Christine Borland

Christine Boreland is an artists that look at anatomy and the human condition to influence her art. At first my attention was drawn to her by her use of anatomy and representation although it tends to quite clinical rather than theatrical which is what im interested in, however for Jack Pierce's classic representation of Frankenstein it is known that he looked at anatomy of the human skull to influence his design. It may therefore be no coincident that Boreland has also taken reference from the same novel to influence her ideas.

The work that I am interested in however is called spirit collection(1999) which to me has resonance with the Haitian spirit bottles. I think although they do not look aesthetically similar its ideas of representation of a person are. Boreland's work is based on science and genetics, inside each glass tear-drop is a leaf that has been bleached white. The significance of the leaf is that it is descended from a tree is Kos under which Hippocrates, the father of medicine, first taught his students. There are many further levels of meaning applied to the work such as the idea of cloning and originals, the family-'tree' is being represented as ghostly and delicate like its originality is fading. The artist also considered the connections between the family tree and genetic diseases, each spirit is only left as skeletal remains.

www.artnet.com - Spirit Bottles review

 www.nationalgalleries.org - Spirit Bottles review

Zombie Make-up kits

As part of my research has led me to develop a create a zombie kit i thought it would be usefull too look at what is allready out there. Essentially most of the zombie make up kits that are available are cheap halloween kits with simple and in my experience often unrealistic latex prosthetics. I think what i am wanting to develop is something more theatrical and substantial. Also it is common for these kits to come without instructions or very basic ones that can fit on the packaging. These kits are obviosly made with cost and there seasonal sales in mind which is why they all tend to be the same, cheep, unsubstantial and abit rubbish. Although there is now an element of product design withtin the development of this idea i do not want to make it my main focus, the kit is more of a record of the techniques and skills i have learned so far.



Be Prepared!

http://natgeotv.com/uk/zombies-the-truth/about
A TV programme that i randomly stumbled across on the National Geographic channel. It looks at Haitian culture and the origins of zombies and voodoos but also what would happen if there was such an outbreak of an infections contagious disease. It also looked at how the brain would have to be affected to look an act in the way Hollywood zombies do. Its not to be taken too seriously though but it was interesting.

I also came across this american website of an article posted by the CDC which is a government organisation (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) on precautions to take in the event of a zombie outbreak.
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/socialmedia/zombies_blog.asp

Rick Genest Zombie Boy

Rick Genest or 'Rico' has become known as the tattooed zombie. He shot to fame after in popular culture after appearing in a lady Gaga video and modelling in fashion shows. He first worked in circus and side shows in Canada untill until GaGa's stylist and creative director for French fashion house Theirry Mugler, Nicola Formichetti, spotted a picture of him on the internet. Through Facebook she was able to contact him and since he has worked with many photographers and designers in magazines and featuring in collections.

http://rickgenest.com/

 

I also found this amazing video of his tattoos covered up with stage make-up!

Spirit Bottles

As well as looking at prosthetics i still want to explore the vodou side of zombies, in particular the spirit bottles. I this case i  had to use a beer bottle in place of a rum bottle. Although it is still the right size and shape. In this version i tried to apply the cotton in a different way, by gathering it together then affixing it to the bottle. This technique gives a less defined shape which i don't think looks as good. However it is not finished as it still needs the other symbols.






             

                                                                                                                            


I developed this idea in a similar way to the zombie kit it that i have created a how to instruction guide on how to make a spirit bottle.

SFX book

 This book is really good for all different kinds of special affects techniques from fake hair to how to look aged. Its not specifically for horror and the scars and wounds section is pretty small however there's allot of other techniques that could be incorporated depending on the type of zombie you want to create.

More Fake Wounds

I am continuing to develop on using latex to make wounds. For both of these i used latex but instead of applying it directly to my skin I built up the shapes on grease proof paper, allowed them to dry and then used spirit gum to stick them on. In the first image on my hand i tried to recreate scratch marks but i think there too dark and too wide. In the second image i used latex that had sawdust mixed in as it creates a really gruesome texture, i also poured some fake blood on the wet latex so it dried with the dark red colours making it easier and quicker to apply make-up afterwards. It was also allot more comfortable to apply the latex after its dried as it can sometimes take a while however using the spirit gum is harder to make it stick properly.

Book of the Dead

This book is like the ultimate guide to zombie films. Its a great reference as it starts from where the idea of the zombie came from to early cinema adaptations up to the present.It also had lots of film posters as a reference for the different ways people recreate their version of a zombie. Although some of the images are pretty gruesome(there are also lots of film stills) its a good reference to how prosthetics are used in horror films.

Zombie Instructions

I drew out this plan of the instructions book to go with the kit. It includes instructions on how to apply the latex wounds and how to apply the make-up as well as a narrative to go with it.

I would also like to make some You Tube videos to compliment the instruction book.

I then made a to scale mock up of the booklet to get a better feel as to what it would look like and how many pages i would need.

How to be a zombie Kit

I drew this out as a mock up for the idea i had of making a zombie kit. I am going to try and make something similar, in particular the box, fake wounds and instructions guide. 

Zombie Walk

I created this mock up of a poster for a Zombie Walk in Manchester. I took a drawing of the figure i had previously made and enlarged the head area.

I don't think i have the resources to arrange one myself at the moment.

Lincoln uni promotion

Saw this video on RudeTube quite funny although i think the university banned it.

More prosthetic wounds

More testing with latex and tissue but i also started to use a special wax that is also used to make fake wounds.

In the first two examples i used the same materials of tissue and latex but used different colours. i wanted it to look less realistic but still have the same connotations of monsters and wounds. I used black and white, which i think on the first test came out well but on the second I went a lot bigger and this did not look as 'real', it looked more splodge and less like a wound.

 I also tried using the wax to make a lump which can not be achieved that easily with latex as it tends to wrinkle so it looks more like a boil than a bump. The wax is strange to work with as it can get quite sticky, and as is shown on the picture you can see where the wax stops but it does look better than just latex as it remains smooth. Lastly I tried using the wax and latex together. I found some videos on the internet showing how to make gunshot wounds using wax and latex. I think it was quite affective but the blood colour is not dark enough. I have found a good supply shop in Afflecks of make up (Grimas: www.grimas.com/) and other materials such as the wax.

Little mosnters

Over Christmas I found this figure that made a year or two ago. Its made from crank clay with a glaze over the top. Its been fired twice which gives the clay its biscuit colour and the glaze was roughly brushed on and then rubbed off to make it look patchy. I would like to make some more of these figures as I like the way it looks like its crawling and the lack of definition in its features adds to the feel of it being a monster/zombie.