My work - Aliens

My aliens are something which I've ben putting off writing about for a while. They're my favourite works that I've produced, and since it's an ongoing project, I didn't want to sell myself short by writing a half-complete blog post about a half-complete series. However, I have chosen to write about them now, as I can always keep on developing new blog posts, and to me, it will be like a timeline in my artistic development.

I first started doing my alien pieces towards the end of my A-levels/the start of my first year of University. They were initially a development from one of my all time most loved artist, Polly Nor's, demons, however I think they have

since grown into their own, unique style. The first one I did was based off a photograph of my and my boyfriend, James, as it holds sentimental value to me. I tried to keep the elements in it that made us, us, for example the clothes and hairstyles, whilst changing and distorting other elements, like the skin-colour and facial features, to make it seem abstract and supernatural. In the background I placed the traditional, almost retro, Space motifs; a planet with rings, a rocket, and a comet. However, as each piece of work progressed, the backgrounds became more and more unique, and eventually they became tailored to the subject's (alien's) personality. Almost like their own, personal Space. The most clear example of this is perhaps in the 'Darker Side of Space', which features two of my friends, who are both slightly 'gothic' in style. Due to this, I thoroughly enjoyed myself, placing barbed wire, fluorescent slime and hazardous tape everywhere, and toning down the bright colours into deeper, more muted hues.

The inspiration to create these aliens came form my childhood, and my 'imaginary friend', who I called Alien Balien. To me, Alien Balien embodied everything it meant to be an alien - he was green, had big, elliptical eyes, and of course, lived in Outer Space. I wanted to weave this element of my childhood and of fantasy into my art today, and also into my life today. Transforming photographs of my self

and my loved ones was the perfect way to do this, and I think this is one of the reasons as to why I enjoy creating these so much; they hold a lot of meaning to me.

In terms of moving ahead, I would be interested in creating a piece featuring people I don't know personally. All the works which I've produced so far have been of close friends, or of myself, meaning that I know exactly what to include in the background (my friend who loves sweets, for example,

was surrounded my gummy bears wearing space suits). By using a stranger for the subject, it would allow me to collect information differently, such as basing it off first-impressions or asking friends. I think it would be really intriguing to see how other people perceive themselves versus how the aliens are perceived.