Tuesday 4 October 2011

Mish Mash-Swastika






This image came about when looking for material to produce an object/s which function we had to change to produce a different meaning/statement. Our group came across a box of dried flowers and my initial idea was to make an image or symbol which juxtaposed the colours and vibrancy that flowers hold. The symbol of the Swastika seemed befitting and we were sure that this would make a strong statement.


However earliest archaeological evidence of swastika shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilisation of ancient india and remains widely used in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism primarily as a sacred symbol of good luck. This image plays with our perceptions. Due to a brief surge of popularity in western culture, the swastika was adopted as a symbol of the Nazi Party of Germany in 1920 and as a result became strongly associated with ideologies such as fascism and white supremacism. 


The colours of the swastika are critical in terms of its oppressive feel and by removing the red white and black alone transforms how one reacts to the symbol. It is interesting to see how colours alone can create a certain emotion. In the above image the colours are natural and light, this is a contrast to the colours of the nazi swastika, and this makes the image less oppressive. The statement we wanted to make through this image was how our pre conceptions dictate how we perceive an object/symbol and when a component of a known object/symbol has been changed that symbol becomes something different resulting in a new statement.

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