This piece by James Francis Gill called ‘Liz’ was one of my favorite pieces within the small gallery, that gave me inspiration for one of my experiments on a male model painting males face in sections experiment

This abstract piece got my attention as it reminded me of some ideas I had while watching a music video called ‘somebody that I used to know’ where the two singers section their faces using different colours of paint. within the video the person man is blended into the background as the shapes and colours painted on his face are the same as the colours and shapes as the background so it almost gives a sense of being invisible and that he is lost in the background. To me this is a powerful video as the lyrics in the song represent a love or relationship that has ended and someone that they used to care about becoming a stranger to them, At one point in the video the woman is made to look like she is shouting the lyrics at the man while he stands there with a blank face as if with no energy to say something back so he is forced to listen, the fact that he is blended into the background suggests that he is seen and treated as a nobody and does not have an identity this links into my work, domestic abuse, as it showed the feelings and emotions that a male victim would feel for example a victim of domestic abuse would feel invisible to others as well as to their abuser as they are treated as if they are a punching bag. Also the video can represent how hidden domestic abuse is to the public eye as he is well camouflaged and hidden from sight yet his partner in the video can see him and continues to hurt him as he is blended in with normal surroundings and everyday life people don’t see whats really going on behind the paint giving the allusion that although things look normal it doesn’t mean that it actually is.

music Video ‘somebody that I used to know ‘ clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UVNT4wvIGY

The ‘Liz’ piece by James Francis reminds me of the music video and reminds me of the feeling of suffocation, isolation and feeling invisible. This was due to there being shapes of bright and bold colours done through Screen printing, also known as serigraphy, is a method of creating an image on paper, fabric or some other object by pressing ink through a screen with areas blocked off by a stencil.

https://www.mentalhelp.net/articles/why-do-people-abuse/

Some abusers learned to abuse from their parents. As most likely the child would have witnessed or bee the victim of the abuse in their own home while growing up (one parent abusing the other or their sibling, etc.). As a consequence, abuse is the normal condition of life for these people. This creates a relationship dynamic, namely the complementary roles of “abuser” and “victim”. They are familiar with and fully understand the terror of being the helpless victim from their own childhood experience. The opposite of being a victim is not escaping the abuse; it is instead, to become the abusive one. Given the choice between being the out-of-control victim, or the in-control abuser, some of these people grow up to prdefer the role of the abuser. As they become adults, they simply turn this relationship dynamic around and start acting out the “abuser” side as this to them is only nature and they feel in-control of their life and others around them as when being the victim you do not have that power this gives the person the sense that they only have two choices to either be the victim or to be the abuser. By choosing to be the aggressor and abuser, they may get their first sense of taking control over their own destiny and not being at the mercy of others. That they hurt others in the process may go unregistered or only occur as a dim part of their awareness as they are so wrapped up in their own way of gaining control and the feeling of not being a victim anymore over rides the emotions and reality of them hurting other people. This to me creates a sense of sympathy towards the abuser as they only see abusing others as away of surviving in the world as their other option is to be the victim. This helps me to understand the difficulties abusers may face in trying to do the right thing and how people act around them can have a huge influence on their lives and the decisions they make in the future. This is a common influence for domestic abusers as it is something that creates a sense of normality in what they do as when the child is young they are massively influenced and directed by those around them as they are innocent when young they often see what their parents do as something that should be done by them too and with being a young age they can easily follow in the steps of the adults around them for example when a adult hits another adult the child it likely to pick up on it and will then do the same to one of the adults thinking that they have done something the parents should be proud of as they did it too, as children often try to get attention or response from the adults around them and they can do this by copying their actions.

The other reasons people can become abusers is that they have a mental health issues or disorders can trigger abusive behaviour, For example, someone with anger management issues, a diagnosis of intermittent explosive disorder, or a drinking or drug problem may easily get out of control during arguments (e.g., because there is something wrong with their ability to inhibit themselves at the brain level) and verbally or physically strike out at their partners and dependants due to feeling uncomfortable or on edge this can be something that is hard to change as it is a mental issue that has no cure however unlike being influenced by parents you can have medication to help control your out bursts if it is a mental issue for example anti-depressants an help to reduce the anger and to help keep the balance of emotions within the brain.

