Week 7: Independent Reflection

This week I have been looking at news articles that can help shape and change the project as it continues. I would like the project to be maintained by current affairs, the project should be malleable enough to be shaped by theory, by this I mean, if I find a piece of referencing that is inspiring and could change the projects aesthetics i would like this to look natural. A progression from my other bodies of work, but you can see the links between them with solidity. I have been maintaining this so far with the projects i have handed in for assessment, the projects are linked with together through visual and theoretical exploration and when displayed together tell a story of how the Uk government is thinking at the time.

At the start of melliferia neonicotinoid the images were crisp and hadn't been effected by the bees presence, this is reflected in the theory at the time which suggested the government had made up its mind not to support the total ban on bee harming pesticides. As the project developed into tolerance 14 we see my theory shifted to more about the effects these decisions were having on the bee population in a far more physical way . The government had gone very quite over the issue at this particular time so rather than the political aspect of my work changing its composition the interaction between bees and my images it came from the bees itself.

The most interesting changes are coming at this stage of my project within the eden 4387 project. The shifts in political argument are so differential and unclear my images have been able to explore an even deeper level of ambiguity. I am leaving the images with the bees for longer periods of time to allow for maximum interaction ( image destruction) as possible, to show the mental struggle of the government in a very physical way. The images have also for the first time explored live plant materials. The reasoning for this is that finally we have a seed of hope that through all this discussion and animosity to the total removal of bee harming pesticides we are starting to see a shift in governmental thinking that has been seen very clearly sine the MEP Girling’s attempt to block the full ban on neonicotinoids was rejected by the European Parliament’s environment committee. In the vote, 43 MEPs voted against Girling’s objections, eight voted in favour and seven abstained. ( The title of the project is derived from this vote).

The future for the bees seems a little brighter yet still with this very uncertain future, this idea of the uncertain future is represented within my images through the monochromatic background. (see image below for reference).