Kingston Undergraduate Portfolio

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Georgina Priovolou

Georgina Priovolou

Portfolio

Table of contents
Enjoy Capitalism.....................................4
Sharia........................................................6
Memorial..................................................8
1...2...3 A CHILD JUST DIED............10
Eveline.....................................................12
Scarlet Ibis..............................................14
A Peek Inside my Head.........................16
Urban Isollation.....................................18
Artist’s Statement...................................24

Enjoy Capitalism
I worked on this project in the
second year of my IB Diploma
Programme in order to further my
project on poverty, which I conducted during my first year in the
IB. Having done research on the
issue of poverty and having investigated different ways to address
and critique it, through the works
of street artists like Banksy and
Herakut, I was tempted to investigate a young artist called Jonathan
Darby. He comments on social
issues varrying from Capitalism,
poverty, war and child trafficking.
Despite his social engagement and
the strength of his arts I really like
the use of mixed media and layers
on it. In my piece I drew a kid
from a picture taken by Steve Mccurry. Before applying any paint...
Final Piece, Acrylic and mixed
media on canvas,1mx1m

Sketchbook

...I created a newspaper ground in order for the
paint to be absorbed faster and remain bright
but also to create texture and a sense of layers.
Moreover, I added plaster in order to make the
company logos stand out. I used a limited
ww pallete of colours consisting of dark browns, reds
and blacks in the form of intense brushstrokes
and spills. Therefore the innocent child is juxtaposed to the rough textures and colours of its
background. Through this artwork, I comment
on the issue of poverty both in relation to capitalism and of child labour.

Details

Sharia

Mixed Media, Acrylic and collage
on carton 49x40

Developmental stages
I did this piece in response to the Sharia law, a legal system in many Muslim countries that provides religious
boundaries to the law. According to it, women do not have equal rights to men but also violate some of the most
basic human rights: right of life, liberty and security. I created this piece using acrylics and mixed media including collage of different textures. The girl is juxtaposed with the rough textures of her surroundings, which
highlight the antithesis between childlike innocence and the atrocities of life. This contrast is also highlighted
through the technique I use to apply colour, on the background I use intense brushstrokes, spills and irregular textures. On contrary, I paint her figure realistically to create intense emotions which are mainly purveyed
through the eyes.

Memorial
In memory of:

Gal
Adam
Routh
Estir
Azriel
Ezra
Ava
Aaron
Isaac
Moses
Aliya
Ester
...
mixed media, acrylic on a newspaper
ground 23.5x29.5

Sketchbook Artwork Analysis and Investigation

Having done my Extended Essay on the Avant Garde artists John Heartfield and John Grosz and how they
used their art to critique the social corruption of their society I was intrigued to search further and investigate
artists from different periods that also create social commentary. I investigated Delacroix and compared it
with the work of Yue Minjun. I found that even in the hardest times art finds its way to create a social or political commentary through different media.

1...2...3....
A CHILD JUST DIED
Having done research on the issue of poverty,
I investigated different ways to address and
critique it. Through the works of street artists
like Banksy and Herakut, photographers and
graphic designers, I became acquainted with
different forms of art and gained a thorough
insight into the issue of poverty. For my final
piece I used acrylics on card stencils and a
carton board. I painted a black kid wearing a
helmet on which I included many elements of
the economically-developed countries such
as a dollar, technology and skyscrapers in
order to create juxtaposition with the tender
innocence of the child. The chained hands
and the wired heart represent capitalism and
the effect of technology and money on people
and ultimately Africa. Through this piece I
wanted to not only address the issue of poverty superficially but also look into it holistically, into its very core. I mainly highlight
the how “consumed” we are by the pursuit of
wealth and by the extensive use of technology that we cannot see the poverty and the
sadness around us. Lastly, the puppeteer hand

Sketchbook Idea development and investigation
Poster, Acrylic and
Stencil 72x42

on the top of the composition alludes to a
big manipulative power. What this power
might be remains to your own perception
and interpretation.

