Pattern

Painting the face is an ancient form of body adornment. The oldest example still practising their form of body painting are the peoples of the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean, though of course it is a world wide cultural institution. All patterns imaginable, often but not always, with highly intricate symbolism denoting rank, status or reflection of inner characteristic. The art of guise meets its very roots at the application of the earth to the face but of course a vast evolution has taken place throughout all peoples, including the permanent body paint that is the tattoo. More in depth posts will follow shortly.

Through no particular inspiration I applied a spontaneous design to my face before my roast dinner with Katie and Dan. A small photoshoot followed:

Images by Daniel & Katie Churchill. Collage by KLV

Drax

Collage by Jesse Draxler

Stage Face - Colour Symbolism

Kathakali

Kathakali originates in Kerela, India. It is a combination theatrical dance, song and mythology and is for the most part secular in that there is no connection with temple worship, though there are Hindu ritual and rebirth themes present. In Kathakali, the make up is the character and this particularly complex make up follows some of the following symbolism:

Green: Good

Red: Anger

Black: What is repellent

Yellow: Wonder

Eye makeup: Oval/lotus shapes for good , block/square for evil

The make up makes the character which makes the mood or abstract aspect of life

 Peking Opera

Now to East Asia and Peking Opera which has distant religious roots but is generally another secular entertainment. Characters are once again heavily defined by the the face and the expressions determined by mask and make up, from feminine gentleness to brutality. Artistically stylized designs are vital in Peking Opera to provide the audience with instantly recognisable characters and historic figures. Once again we have integral colour symbolism:

Gold: Divinity, supernatural beings

Yellow: The imperial colour, reticence (whole face)

Black: Impetuousness or (strict) law abiding

Red: Courage, loyalty, faithfulness

White: Brutality (whole face), scoundrel/clown (patch across nose & eyes)

Blue: Cruelty

Green: Demon/devil

The Halloween Post

So on Saturday I celebrated Halloween in my regular weekend style by getting drunk at the Dungeon, which by the way is an alternative club in Southampton. Originally the only thing about the outfit I'd decided on was wearing my ostrich feather headdress, though I quickly thought to add facepaints and my trusted roll of black faux fur which I trimmed down for a cloak. I also helped out a bit with my flatmate's outfit by sewing feathers and Christmas decorations to a headband to enhance a snow princess look. 

Above is my make up for the evening and below my inspiration and though I didn't create my design with these images firmly in mind, there was definitely some subconscious influence to say the least. Obviously mine isn't as elaborate or of cultural significance but you get the idea with the quite similar colour palettes.

Images (except 2nd/3rd) by KLV

Night Parade of One Hundred Demons

This collage was created for the newly founded Art School Disco blog to which I've recently been invited to. '6 Brit illustrators tackle a new theme every week ~ Ben Phe, Simon Abbott, Ed Brown, Johnny Ace, Katie Allen & KLV', so don't forget to check for updates on the Art School Disco twitter too. This weeks theme was 'Devil', as well as colour coded, so here is my collage which is made from dissected images of Japanese Bugaku and Gyodo masks.

Image by KLV

Hundred Faces

It's been a while but finally another post is here and better yet a post featuring my latest photoshoot with local photography company Obsidian AIC. The headdress used was constructed back in the Spring and I'd never found a use for it until now, so it was particularly pleasant to be there for this woodland shoot. The idea for the headdress came from Mongolian designs and you can see some of the design process in a previous post. The first set of more orange-hued images were taken by me, personally I'd like to think they convey an atmosphere of intrigue and mystery but with the close ups I'm also happy with how the collage blends into the face, distorting and morphing into her own appearance as opposed to simply wearing a mask. The photos by Obsidian project a more dramatic energy and I also believe the darkness of the background accentuates the post apocolyptic atmosphere, aided by the general outfit also.

 Images by KLV (last two by Obsidian AIC)

Painted Faces

On Sunday I made an appearance at my friend Amy's birthday tattoo party and though I don't want one myself I did enjoy the face paints! Nikki, pictured next to me in the top image, did a surprisingly good job on my blue tiger face and it was a fun afternoon! I also went out on the Wednesday for the first time in a while, wearing my beloved River Island blazer and bird skull necklace - oh how I love them! Overall, it's been an odd week as this was my last at the CDG jobcentre course so I thought I'd have some of my friends I met there over for films/food etc and as you can see Hannah tried out my fake furs! The headdress Tash is wearing will be used soon with Obsidian AIC, so photos will follow once that has taken place. Also on the horizon is my millinery internship, again I'll update more once it starts properly and the same goes for my SoFair Social Enterprise voluntary position.

Images by KLV

.