2021: Art & Design BA Hons
Showcase
Statement
“Regnum Anates” is a personal response to the imaginative power of a child and how their feelings of loneliness and anxiety can be relieved by immersing into imaginary worlds.
My own identity is projected through the guise of a black swan. Physically the black swan has very bold and contrasting-coloured features with black feathers set against a red beak. This is also reflected in their personality, as they are graceful, loyal and peaceful yet very aggressive, strong and powerful. These juxtaposing qualities resonate with my own values, morals and personality.
A swan is seen morphing into the animals of “Regnum Anates” which acts as a visual metaphor for the power and ownership that I have over this imagined world. Furthermore, the name “Regnum Anates” translates to “Kingdom of Swans”, further meaning the “Kingdom of Me” enhancing the empowering idea of control over my imagination.
The film shows the ritualistic-styled reading of “Regnum Anates Bestiary” complimented by an immersive soundtrack of the sound of this stylised world. Every element of the book is hand-crafted, from the paper to the binding. By employing traditional techniques such as bookbinding, papermaking and printmaking I have placed my work in a historical, ancient and forgotten context which provides a sense of scale and potential beyond the work itself, fuelling the notion that imagination has no limits.