Eveline

Eveline,Dyptic, Acrylic on camvas. 48x48 each
Sketchbook

For this piece I was primarily infuenced by a character from James
Joyce’s collection of short stories
Dubliners. Joyce depicts his characters struggling to live through
the urban decay and corruption in
Dublin. The details highlighting
the grim realities of the city focus
on the hardships and thus create
a tragic tone and a subtle critique
upon Joyce’s city.The characters are
trapped in their restrictive mundane
routines which cages them into cycles
of frustration, ultimate stillness and
paralysis. “Eveline”, is a story from
the collection and the heroine whose
name is signified by the title has the
chance to escape from the restraint
of the oppresive atmosphere in Dublin but chooses her miserable familiar life, which is stigmatized by her father’s abuse
over her running away with her lover in Argentina. Eveline is terrified of the unknown, constrained by her gender role
and her inability to move beyond the memories of her dead mother; she finds herself at an inner struggle and is finally
paralyzed by her own fears. It is also important to note the symbolism of the dusk in Dubliners. Dublin is perpetually
dark creating a sombre tone, characters appear to always live the most important part of their lives in dusk, an intermediate time between day and night. This evokes a state of half-life and half-death which is linked both to Eveline’s conflict and
since dark is associated with stillness, numbness and ultimately death, her final paralysis. “Eveline” is one of my favorite
stories and in my opinion one of the saddest ones as the character is doomed by herself to paralysis. In the first part of the

diptych I wanted to illustrate her struggle to grasp upon a hope, a lover, a better future. In the second part of the diptych
I illustrated Eveline in the last part of the story, where she is about to leave with her love but prays to God to guide her
towards her duty. God and religion appears to be what metaphorically has restrained her from her happiness as she finally
chose to stay loyal to her abusive father. However, I depicted her head with a flock of butterflies that signify her desire for
escape and her need for love. Lastly I painted a black background to highlight the motif of darkness and half-numbness in
Dublin associated with dusk.

Scarlet Ibis
For this dress I was inspired
by the textures I found on a
visit to the Hunterian museum in London and Alexander
McQueen. During my visit I
observed the different colours
and textures on animal and
human body parts that really
fascinated me and so I started
drawing them. I was previously
engaged in investigating cultural differences on fashion and
sketching different dresses that
contained elements of Oscar
Della Renta and Alexander
McQueen’s tailoring. I furthered
this interest by specifically
looking at Alexander McQueen’s
work and in combination with
the observed textures from the
Hunterian museum I came up

with a dress of my own. I made my dress
using red cloth and recyclable materials like
mirrored paper. I named my dress after a
red bird (Scarlet Ibis) because some of the
textures from which i got inspired included
its feathers.

Drawings: A peek inside my head

Charcoal Life Drawing

Charcoal (painting with rubber technique)
Life Drawing

Pencil Life Drawing

Nose Study, pigment pen and coffee

Study; Drawings about schizophrenia , black pigment pen, watercolour and coffee.

Watercolour, Life drawing sstained glass
window

Watercolour, Life sketch, Sacre Cuere

Sketch of a building in Paris, watercolour and pen

Urban Isollation

Taken with an analogue camera and then scaned (pp 17-19)

Digital photography, Black and White

Artist’s Statement
I like to think of my portfolio as an inventory of concerns: my paintings, drawings and photographs reflect my observations on the world. My artwork therefore generates a critical commentary on social and political issues. Using a variety of media, I cover a diversity of issues,
such as poverty, human rights, loneliness in urban settings and the struggle to harmonize with
society.
What I like about fine art is the fact that you can move across different areas of art like installation, photography, painting and digital media. So, you are not limited to just one art form
and can subvert the traditional use of media and create along a wide spectrum. What really
intrigued me into applying for your course is the combination of studio-based modules with
theoretical and critical ones, as it enables you to create links between literature, politics, culture, society and art. Specifically, the module Revolution and Radicalism caught my attention.
Avant Garde art along with the radical changes it generated and its relationship to the political
field have fascinated me for a long time and I am interested in gaining further insight on it.
Although there might not always be links between my artworks in terms of the material used,
different projects are connected through a reccurring thematic pattern that then determines
the materials and techniques that will be used. Since I detest being restricted to the use of only
one material, I like to deviate from the conventional notion of paint and use mixed media. I
like to get inspired by many disciplines including literature, psychology and socio-political
issues, as I think it leads the audience to enter a cycle of speculations regarding the interpretation of an artwork. I therefore think that I will acquire much from this course as it will enable
me to further develop my critical thinking and my skills on different areas of he visual arts.

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