CPS Week 1 - Observation (Lonely in pink)

In response to the theme of week 1, Observation, I have created a traditional artwork using good old pen and paper. The aim is to demonstrate my emotional reaction to the taste of a drink.

A little bit of context about why I choose the subject matter. On the same day that we were given the brief, I got the luck to try out a new drink that is really delicious (all thanks to Iris and Georgina). The name of the drink is Sakuratte, a special mild tea serve from Little Rogue. The first thing that struck me when I tasted it is the comfort it brought. You basically got delighted.

To be honest, I struggled quite a bit about how I can “observe” this "object". The taste of something is so abstract and unlike what you can see, there is no guarantee that people will “feel” or understand the same thing as you. Therefore, I spent a long period of time to do a bit of brainstorming. I questioned myself about what angle I can work on to enrich my piece. And at the moment I looked back, I noticed that there was a change of feel based on the environment in which I had the drink. The feel of comfort and sweetness was apparent while I was standing inside the cafe, which has a very enclosed and peaceful environment. But when I got out to the busy street of Melbourne, running around and trying to finish my task, the taste of Sakuratte became cold and bland. The chaotic nature of the Melbourne city shifted my attention from Sakuratte. Eventually, I think that when people get a chance to get away from the busy environment, they will be able to feel the greateness of several objects

I also thought a lot about what kind of medium should I use to convey the message. In the end, I decided to choose expressional art (yes I made that up), which I consider as one of my roots. I didn't exactly take inspiration from any artist in particular, but I would say I tried to follow the footprint of the Surrealism movement. I have always loved the eccentric nature of the works of Surrealists, especially the way they put in metaphors through the bizarre objects

Similarly, in my own surreal world, hair is the subject that contains the thought of a person. I chose to let the hair cover the face of the character as a way to conceal them from the view of the outside world. The character is now alone, encouraged to concentrate on their “hair” instead. Adding in the pink to symbolize the feeling of sweetness and comfort, just like what I found in the Sakuratte. Hence the name Lonely in Pink