Being a human being (Woman exhibition progress update 1)

I worked through ideas for my entry into Bedford's Woman exhibition but nothing really felt right. I found the idea of identity as a woman fascinating - it's so complex and personal. But whenever I tried to define what it meant to me all I came up with were stereotypes and cliches. None were really me.

The more I tried to define what it meant to me, the less I wanted to be put into a category. All I want to be is a human being. 

At the same time I became interested in pop art and illustration. I also stumbled across Kate Bingaman-Burt  who draws everyday objects. That gave me the idea to draw the everyday objects around me and let the observer decide what they say about me.

This brought up more questions about the amount of stuff I own. Am I more than my physical stuff? If so, what? How different would this painting look in five years or ten years? How much of my stuff is now digital rather than physical? How much different is my stuff as a woman compared to the stuff owned by a man?

I looked at artists who paint lots of objects together to get an idea of how to arrange my stuff so it looked like art and not just a mess (although now I come to think of it what's wrong with a mess?) and to get an idea of the scale to use.  Pierre Alechinsky paints lots of objects and often uses ink, Keith Haring painted lots of objects, often as simple line drawings and also added movement, which is something else I'm considering.

This is a page from my sketchbook where I played around with ideas...

I'm taking part in an exhibition in Bedford in July with the theme of women and identity. At the moment I'm playing around with ideas by drawing my everyday objects. Would someone be able to tell much about me by looking at the stuff I own and use? This is just a small selection of what will be in the final thing. #acrylicpainting #sharpie #sharpieart #communityart

A post shared by Helen Lindop (@helenlindop) on Apr 9, 2017 at 11:12am PDT

This is where I'm up to now, I'll post my next update soon!