Mona Keophonexay ARCH1101: Before the First Class

Best creative work before this course:
Exposure

Close-ups:

Exposure is my 2015 HSC Visual Arts Body of Work. It is a chronological series of self-portraits exploring the notion of anxiety and fragmentation over time. The drawings were all done with a mechanical pencil and HB + 2B leads. I used the combination of a sharp, high-contrast black and white approach and a discordant progression of images to convey a sense of unease and apprehension. The idea of the ‘selfie’ as a tool for documenting our lives and identities became an integral part of my work, reflected in the style and dimensions of the drawings (each drawing is the size of an iPhone 5 screen). It was inspired by personal experiences and the works of artist Chuck Close. It will be part of the 2016 ArtExpress exhibition at AGNSW.

A great piece of architecture:
Meiji Shrine, Shibuya, Tokyo

http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2009/tokyo/tokyo_meiji_tout_a.jpg

The Meiji Shrine in Shibuya, Tokyo, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the divine spirits of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken, who passed away in 1912 and 1914 respectively. A torii gate stands at the entrace of the shrine, and the grounds are surrounded by a forest of approximately 100000 trees, donated from all around Japan. The main shrine building, Honden, is built in the nagare-zukuri style; other buildings include Naihaiden and Gehaiden (inner and outer shrine halls), Shinko (treasure house), Shinsenjo (consecrated kitchen), and Kaguraden (Hall of Shinto Music and Dance), as well as others in the outer shrine precinct. Most of the original shrine buildings, completed and dedicated in 1920, were destroyed in the air raids of WWII; reconstruction was completed in October 1958.

I visited the Meiji Shrine during my holiday to Japan last year. I found the architectural style very beautiful and awe-inspiring - a stark contrast to the surrounding modern city areas, which were also very interesting.

An original photograph of something beautiful:
intuitive sense of connection by Andrea Vinkovic

This is a photo I took of intuitive sense of connection by Andrea Vinkovic, one of my favourite artworks at Sculpture by the Sea last year. I thought that the roundness of the sculpture was a nice contrast to the surrounding jaggedness of the rocks; however, its raised and fluctuating surface still connected it back to its site. Its light, beige colour drew the viewer's attention to the sculpture but was still subdued enough for the artwork to not appear out of place in its surroundings. The blue sea and sky in the background were a natural complement to the rocks and therefore the sculpture. Overall, I found that the artwork offered exactly what its title suggested.

Noun/verb/adjective exercise:
Jeff Wright