The term ‘abuse’ describes a particular type of relationship between two things. An abusive relationship is one where one thing mistreats or misuses another thing. The important words in this definition are “mistreat” and “misuse”; they imply that there is a standard that describes how things should be treated and used, and
that an abuser has violated that standard.

Only human beings are capable of being abusive, because only human beings are capable of understanding how things should be treated in the first place and then violating that standard anyway. Animals in nature, and nature itself may be very violent and destructive at times but in an unconscious, irresponsible sort of way; they cannot act otherwise. Natural violence is not intentional, but all too often, human violence is.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/domestic-violence-backlash-trolls-if-love-hurts-white-ribbon-day-peter-giblin-a8630476.html

Director of film about domestic violence faces criticism from men’s rights activists for focusing on women

‘I received comments and direct messages from men accusing me of having a fetish for violence against women and saying ‘you are trying to start a gender war’,’ says Peter Giblin

when reading through this article the director strongly indicates that the film was to support female victims of abuse which is portrayed in the short film that I have also watched, this is because of “White Ribbon Day – the UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which falls on 25 November.” I then researched further to see if the have an international violence against men however when looking I only came across an international men’s day to celebrate the positive values men “On November 19 International Men’s Day celebrates worldwide the positive value men bring to the world, their families and communities. We highlight positive role models and raise awareness of men’s well-being.” however this is not a day to highlight men being abused or mistreated by their partners and is not specific to that issue like the ‘international violence against women’ is to that issue. Again this helps people to think one sided with the issue of who plays the victims in domestic violence, I strongly believe that if there is a day to celebrate and make aware of females being abused and highlighting men as the abusers I think their should be a day for men and to make aware that women can abuse too, even if it is proven that women are abused more then men that does not mean and gives the right to ignore the other statistics that men are also abused. statistics found in statistics and other information on domestic abuse: Although the short film expresses the uncomfortable and heart-breaking emotions of being abused by your male partner it creates a strong image of the man being a villain and an evil person shown and stated by the director of “love hurts” by saying “Films about domestic abuse are often ‘Disneyesque’ – there is a clear victim or damsel in distress and a villain,” he said. “It will be about physical abuse and involve a man going off on one. A lot of men will see it and think that is not relevant to me and I’m not like that.” which is then remembered by others in that form and the whole perception of a male beater is brought to life and by using social media and the film industry you are able to spread this stigma to a wide audience, this leads to many women seeing men as a strong, controlling and dominant sex which while on the other hand making women being seen as the innocent, vulnerable sex, which in turn makes men feel as though they should be embarrassed and petty to be pushed around by a woman and this then leads onto them not having the confidence and safety of speaking out with fears that if they do their reputation in being this ‘strong man’ is rewind and shamed, also because of this stigma that men abuse women another reason they may not speak out is that they fear they will not be believed against a society who sees men as the dominant sex, again pushing men to stay quite.

However some of what the director was saying I agree with and understand where he is coming from for example talking about how people may be quick to judge and state their opinions on how well they would react if they were in that situation as he goes on to say “It is easy for people to say ‘If I was in an abusive relationship I would just go’ but that is not how it is. Once you are in love and attached and your self-worth is tied to a relationship, or you have a kid, the far easier option is to sweep it under the rug and to forgive it or excuse it.” which is another key fact to why men and women may not speak out as a relationship is often based on love and the connection between two people however its how they chose to show their love that can lead to an unbalanced and ill relationship that can become worse over time with the fear of loosing each other with fantasy becoming better to live in then the reality of them loosing the partner they rely on. If the victim has a child things become much more hard to detach from and can often be come an anchor to hold the relationship in place. If a farther wishes to separate an abusive partner they must battle court to receive custardy which in turn costs money and this can also be an issue spoken about by the director “It is even harder when the abuser has control over the money.” if the abuser holds the control over their partner it is most likely they hold the control over the money also which restricts the victim even further ad isolates them from the outside world. They may also stay quite if they have a child to prevent the child from knowing that one of their parents is a violent and abusive person as this may influence and mentally scare the child for life, I will be looking further into this when I research to why people become abusers and violent and to why they crave that control as this may be influenced by their childhood and bringing up. Why people become abusive:

