Submerge in Utopia
Tomi Olumide
2017
Mixed Media
446 x 635mm

A mixed media self-portrait created with the aid of Acrylic paint, photocopied paper, spray paint and spray bottle. Creating a piece towards my contemporary project and dabbling in a pool of uncertainty towards the final outcome, however baring the reflection of my identity, by using a photocopied scaled down print of a lead drawing on red paper (most beloved colour).

The size is about 420 x 594mm in a portrait orientation. I would like to enlarge the scale of the work by making the entire piece a wall mural (about 5 ft on both sides), surface made of primed MDF board, Stretched canvas or panel primed board of the same scale, hung to or nailed to the supporting wall it’s anchored by.

I cannot imagine the presentation of the work being in any form other-than rectangle, however it might be interesting to see it in an irregular shape too. I would however like the subject to be different, as it seems very narcissistic to have a blown image of my face. Having subjects or characters that are of a worthy cause or community project would be the subject matter. Where I could make a repeat pattern of the (image above with different subject matter) positioned in various angles, incorporating text, motifs, and collaged elements of sculptural objects relating to the theme of the work or fragments of my imagination which are aesthetically pleasing in paring the work.

I think having a play with non 2 dimensional objects with the wall mural would be interesting to show a distinction of the form and also illusion of relevant elements to the subject matter, which could either capture the audiences interest or bore them, for the most part I hope for the first.

Another way to illustrate this could be to make a short animation which would be in illuminated effect show the motion of the hovering rings of colour around the centralised object or character. In my head It appears like the ‘moving- atom’ from the popular animation ‘Jimmy Neutron’.