My trip to York and specifically the art gallery was interesting and I enjoyed looking through the exhibitions for the Aesthetica Art Prize 2025.
"The Aesthetica Art Prize captures the diverse range of materials and media used by artists in the 21st century. Many of the pieces featured focus on themes of identity, culture and place in a global context." - York Art Gallery
The amount of different mediums, from mirrors to lights to paintings, made the experience very engaging and interesting to walk around and access a glimpse into different views of the world. The topics were heavy though they felt accessible presented in unique and abstract ways and I found that interesting.
Many of the pieces dealt with the theme of identity which was helpful to see relating to my project. Perception and the tension between how something appears and what it actually means is a strong motif behind my work and it was represented in unique ways.
Specifically Stephen Johnston's 'nocturnal' series of painted flowers in glass jars stood out to me. My initial take from them was a depiction of something so natural, beautiful, and fragile, contained to a controlled and unnatural environment. Much like the media and it's harsh controlling nature over beautiful things. Linking to my work with Swift's 'reputation' and how she showcases the consequences of being real and fragile in today's harsh society - Swift's talents and art were on show to the world much like the flowers in the jar, but the flowers cannot grow in there, they are there simply for other people's enjoyment and criticism.
This work helped me think of ideas for my project in a more abstract way and how to represent the themes of the album through symbolism instead of solely aesthetics.