As mentioned previously a relationship is based on love and when in love you are often blinded by reality and how people should show their love to one another as stated by the director “People spend so long in relationships that are abusive and it takes so long for people to realise that if they really love me then they would not be abusing me.” the idea of love and forever happiness can also be a trap or an allusion into an unhealthy relationship and can also be the reason the victims are willing to stay with their abusive partner as the idea of love and the sense of having it is like a drug and is something to hold onto and can be a one time thing that is “till death does us part” as a marriage vow it suggests that if your partner loves you and you love them you wont find other love, so a victim of abuse will stay with their partner to avoid being alone and missing out on love.

Director of “love hurts”–“This film powerfully shows the impact of abuse in all its forms in relationships. White Ribbon UK asks men to take responsibility in ending male violence against women by being active bystanders, calling out abuse and sexism among their peers; talking openly about the male cultures that can lead to abuse and why men must take a stand against them”.

The criticism mainly came from “men’s rights activists” this is also something I will look further into as I think it is another area that links to my work and the understanding of why men feel intimidated by social media and other areas as this leads on to why men may feel as though they can not speak out about being a victim of abuse.

A shelter client is a safe house set up by charities and a small community to create a safe and secure place that homeless or troubled people can go to if they have no other place to turn to. For example for someone that is in a controlling relationship and is trying to escape it a safe house gives them the opportunity to breakaway from their partner and gives them a chance to have the freedom and security they didn’t have before.

This website offers training to people to become volunteer’s of the client shelters and to be able to help others with problems such as being abused or homelessness:   https://shop.shelter.org.uk/training/domestic-violence-and-housing.html

https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/83152739 -resource

For further research i decided to explore world-press further and to investigate into other blogs about domestic abuse, i was surprised with the amount of blogs that was based on the subject as well as how many were victims writing and sharing their own experiences with being in a controlling relationship, this is interesting and shows me that people are becoming more confident with sharing their stories however it can also suggest that they feel more comfortable expressing it through a computer screen then face to face this is something i want to change. also by looking through all blogs about domestic abuse i have noticed a frequent pattern that it is almost only women that are speaking out and writing about their experiences which again backs my statement that men find it much more difficult to speak about their experiences and feel too embarrassed. Why do men feel like they are unable to talk about their experiences with domestic abuse? how can i help to change this? This is the question that I hope will be answered through my work on the project or will be come more clear through my research, and will hopefully make a difference in the community through my final piece.

 BLOG, A VICTIM FEMALE SPEAKS ABOUT HER EXPERIENCES TO TRY AND SPREED AWARENESS:

“It’s domestic abuse and against the law”: A victim’s reaction

http://aroundthewardin80days.com/2019/04/15/its-domestic-abuse-and-against-the-law-a-victims-reaction/

This is a blog post of a woman who talks about her ordeal when being ill treated in a controlling relationship this has helped me to connect with the emotions and stories that reflect on the powerful yet brutal reality of once being in a controlling relationship. She describes the ordeal she went through after the controlling relationship showing the effects after it had ended and the signs to help others to become more aware if they are being effected in some way and to urge them if so to speak about it.

As my project is based on domestic violence I have asked people what colours they think represent the mood and emotions of people that may be involved with a controlling and harmful relationship, as I would like not only the image and 3D work to create a appropriate atmosphere expressing the raw emotions and feelings of victims but i think colour and backgrounds play a key part with creating a low , dark and powerful vibe. I have asked random people what colours first come to mind when the phrase “domestic abuse” is heard to create a survey based on their feedback, this will help me to understand what colours are most suitable and effective within my project and will then develop this further by using them within designs and experiments, i will then respond to how well they fit in with the designs and overall looks as well as questioning myself on how they make me feel once the colours are in my work, for further research i will then ask people what they think of my designs that are in my sketchbook and to see if i have used the colours correctly in expressing the designs or if i should use them in different ways or even change colours, this will help me to see how the public might view and react to my work, furthermore this will help me by seeing weather my work expresses the message and seriousness of domestic violence and makes people more aware that it is not just women that experience abuse but is also men.
colour Psychology:

survey:

