Katherine Sarah Evans - 'Utopia, Dystopia'

Mixed media: paint and collage

Integration, Displacement, Craft, Monetary Value, Utopia, Dystopia

I have used my accountancy background to influence my ideas, both within this project and throughout the course. I explored William Morris’s utopian philosophy, artwork and anti-industrialisation beliefs to inform this piece. The making process has proved to be a cathartic experience for me, enhancing wellbeing and helping me to process my thoughts. I have started to question ways in which I might improve the quality of my life through continuing artistic pursuits that inspire me.

Money is fundamental to society – the exchange of money for things we have created. Using William Morris's wallpaper to represent utopia, I have painted red elements to represent dystopia. Human displacement and integration are also themes I wanted to investigate; the two wallpaper designs are interwoven together using the pound sign which is hidden in plain sight.