The next day I started to explore with charcoal and paint to create the maps. I thought red was suitable due to like how on google maps when the road is busy or theres traffic it comes up as red, so using red in that street could highlight how busy it is full of men. Then the charcoal I thought it was suitable as it can be blurred and I can draw very thin lines to show the scatter around the streets. The contrast between red bold paint and charcoal smudges I thought would have a stronger visual language.
Images above show the process of making the prints with charcoal and paints. I created a few prints on tracing paper because I thought with this way I could layer all of them or when I scan I can create a big piece digitally. I was also inspired by this by a group who did similar things on tracing paper in one of the group tasks they drew sections of streets and layered on top. I used the map from google maps to trace over on to tracing paper.
These are all the prints I created, I tried to use different ways to communicate so on the left I used a really harsh lines to show the high street then the blurs are the streets and symbolises women being blurred. I think this is a strong way to show it. The images in the middle I made them with paint and charcoal The red paint is just the high street very similar like the digital versions. The ones on the left is my favourite as the harsh lines are really strong, you can clearly see the difference then the several thin lines cross over each other, they represent the women I saw in streets that I recorded when I was walking around. Also, it shows the path I was walking through as well. I think that one has the most strongest visual.
After creating these I didn’t know to do I had to use these marks somewhere or create an overall piece. The first thing I though about was scan these images so I have them digitally. I started to think about what can I do with these first thing that I thought was create a one large piece by layering them on top but it would need some context, as when people look at it they wont know what the dark red lines mean or the blurred thin lines. I thought I could communicate this by adding some quotes an example Turkish sayings I heard from my family or friends about that area to prevent me from going there. These are like “Sen arabada dur” “Bosver baska bir zamanda gidersin” “Biraz erken git, hem turkler de olmaz”. I used some of these quotes in the digital piece before. They translate as you should wait in the car, maybe you should go an earlier time so Turkish men wont be there etc. I think this could make the visuals stronger and show why am I creating these images and prints why am I focusing in that place. I tried to do these in the studio using a white board, layered the images and added quotes but I think this was very weak, it made me feel like its a GCSE work. I had to use these marks in a way stronger sense so it would mean something when people look at it.
The next step is to do more ideation, research some Turkish feminist artists for some inspiration and then decide what will my final piece should be.
Busra Yildiz 