I asked the question: what colours do people think of that represents domestic abuse and the emotions portrayed:

Key: / = one person 24

Dark colours: /////////////////////

Light colours: ///

From this I can see that most people I asked see dark colours as colours that express the emotions and feelings around domestic abuse. I am now going to expand on this and find out what dark colours are related to the topic i will do this by asking the same 24 people.

The color black
Power, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, fear, evil, anonymity, unhappiness, depth, style, sad, remorse, anger, underground, technical, grief and death.

The color gray
Safety, reliability, intelligence, melancholy, modesty, dignity, maturity, soundness, functionality, old age and grief. The colour gray is an unemotional colour. It is detached, neutral, impartial and indecisive. From a colour psychology perspective, the colour is a compromise – it is either black or white. It is the transition between the 2 colours. The closer the gray comes to black, the more dramatic and mysterious it becomes. The gray colour meaning is more luminous and vivid, the closer it comes to silver or white. The gray colour is quite boring when it stands alone.

The color blue
Peace, harmony, unity, trust, truth, security, confidence, conservatism, order, sky, water, cold, technology, cleanliness, depression, loyalty, immortality, stability, masculinity and protection. Blue is a cool and calming colour that shows creativity and intelligence. The colour blue is a popular colour among large companies, hospitals and airlines. It is a colour that symbolizes loyalty, strength, wisdom and trust. Blue colour meaning is also known to have a calming effect on the psyche. Blue is the colour of the sky and the sea and is often used to represent these images. Blue is a colour that generally looks good in almost any shade and it is a very popular colour, especially among men. For your info, the colour blue is my favorite colour!

The color red
Power, energy, passion, desire, speed, strength, power, heat, love, aggression, danger, fire, blood, war, violence, intensity, celebration, luck, stop or danger, Christmas and Valentine’s Day. Red is a very strong colour. It is a noticeable colour that is often used on signs for signaling caution or warning. Red colour meaning is often associated with the word stop. It is a warm colour that evokes a strong sense of passion, lust, sex, energy, blood and war. The red colour is good at stealing attention from other colours, which is useful in many contexts. The colour red is often used on flags as a symbol of pride and strength.

The color yellow
Joy, optimism, happiness, danger, sunshine, idealism, imagination, hope, summer, gold, deceit, philosophy, dishonesty, cowardice, betrayal, jealousy, disease and warning.

survey:

I asked the question: what colours do people think of that represents domestic abuse and the emotions portrayed:

Key: / = one person 24

Dark colours: /////////////////////

Light colours: ///

From this I can see that most people I asked see dark colours as colours that express the emotions and feelings around domestic abuse. I am now going to expand on this and find out what dark colours are related to the topic i will do this by asking the same 24 people.

Many media depictions, domestic violence advocates, and websites will lead you to believe that domestic abuse is something that men do to women. Domestic violence statistics show, however, that domestic abuse is not just a man problem. This fact has huge implications on how we solve the issue.

Domestic violence statistics reference:https://www.ananiasfoundation.org/domestic-violence-statistics/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0deg1pnw4QIVzLXtCh1oZwGCEAAYAiAAEgL2QPD_BwE

Source: the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). https://www.cdc.gov/

While women are more frequent victims, the domestic violence statistics show men are also frequent victims:

• 30.3%, or about 1 in 3 women, have been physically assaulted by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
• 25.7%, or about 1 in 4 men, have also experienced physical assault by a partner sometime in their life.

Note the numbers for women verses men are not that far apart. In case anyone thinks that many of these incidents were harmless, the CDC also recorded severe physical abuse incidents. These were cases that involved being hit with a fist or something hard, slammed, kicked, burned, choked, beaten, or incidents involving a weapon.

