Final Submission

Edward Hopper Rooms by The Sea, 1951

Narrative: As she dreams, the sunlight strokes her soul, a soul that lingers, consumed yet conceded to the loss which haunts from within.

The narrative embodies the notion of loss, separation, isolation, grief and reflection.

Each day, the woman overcomes her emotional pain through reflection and contemplation through a journey of light and time.

Model

The model contains three inter-related themes, a bedroom, a day room and a pathway which links these rooms together.

Bedroom

The bedroom echoes the form of a corridor, to suggest the notion of isolation and separation. Its form is uncomfortably narrow and appears to be split or fragmented. The angle enhances the reality of loss and the sharp pain it causes. The room offers limited light, manipulated in a way that really tries to embody the isolation and loneliness the widow must deal with, whilst at the same time extends the pain and fragmentation that accompanies it.

Day Room

The day room signifies the widow's rise above her grief. It is elevated above the rest of the world, seemingly floating and edging towards the sun, echoing the surreal juxtaposition of Hopper's work. There are several aspects of the bedroom that have been paralleled in the day room to signify the importance of recognizing her pain before being able to surpass it. The fact that, this loss will inevitably hold a part in her life, yet the day room encourages and insists she wander outside in her own sanctuary, alive in sunshine.

The Pathway

A slow, meandering process that echoes the grieving process, unpredictable, challenging and at times ominous.

Final Model

Final Drawings

Model Experimentation

Initial model experiment investigating the overall massing of the two main spaces and how they relate with one another. Furthermore, the manipulation of light within the bedroom and the influence of materiality on this.

Concept Development

The concept behind my idea had evolved from quite a loose concept encompassing the notion of solitude and rumination through the incorporation of multiple pathways and multiple rooms in somewhat of a frenzied approach to the idea of solitude to a much more refined model which based itself on three core elements. These three elements were based upon the daily routine of a women who each day, must overcome the fragmentation and separation which inhibits her senses on a pathway through light and time until she reaches her sanctuary, free from the confines of her pain and the catalyst to her reflection and nourishment.

Conceptual Development

From 'Rooms by the Sea', I derived a narrative based upon the notion of loss and isolation. Using the date of the painting, I based the narrative on a war widow dealing with the loss of her husband through a spiritual journey of her own thoughts mediated by the manipulation of light - a symbol of the transition of her life and the processes of coming to terms of her loss. The light is her source of nourishment, and thus, it forms the basis of the model,

Narrative

"As she dreams, the sunlight strokes her soul, a soul that lingers, consumed yet conceded to the loss which haunts from within."