Final Reflection of my Project:

Union – Blended British

I began by studying what Union meant to me initially planning on focusing on the flags that make up the Union flag, separate nations woven together into one identity. After primary research with my family, I realised that identiy is much more than flags. It is found in everyday moments and objects and things I didn’t even realise were British.

This shifted my project. I started to elevate the everyday, finding humour and meaning in lots of ordinary British scenes and objects. I blended British iconic symbols like the Mini car, pubs and the union flag, with overlooked details like M&S tea bags, wheelie bins and ice cream vans. These combinations then reflected what Britishness actually is – traditional and modern, serious and silly, all blended together.

A turning point came when I realised how much tea and beer is crucial to British culture and we are known for it around the world. The 3 o’ clock tea alarm being believed by Americans, or the fact that pubs are seen as very British. They are social hubs unique to Britain. This is when I suddenly noticed the liquid theme running through my work. Tea, beer, rain, puddles, ice cream, petrol fuelling journeys, and this ties my work together on another level. Not just colours, or everyday scenes but liquids fuel us British people throughout our lives. Liquids move and blend and don’t stand still. Like British culture, some elements remain but others evolve and flow and I find this really interesting.

Union: Blended British became more than a project about national symbols. It became a reflection of me, my life, and where I fit in. It became a reflection of how tradition mixes with the everyday, how identity flows and changes and how Britishness can be found not just in what we see but in what we feel – in the small, ordinary moments we share.

Image 1 – Reflected Glory

For my first image, I chose this image I took with a camera and then manipulated on Photoshop to create these Union Jack Flag’s inside of each puddle till they all some colour in with the black and white effect on everything else with a vignette around the final image to create focus points on the puddles and also to help the idea of Britishness and a cloudy, rainy day.

Image 2 – A British Puddle

For my second image, I chose this image because not only is it a reflection of the Union Jack Flag inside a puddle again like image 1. But, this is a close-up of just one singular puddle with the flag showing through the reflection which tells the viewer that everywhere you look, even in a puddle, you can always see your heritage and where you came from.

Image 3 – The Public House

For my third photograph, I chose this image because a pub/inn is very iconic and commonly known for as British and where the brits always go to watch the football, have bitter pints with mates, play darts and many more activities. I chose to use this photograph of outside of the pub showing the sign with the lights all around, this is because I felt it looked like a common standard pub which is exactly what I wanted, especially with the blue effects I used over it whilst making everything else in black and white with the vignette, I felt made this image feel even more British.

Image 4 – The Red Bar

My fourth image, I chose this photograph I took of inside of the Pub which correlates to image 3, but for this image I wanted to do the opposite of image 3 and instead of only keeping the blue colour, I decided to only go for red as there was more red in the bar than blue and all of the alcohol pumps/logos had red on them.

Image 5 – London Pride

Image 5, for my image 5, I got a close-up image of a London Pride Pump, which is clearly British as it has London in the name, but, it also has a full red shield around with a crest design on too, very British design.

Image 6 – Pimm’s Perspective

Image 7 – Refreshing Menu

Image 8 – Home Pride

Image 9 – The Colour of Tea Time

Image 10 – Tradition on a String

Image 11 – Tea for Two at Gorey Castle

Image 12 – Driving the Union

Image 13 – Freezing Hope

Virtual Gallery

I did a virtual gallery with all my final images and created this using Photoshop stretching and transforming each image to help show the perspective that they are hung on the walls. I also put in my title above the main 3 images ‘Blended British’. I used a very generic-looking font that matched my theme perfectly, this is to show what my collage is called and to show the viewers what it is called.

Mounting & Framed

Mounts

For the physical mounts I created this was the layout I decided to go for. I chose these images on each mount board because half of them went together and worked well next to each other and another half worked well together, so I split them up into two different mount boards which looked like these.

Mount 1

Mount 2

Frames:

For the framed images I created, I framed one image which was image 2 – ‘A British Puddle’. I chose to frame this image because it stood out to me of how it is just a singular puddle with the reflection of the Union Jack Flag, and so I didn’t just want to add it on to a mount board, instead I put a black frame around it but I also had a white border about 4cm long, in-between the frame and the actual image.

Frame 1: A British Puddle.

Frame 2: Tradition on a String – Broken.

For my second framed image I created, I chose to frame image 10 – ‘Tradition on a String’. The reason I decided to frame this image, was because like my artist Andrew Scott, he uses the frame in ways as manipulating to bring his images to life. I really like his art work and ideas and decided to try create something inspired from him. That is why I chose image 10 because it is a photograph of a tea cup I took, but I cropped it in half so that when I have a frame around it, I can add a tea bag string coming out of the cup and out of the frame just like Andrew Scott. Also, I wanted to do something to the glass frame as Scott does that too by breaking certain parts on the frame, to interact with the viewer. So, what I did was I dropped the glass frame ever so slightly onto these metal pegs from around 10cm high, which created these 3 large breaks on the frame over the cup of tea, but, this is perfect because it symbolises ‘Broken Britain’, how Britain is slowly breaking and even the cup of tea is dying out as not many younger people drink it nowadays compared to decades ago.

Wasn’t planned but emerged naturally. I realised that liquids move, blend and reflect – just like identity.  Liquids are central to British life and the flowing, adapting life we live.

• Tea,   (ritual, comfort, routine, known for it worldwide, union of people)
• Beer,  (pubs, community, tradition, union of people)
• Rain, (british weather, we talk about the weather a lot and hope it will be good)
•  Puddles, (reflection, after the rain)
•  Ice cream,  (seaside life, frozen, melting moments)
• Petrol. (motion, modern life)
• Liquids tie together the familiar and the unexpected.
• Represent movement and change. British identity is not fixed, it has its roots in tradition but is evolving and blending.
• Even the wind in the flag photo connects – air carries water which will eventually make rain, mist, sea spray, movement underpins everything.
• Liquids REFLECT – I want people to look at my photos and reflect on what they mean to them, personally and as part of their culture.
• Fleeting – liquids change, melt, flow, freeze, boil.
• Connects to the personal and the national – a cup of tea at home, to a pint in a pub a puddle on the street and a car journey.

We are all connected, in union and my project is my reflection of Blended British.