• 24.3%, or about 1 in 5 women, experienced severe violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
• 13.8%, or about 1 in 7 men, had a life experience that involved severe violence using the same definition.

This shows that men are also highly abused in relationships, this is what I would like to get across to the public and to show the reality of men being abused. I thought that the percentage of men being abused would be less then women but it is higher then many people would think, however I never thought that the percentage would not be as high or as close to the percentage of women that are abused in a relationship I think this is due to their being more women then men speaking out about being abused so i naturally assume that men are the abusers and the number of men being abused is much less again this is opinion was influenced by social media such as the news and other articles shown in my research and survey FMP feedback/survey on what people see when asked about domestic abuse as the public also show that social media is a powerful influencer, this is something I would like to improve on and make a difference with in the future after exploring this topic and having a much clearer understanding for now i hope to use this information and other research i have collected to create an effective piece of work that shows that men also experience domestic abuse and i would like to be able to answer or have a much more of an understanding on why men do not feel as though they can speak out about about being victims of violence that n this day and age people should not show emotion as it is a sine of weakness, this idea of not being able to express emotion i will be looking further into as I believe it will help me to understand why men do not speak out yet women feel more able to i will then be able to use this in my final piece to create something that persuades and influences men to speak out and for women viewing the work to see that it is not just females that are victims as well as showing them that women can also be the abusers. With these statistics I am able to use accurate data to help to create a final piece that portrays the devastating fact of men being abused almost as much as women are, to shed light onto the fact that men are not just the monsters people see them as when they hear the phrase ‘domestic abuse’ but women also come to light and we have a much more balanced approach to equality between men and women within the subject of domestic abuse.

While looking at charts and statistics I noticed the phrase ‘shelter clients’ was mentioned in most charts so I have took it upon myself to research the meaning behind it to further expand on my knowledge on the help and support out their for victims of domestic violence.talked about in this blog post: what is a Shelter Client?what does it do for victims of abuse?  

On 1st of April a new domestic abuse law came into force in Scotland, now recognising psychological harm as a criminal offence. This can include but is not limited to isolating someone from their family and friends, restricting their access to their phone/money and frightening or humiliating one’s partner. Again social media is being used to help domestic abuse to be recognised i.e. Safer Scotland’s new ad is being shown on TV. The advert shows a pile of items taken away by an abusive partner, including clothes and makeup brushes. It’s a short but a powerful ad that tells us that a loving partner wouldn’t do these things and that this type of behaviour is a crime. However the advert is of an abuser taking away ‘make-up brushes’ and ‘clothes’ which to me suggests that the victim is a female as make-up brushes are a females accessory which means that a male would have been the one to take away the items and is presumed and labelled as the abuser so even when domestic abuse and the seriousness of it is being shown through an advert to millions people still make it so that the man is the abuser or the idea of it being a male and the victim being a female which supports the message that i am trying to get across with my work also the idea that the ‘safer Scotland’ don’t need to show genders in the advert yet they are still able to make others see that it is most likely a female victim due to ‘make-up brushes’ tells me that it is a habit to presume and label women as the victims as they are the more vulnerable sex. Further more by using this scenario as a way to get across to people the reality and heartbreak of domestic abuse it suggests to me that the only way people will see it and take the information in is if the male is the abuser and they hint that the woman is the victim as people now a days only see it that way and struggle to open their eyes to it being the other way around. the fact that Scotland have made it a crime shows that the awareness of domestic violence is slowly rising yet we are still portraying it in an unequal way that labels men as the abusive sex yet statistics show that the number of men beaten by their female partners are almost at the same percentage as women.

For every 7 victims four are women and 3 are male.

Examples of controlling or abusive behaviour within a relationship:

• Making someone dependent on the abuser
• Isolating someone from their friends, relatives or other sources of support
• Controlling, regulating or monitoring someone’s day to day activities
• Depriving someone of, or restricting their freedom of action e.g. controlling their phone/communication access or access to money
• Frightening, humiliating, degrading or punishing someone e.g. abusive name calling, playing mind games that causes someone to doubt their sanity

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/nan-goldin-2649

Nan Goldin is an artist that uses her past experiences to create powerful art/images expressing raw emotions and telling a story.

