Shayla Sanna
Narara Valley High School
WHICH BOX FITS YOU?
Printmaking
Cardboard, paper, oil-based ink
To ‘fit in’ means to belong or conform to something. My body of work uses printmaking to explore how individuals modify themselves to be accepted by societal norms. The cardboard boxes used as the base for my printmaking represent how individuals conform with society’s norms to ‘fit into’ set social standards. My work challenges this conformity as the buildings are not made to fit into the boxes – the boxes are made to suit the buildings.
My artmaking practice has been influenced by the study and interpretation of the following artists and works: Juan Pablo Zaramella, Tiniest Man in the World series; Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois (dirs.), How to Train Your Dragon.
Marker's Commentary
This printmaking submission effectively uses Solar Etching plates to innovatively account for our relationship with architecture and domestic dwellings. The innovative use of consumer grocery packaging boxes further sustains this conceptually sophisticated critique about built environments and their significance to our lives. There is a competency in printmaking techniques as treatment of some of the etching plates to have the image deeply etch create bas-relief to vary the visual qualities of the houses. The strategic use of the high contrast photographic image generates an authenticity towards each dwelling represented, this in turn creates a sense of place that conveys specific atmospheric aesthetics that is personal and not detached. The photographic etching combined onto the packaging effectively transforms the familiar and everyday into an innovative and unique vision of the architectural world. The title strengthens the conceptual underpinning of the artwork seeking to connect the sense of place with history and the socio-economic position of the inhabitants in the dwellings. The artwork offers a visual critique on how built sites become ‘homes’ and in their appearance offer an insight into the occupants.