Statement of intent

Candidate name: Marco Robinson-Metcalfe
Pathway: Art and Design Level 3
Project title: FMP

My entire project is based off of bones and taxidermy, mainly photography. I chose this subject as I enjoy the context of it being both grotesque and beautiful at the same time. Collecting the bodies is quite spiritual for me, and I like to show them in as much respect as possible. I want to express this in my photography, and I hope I manage to show it. I also like the way that the photos have artistic merit, and I wish to experiment with lighting, and the different meanings of each piece. I also hope that people will see past the grotesque dead animal and continue to see it as a living breathing thing that is now at peace, rather than the grim side of death. I hope to express this in my project, that death can be beautiful.


The concept of my FMP is mentioned above, the more spiritual side of death, expressing the animals corpses in beautiful and respectful ways, and clearly showing it. I want to make them look even more so beautiful by experimenting with lighting and backgrounds. I want people to know my respect for said animals in my collection. I also intend to show how delicate life is with my project, to express to the viewers that we're not indestructible. I could do this with soft lighting. I could also study with gray scale to enhance this. I may also do a few drawing studies to see the different textures of the animals, and some actual photos of living animals in there too, to show the difference between life and death. The images could be seen as disgusting by some people, but content and beautiful by others. I've always liked this in artwork.
I may also experiment with some macro photography, making the animals seem abstract, showing the beauty of the skeletons and scales in close up, how something can potentially look completely different in a smaller perspective. It would also be interesting to me to see just what they look like and how varied they look. I also want to experiment with the different kinds of textures of the animals, and to express this too. I wish to express each individual things that make up a living being, externally and sometimes internally. The artist Im planning to look at would be in relation to the context of my work, with the way they work with lighting and macro photography, and the way they express it.


I intend to have my project evaluated through our classes group tutorials, and have other people review my work, to see what I could add to it. I could also ask people who follow my artwork how to help me improve it, like in a peer-to-peer review. I plan to get help and suggestions from my classmates, as well. At the end of my project, I plan to self evaluate my work, to discuss what I like and dislike about the project, and how I could improve it myself.