Let's have an exhibition!

Now that we were all to grips with the process of printing, it was full steam ahead and we starting brainstorming ideas that our group could build on. At this point, we were completely sure that we could handle the idea of a full scale exhibition, and the general mood was very daring. We looked at many different themes and issues that we could work from. For example:

• Graphic design,
• Pop Art,
• Cyber bullying-both sides of the story,
• Slogans,
• Storyboards,
• The Strawberry festival,
• Old stories and histories associated with Wexford, i.e Selskar Abbey, Loftus Hall and the Old Jail.
• The idea of printing on cardboard boxes and stacking these.
• Street Art
• Printing on Mirrors

Also, seeing as we have only a limited number of screens, we were looking at the idea of making our own table top screen printers.

This video is a good basic overview!

From the moment cyber bullying, Members of the group all seemed very enthusiastic to run with that idea. Cyber Bullying is a major problem among many age groups right now, especially with the rise in popularity of sites like Faceboook, Bebo and the fact that many children from a young age seem to have mobile phones days. Everyone will have heard of the horrible cases of young people being targets for this kind of abuse, after all, the internet is impersonal. It allows people to make remarks and insults, and hide once they turn off their compter screens. They don't have to look their victims in the eye or see the damage they can cause. As for the victims, seeing as the internet is both impersonal and public, the bully can take on a life of its own and so many people can join in, see comments made, and add their own. Some members of the group who had otherwise been quite up until now made lots of suggestions of slogan, logos and imagery we could use. One member of the group, (who has also become a great printmaking tutor), suggested that we print on cardboard boxes. Then use these to create an installation. 

now this was a brilliant suggestion! A very new venture for a group that generally prints on T-shirts, posters, caps and mouse pads of course we can still incorporate these at different stages of the project.

Coordinators of the group also suggested lots of different ideas. This is a creative, and they are at their best when they can design themselves. Once they have that solid idea, theres no stopping them!

These are some of the ideas,quotes and concepts suggested:

"When you tear cardboard apart, it can be stuck together again. People are not so easy"

"When i'm bullied I feel boxed in"

"Can you think outside the box and end cyber bullying"

"Boxes are fragile, so are people"

"It's boxing day everyday when I'm being bullied"

"I'm a real person don't put me in a box"

The idea of pushing people into a box, or blocking someone in. This came back to our discussion about how impersonal but public the internet and social media. We we thinking about the idea of highlighting that there is someone at the other end of the screen, someone who's feelings are hurt.

Maybe there are too many box references....

These two videos I found interesting, seeing as he prints on a large scale by hand, and he prints on discs. I also liked the finished poster, especially the highlights in yellow. We are thinking of colors and materials now so its something to keep in mind.