I want to focus on this semester is print making I made sure I got down to Multiplied 2013 at Christie's gallery in Kensington. The show was great, it gave me lots of inspiration to get in the print room. Here are a few of my favourite things that I saw...



These silk screen prints by Chitra Merchant really struck me. The visual content is fairly similar to what I'm dealing with. The limited colour palette and use of silhouettes and minimal lines creates an air of mystery and a dream like sense about the prints. This is something I definitely felt whilst in Luang Prabang. I really love the overlaying of different textures that create a unified landscape within the images.


Alfonso Albcete. Again, I really love the use of block colours and silhouettes in creating depth and texture.


Katherine Jones, 'Belly Pot'. Lovely surreal mix of structures, organic forms and different lines.


Emma Stibbon. Amazing intaglio prints conjuring vast landscapes made from beautiful printed textures. 



Thursday 17 October 2013

I have decided to focus on the town of Luang Prabang in Laos for my campaign for UNESCO World Heritage. This quote from the UNESCO WHC website states why the town is inscribed on the list:

'Criterion (ii):  Luang Prabang reflects the exceptional fusion of Lao traditional architecture and 19th and 20th century European colonial style buildings.
Criterion (iv): Luang Prabang is an outstanding example of an architectural ensemble built over the centuries combining sophisticated architecture of religious buildings, vernacular constructions and colonial buildings.
Criterion (v): The unique townscape of Luang Prabang is remarkably well preserved, illustrating a key stage in the blending of two distinct cultural traditions.
Integrity
The integrity of the inscribed site is linked to an architectural and cultural heritage set in a natural landscape that reflects its Outstanding Universal Value.  All of the significant elements, especially the urban fabric and major monuments (temples, public buildings, traditional houses), have been preserved.
However, there are some threats to the site due to the rapid development of the town and strong economic pressures, many of which are related to tourism (transformation of use of buildings, departure of residents, illegal construction).'

Some of my personal photographs demonstrate the above criterion and the fusion of architecture and natural forms that create a 'cultural landscape'...








Saturday 12 October 2013

Whilst researching charities that protect heritage and culture, I came across the  UNESCO World Heritage Convention. This is a charity that sets out to protect natural and cultural sites of 'outstanding universal value' around the world by educating and working with locals to ensure they are maintained responsibly. After reading the list of inscribed sites I realised I have been to quite a few, including recently to the huge temple complex of Angkor Wat in Cambodia and the ancient town of Luang Prabang in Laos. I think this is a better area of focus for a campaign as I already have knowledge of and plenty of first hand research about these places.

Tuesday 8 October 2013

Although I enjoy working with narratives, I'd like to move away from producing books as final pieces as I have done this for most of my previous projects. I feel like that leaves me with producing some pretty prints about African culture with no purpose. However one suggestion for how to contextualise these was to find a charity that sets out to protect culture and heritage and turn these prints into a campaign for them. So far I have identified Survival International (http://www.survivalinternational.org/). This charity works with disappearing tribes in Africa in order to help preserve their culture and traditions and ensure their survival.

Monday 7 October 2013

Last year I really enjoyed drawing tribal objects, masks, charms and amulets from various museums around London. It was a great source of inspiration and led to me looking at tribal art for my dissertation. I'd like my practical work to link in to this in some way but I'm not sure how. I also want to focus this semester on print making as we won't have these facilities soon! Here are some initial drawings taken from the British Library to start the project off...