BRAINSTORMING AND MOOD BOARDS
By: Farah
Other Stories in this chapter: #Suva-Aaaaveee | THE ARTISTS
On the first day, the artists explored the potential stories they could come up with; so the following day, they ventured in to the island to find materials and sources for their stories.
We had been told that almost everything on the island were made by local carpenters from locally sourced wood. So naturally, the carpentry was the first place we visited.
If you live in Male’, it is very unlikely that you will see a proper carpentry like this these days. Shaantey, who is the head carpenter of the island, is originally from Male’. He explained the processes involved in making the furniture, and all the other wood work whilst we explored his shop.
Shaantey’s shop was a little treasure trove full of stories. Most of the staff on the island were employed at the carpentry, and perhaps it was the fact that we were not used to seeing such intricate wood work that made his shop so riveting.
Whilst some interviewed Shaantey, others, like Aiham was more interested in the living conditions of the expatriates and their experiences. Meanwhile, Forme got talking to a local man who was making the lights and found out that he was actually a fisherman and that his designs were inspired by the fishing equipment he used.
“This is like a human factory,” Thuppi said when I asked her what story she was seeing here.
“What?”
“Literally everything is handmade. They’re only using the very basic simple machines - they’re not using heavy machinery to make ALL these furniture. Every single piece is unique and they are all different.”
Clearly, my observation skills are not that great.
BRAINSTORMING
Dhoores is an island that is being developed in to a resort (as we have already established). Because of this, the only people living here are the workers. This somewhat limits the potential stories that could be made as there are limited subjects.
I found out that brainstorming is an important part of the creative process to exchange ideas and also to eliminate similarities amongst the stories. Furthermore, when the artists discuss their ideas, it grows and more ideas stem out.
MOOD BOARDS
Mood boards are a relatively new concept to me.
Looking at a mood board is like looking through a window in to what goes on in an artist’s head when they come up with stories. You sort of see what’s going on - but you don’t see everything that’s going on.
I have come to realise that an artists’ perspective on life is very, very different from the average joe’s take on life. It was extraordinary to see what they came up with after a day of walking around the island and meeting a few people. It was even more amazing to see how they planned on telling the stories.
To me, stories are narrations and depictions of journeys, characters or events - and stories are typically read; or perhaps I had a very old-fashioned and generic view on how stories should be told. What’s fascinating about artists telling a story is that they don’t use an abundance of words as I do, but rather use paintbrushes, cameras, recordings of sounds, scissors and bits of paper and ribbon to tell stories.
Who knew?
Dhahau’s object of interest was a table. The carpenter had told us that they use one tree to make a single table and that no parts of the tree are wasted whilst making the furniture (I shall not digress, it’s her story to tell). Her weapon of choice is a very lovely Canon Mark III, which she is using to make videos to depict her story.
I found Maisha’s medium of story telling to be very aesthetically pleasing. As a graphic designer / illustrator, she chose to make illustrations for bits of stories that people told her. Her mood board brought back a wave of nostalgia because it reminded me of the Roald Dahl books I used to read as a child.
Aiham is the youngest of the bunch. What he lacks in age, he makes up for by sheer talent. What he noticed was shadows. Using a DSLR he shows the movements of the workers, but he doesn’t focus on the people, but rather their shadows. I have never seen anyone tell a story in such a mystical way.
I suppose video and illustration stories are not a new thing these days; which is why Aima is a little bit different. Aima is crafty to the point where watching her work made my hands sweaty because of how detail-oriented she is. Her subject is the fauna of the island - namely the plethora of palm trees and taro on the island.
Hassaan is our resident sound artist, which is pretty self explanatory. His methods though, are very interesting. He collects the soundscapes of the island in a very interesting manner; wandering around odd places in the island, recording the sounds of the waves, rustling of the palm trees and the pitter-patter of the rain to tell the story of the island.
Another uncommon method of storytelling that was presented was flip books. After looking around the island, Thuppi saw the processes of the workers as internet-friendly gifs. Apparently the idea of gifs progressed in to something more real-life and tangible; flip books.
Forme, who is already a pretty established painter, got inspired by the story of one of the local men making light frames at the carpentry and the many bokkuras beached on the island. To spice things up, he decided to collaborate with Dhahau to tell the story of the light-maker - in the form of a video narrative. But he still wants to utilise his actual talents as a painter in portraying the bokkuras.
Animations are also becoming a standard medium of storytelling these days. Cartman and Ree, who are both animators / painters, and also collaborating, got fascinated by how the main bar of the island was made (again, it is their story to tell). They decided to narrate the story of the bar via sketches that they will make in to animations.
Mood boards are pretty insightful.
Other Stories in this chapter: #Suva-Aaaaveee | THE ARTISTS