Materials and Production Methods in Fiona Hall and Tracy Moffat's works.

My chosen Fiona Hall artwork is part of a series called “Paradisus Terrestris’”. It is made from polished, recycled sardine cans and tin. The top half of the artwork, depicting a plant, was delicately constructed using a technique called filigree, which is a form of ornamentation formed by gold or silver twisted wire. These plants were carved very intricately, one of the factors contributing to their life-like quality. Hall was in Sri Lanka when she completed this particular series (it is the third of similar sardine tin series) and was inspired by the local botany around her.

I also chose Tracy Moffat’s Responsible but Dreaming (1984, 1999) artwork, which is also part of a series, titled Scarred for Life. This series includes a number of photographs that each tell tragic and at times humerous tales of childhood- all true and told to her by friends. Scarred for Life became very popular and Tracy believes this is because everyone has a sad story to tell and can relate to these ideas. To produce these artworks, Moffat firstly searched for models, props and sets, then, once the photograph had been taken, she used Photoshop to manipulate the image. For example, in this artwork, she has made the image look older and more worn by opacity and other tools.