Negotiated Study Project - "The Twelve Labours of Hercules"

For my last studio project, I intended to create a body of work based on themes that are seen throughout traditional Mythology from different cultures. The Negotiated Study Project allowed us to reflect upon previous projects that we have completed over the past two years, and to chose the field we enjoyed working in most. I initially intended to create a reportage style (which later veered towards narrative) body of work based on themes that are seen throughout a variety of traditional Mythology from different cultures, but after a subsequent amount of research, I decided that it would be more beneficial to concentrate solely on Greek Mythology. After reading a variety of Greek traditional stories, the one that appealed to me the most was "The Twelve Labours of Hercules'. I decided to create four large scale collages (using hand-made painted textures) depicting my four favourite labours. Instead of simply illustrating Hercules in Ancient Greece, I wanted to play with the idea of Hercules having to travel the world to different terrains to complete the labours. I chose to apply this theme to the clothes he would wear to suit each destination. I also decided to include a red bicycle in each scene, as this was his (unrealistic) mode of transportation;

"The Nemean Lion"

"The Hydra"

"The Horses of Diomedes"

"The Golden Apples of Hesperides"

This was the first time that I have ever worked to a large scale (all the above images are around A1 and photographed). I really enjoyed working to this size and wish to continue this way of working for my FMP. In my feedback, my Tutors were excited with my use of colour, imagery and scale, but said I could have produced more if I had managed my time better, which I will take into consideration for my next project.