Rewind to Pecha Kucha

I just realised I never published my pecha kucha post! So here it is, better late than never...

Pecha Kucha - 20 images, 20 slides, 20 seconds per slide

At first, the pecha kucha task seemed extremely daunting, I had never really heard of this method of presenting before and the time limits added an extra level of anxiety. Coming from a practical, material lead BA, I have always judged my own progress by how many samples I had made. I was concerned; I hadn't done anything practical and to me it felt like I hadn't done any work. But in actual fact, when I started collecting images, organising and ordering my research into slides, I realised that actually I had done a lot of work, it just was a different kind than what I had been used to.

I really enjoyed making sense of the research I had done, after all, this was my personal research (as a result of the deliveries we have had) so it was all about what I am most interested in. Whenever we are told about theories or practitioners, I am always on the look out for ways I can relate them to jewellery or feminine issues.

Visually representing my thoughts in images, photographs and very few words allowed me to be critical with my research, acknowledging the potential project starting points and discarding areas that didn't inspire me or relate to my themes. 

To help me tell the story of my project so far, I created 4 sections within my 20 slides - 

1. Who I am & what I've done
2. My interests/concept
3. Relevant/inspirational practitioners
4. Potential influential theories

It was really interesting to watch everyone else's presentations, it gave me confidence that I have quite a clear idea of where my interests lie and where I see my practice heading. I felt like my Pecha Kucha was clear and successfully portrayed these very personal ideas of mine to people who didn't know my practice at all. Feedback from other students was positive and a few people got in touch with me after the event to discuss, question and in some cases advise on what I had talked about. I thought it was a bit of a shame that we only got general feedback, directed to the whole group from the tutors. I think as at this point in the project it would have been nice to get personal feedback, confirming or redirecting ideas through constructive criticism.

Some notes I made in response to other peoples presentations were purely out of general interest, to revisit at another time, some peoples pecha kucha's activated a memory or triggered a thought in relation to my project. A particular lasting thought was that at the moment, I am concentrating mainly on British women. I like the idea of addressing British Heritage and Culture within my themes. There is a rich history of women in this country and it would seem mad to ignore it. Looking back I had always steered towards british women's stories, however for some research I did stretch to American studies. In my MA I want to bring a sense of authenticity to my practice, and being a British female myself, having easy access to many women around me, it all seems to make sense.

I have also been thinking about particular eras that link in well with my idea, of women needing to be both domestically practical, yet aesthetically beautiful. The post war years have been especially inspiring for me, due to women's new found sense of independence. During one presentation there was an image of women from the 1960's wearing power suits in pastel colours. The juxtaposition of these strong, tailored suits and the use of very soft feminine colours encompasses my practices focus perfectly. I am beginning to consider incorporating certain colour pallets within my jewellery and this is a very good starting point for experimentation. 

Finally a practitioner that I have discovered through the pecha kucha's is Eva Jova, she uses photography and found objects to create still life stories. The image below is called The 21 Boudoir, I like the way she combines specific objects to fulfil her narrative. The language the objects speak are immediately recognisable. The general colour themes, the Dior lipgloss, brush, necklace and perfume all obviously link to the feminine, yet combining them with weaponry often more associated with men makes you question her motives.