Fabienne Robertson-Barnett BA (Hons) Fine Art and Art History 2020
Predominately, my studies have been focused around the themes of memory and life stories. Through the examination of my own life, I sought to comment on the passage of time and subsequent decay of memories. I centred my work around images from my childhood, landscapes and photographs, juxtaposed with motifs of decay and change. I wanted to showcase the theme of change as each experience we have leads to changes in our personality and being. Using these ideas, I wanted to create cohesive pieces that told a story through a series of moments/stills, not unlike the ones we capture on camera. I have always enjoyed the opposition of my time-consuming printmaking skill and the instant nature of photographs, that I experienced when I incorporated their shape and form of photographs into my prints. It was important for me to do so as photographs are used to capture moments in our life and are irreplacable and fragile like memories. However, prints can be reproduced at will, and speak to the permanence of formative experiences. It was important for me to fill the works with Scottish imagery and landscapes as my heritage played a large part in my personal evolution, yet these are some of the most distant memories and so showcase the effect of time on memory. I was given the opportunity to create a drawing piece during the lockdown period. Although I would have loved the chance to create a complete portfolio of prints, I feel I have achieved expression of my themes well in both mediums.