• Evaluate ideas and solutions
• Critically reflect on the coherence of the project
• Explain creative decisions in relation to given brief
• Evaluate work as a response to the brief and given theme.

The given theme for the project was W.A.W.W.A. (We Are Where We Are) and my chosen location was Calton Hill. My approach was to frame this within a sense of identity – where we are as individuals and where we are as a nation in 2020 (lockdown isolation, racial injustice, reconsidering our present and our history). Calton Hill was my chosen location at the beginning of WAWWA back in September and I thought as a site it encapsulated these concerns – a site of national identity, in its geographical and historical significance.

I think I engaged with this more than I have with previous projects, but I still feel its unresolved. More successful outcomes would require a greater level of engagement (weekly evaluations against plan and concept – which I haven’t done consistently enough) and I think more integration of contextual research with visual outcomes would result in something more visually and conceptually cohesive.

It was intended as a project with multiple strands (camera obscura, commemorative plate, digital collage, flag signals) with the hope/expectation that they would combine / make sense out of each other. Arguably I didn’t make it to this stage.

I think the commemorative plate and flag signals are the most resolved and conceptually cohesive outcomes. Cohesive in that the plate refers to the contextual and research process of piecing together – working through frustration. It was a case of trying to uncover / understand something through piecing together – the plate had faded writing on it, and in the end all that was readable was “fuck trump”.

The flags felt relatively successful – an interesting visual communication method manifested out of relevant contextual research. The Popham flag signals associated with Nelson, a prominent and problematic figure memorialised on Calton Hill, represented an opportunity to undermine the position of the man they referred to (England expects that every man will do his duty – Trafalgar Day). Out of this comes potential for a new memorial, using these flags to communicate a new, contemporary message – one that might undermine what Nelson’s monument represents.

Public display or performance are obvious routes from here – which can be fulfilled through proposal or 3D form (when lockdown is lifted).

I don’t think the link between outcomes and theme would be very clear to viewers. I need to consider is how to effectively involve contextual research – whether directly through text or through clearly connected visual forms.