This is a colour photograph of Nan Goldin staring directly at the camera. Intense red blood in the white of her swollen left eye mirrors the shade of her lipstick. Dark bruises colour the skin around it and below her right eye. In contrast to the physical damage she defiantly offers to the camera, she appears well groomed. Her hair is glossy and well brushed and, she is wearing bright red lipstick, as well as dangly earrings and a necklace this is something that i had not thought about i.e. the contrast between the neatness of the surroundings around the face and the sudden brutality of the sharpness of the face showing a divide yet combination of two different lifestyles or the attempt of trying to act like things are normal although they are clearly not however by fixing her hair and wearing make-up i.e. lipstick she is still a pretty woman and feels better about her self. after seeing this piece of work I then decided to use make-up to create a similar look on a female model using technique’s which Nan Goldin used e.g. looking directly at the camera lens as well as using a dark background to really bring the tension on her face which she has done by having herself against a piece of dark wooden furniture. The dark shadows behind her head indicate the use of a flash bulb this is also something that I have experimented with when taking the images as I used flash as well as taking images without flash to see what the difference was and what I thought helped give depth to the image like what’s portrayed in the image above, to see how I experimented and tested out my own images using the camera and make-up click on this link: 04/04/19 experimenting with make-up . what shocked me even more was that this image represented a stage in Nan Goldin’s life where she was in a violent relationship, I found this out when reading further into the story behind the image, the idea that the image represents the artists own life experience to make the image so much more personal and when looking at it you see more then just an artist with a talent but see someone that still sees beauty in the disruption and chaos of an abusive relationship and a brave woman for sharing it so purely and in such a raw way, however I still strongly believe that the image its self without reading the story behind it still sends a powerful message and portrays the brutality of a controlling relationship further more when I first saw the photograph I immediately thought of abuse or some kind of pain with that many deep bruises and in the areas they were In the image suggested that something was not right with the woman or woman’s life, it reflects a negative reaction and the sense of unease which to me is a powerful effect and immediately invites you to ask why she is in that way as well as this coming back to the fact that she has her hair neat and make-up on again suggests to me that she may be a normal woman trying to live a normal life however the bruises on her face suggest otherwise. It is also shown in Goldin’s more recent slide show series of self-portraits titled All By Myself 1995-6. She has explained the situation leading up to this image. which is shown below:

“For a number of years I was deeply involved with a man. We were well suited
emotionally and the relationship became very interdependent. Jealousy was used to
inspire passion. His concept of relationships was rooted in … romantic idealism … I craved the dependency, the adoration, the satisfaction, the security, but sometimes I felt claustrophobic. We were addicted to the amount of love the relationship supplied … Things between us started to break down, but neither of us could make the break. The desire was constantly rein-spired at the same time that the dissatisfaction became undeniable. Our sexual obsession remained one of the hooks. One night, he battered me severely, almost blinding me.” -Nan Goldin reference: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/goldin-nan-one-month-after-being-battered-p78045

Nan Goldin expresses and shows a great example, through art and words, of the harsh and devastating effects of domestic violence, as well as the effects after breaking away from the abuse. By having the courage to express her ordeal through art she has shown that you are able to move on from the pain and feeling of suffocating, but you can use your experience to help others to connect with the issue and to bring light on such a dark and avoided topic, this I very much admire her for, and how she demonstrates the raw reality of a disruptive and violent relationship.

I have also learnt when using the make-up to create the harsh look that the more yellow/green the colour of the bruise is the older the longer its been there and the older the bruise, within the image of Nan Goldin this is also reflected as the colours of the bruises are fairly yellow and I would say that there is almost no red or purple this is runs along the story behind the image as it says ” It marks the end of a long-term relationship” suggesting that the image reflects all the bruises and marks made over a long period of time which is why they are shown as old bruises and creates a deeper meaning.

I have been comparing my work to Nan Goldings image and have been using tactics that she has also used to create a photograph in which she has created with such depth and meaning.