Animal in You: How would it feel to dive into your own surreal, dream world through an inkblot painting?

I am looking for lovers of art and the human mind to collaborate with me to produce a series of 60 oil paintings (35x35cm) guided by your interpretation of an inkblot and inspired by what you see within the shapes and forms of the paint.

I’ll invite you to gaze at an inkblot and tell me what pops into your head (I promise I won’t psycho-analyse you, unless you want me to that is!). Once you let me know what you see, I’ll get to work on a painting just for you 🙂

The painting will be created on raw, unstretched canvas. I love the sandy colour of raw canvas. It has a lovely feel and texture and as such is the perfect medium for bringing the inkblot to life.

Your Animal in You painting will be one of a kind with you in mind. Influenced by surrealist techniques and klecksography (creating images out of inkblots) Animal in You explores and celebrates animal symbolism and the subconscious mind.



If I reach my goal

You will be invited to a virtual, solo exhibition and live stream of Animal in You. Your painting will be among the surreal menagerie of artworks on display in a dreamy, interactive, virtual environment. I plan to take the experience even further by creating a memorable book of the inkblot paintings which will include animal archetypes, quotes from participants and potentially, from a qualified therapist or psychologist.



Why Inkblots?

The inkblot test (also called the “Rorschach” test) is a method of psychological evaluation that psychologists use to examine the personality characteristics and emotional functioning of their patients. In my opinion, inkblots are the icons of psychoanalysis and represent the mind’s incredible ability to make sense of random, abstract forms.

I love the process of studying an inkblot and seeing what images pop up, for me it’s usually animals, hence Animal in You.

I’ve always been fascinated by the animal side of our human nature, the instinctual and unconscious desires that often drive our actions. What started as a rather personal series, changed as I began to share the inkblots with people and gain insights into what they were seeing.

Different people see different things within the same inkblot. This is a fascinating way to connect with the subconscious minds of others. I am interested in Jungian archetypes and how the animals that sometimes appear hold surprising symbolic meaning for the viewer.

“The instincts are a far better protection than all the intellectual wisdom in the world”– Carl Jung

How it Works

*1. You will receive a picture (via email) of an inkblot which has been made on raw, unstretched canvas .

*2. We will have a conversation about what you see (via email or skype) and I’ll use your vision to develop a digital collage as a plan for the painting (If you would prefer not to chat about what you see, you can leave it up to me to create a unique original Animal in You painting with you in mind.)



*3. I’ll use the digital collage as inspiration to develop the canvas inkblot with layers of oil paint.

*4. I’ll need approximately 5 months of full time dedication to make this project a success. I plan on including (and paying) other creatives as much as possible to help with things like the book and the Animal in You virtual exhibition.

Rewards

£5 

• Animal in You ebook (pdf)

• Full colour, digital format 

• Easily converted to kindle or other ebook readers

• Invite to the private view live stream exhibition

£20

• Animal in You soft cover book

• Limited edition, signed

• Will feature all the Animal in You paintings, quotes from participants, the artist and a professional therapist/psychologist specialising in Jungian analysis.

• Invite to the private view, live stream exhibition

• *above is an example of the kind of book I plan to create (A4 landscape, soft cover). Update: I did not reach my goal on Kickstarter but am offering the book at a smaller size. Preorder the book in my shop.

 £95

A photo collage is created before each Animal in You painting is started and serves as the plan for the oil painting. 

If you prefer prints to paintings, this is a quirky alternative to the Animal in You original painting and is still completely unique to you and your interpretation of an inkblot.

Your photo collage will be printed on museum quality paper with archival inks which means rich, vibrant colours.

• Animal in You Photo Collage PRINT

• One of a kind, unique to you, based on your interpretation of an inkblot

• Archival, museum quality print on Hahnemuhle paper

• 1/1

• 35x35cm

• Signed

• Invite to the private view live stream exhibition

• £1 donation to World Wildlife Fund

• *will differ from the image below, based on what you see in the inkblot image I send



£190

An original Animal in You oil painting, based on your interpretation of an inkblot. 

• Animal in You oil painting (unstretched, raw canvas, 35x35cm)

• Animal in You ebook

• Your painting featured in the book

• Acknowledgement in the book

• VIP Invite to the private view live stream exhibition

• £2 donation to World Wildlife Fund

£210

Original Animal in You painting PLUS the Animal in You book.

• Animal in You oil painting (unstretched, raw canvas, 35x35cm)

• Animal in You book

• Your painting featured in the book

• Acknowledgement in the book

• VIP Invite to the private view live stream exhibition

• £2 donation to World Wildlife Fund



£490

Go Big! Same process except bigger. Your painting will measure 60x60cm. 

• Animal in You original oil painting (60x60cm)

• Animal in You book

• Your painting featured in the book

• Special acknowledgement in the book

• VIP Invite to the private view live stream exhibition

• £5 donation to World Wildlife Fund

• *below is an example, your painting will be based on your unique inkblot and interpretation

*painting is created on unstretched, raw canvas and delivered rolled up in a tube for safety. It will need to be framed before it can be displayed.

£950

Make a statement! Same process, even bigger. Your painting will measure 85x85cm. 

• Animal in You original oil painting (85x85CM)

• Animal in You book

• Animal in You ebook

• Your painting featured in the book

• Special acknowledgement in the book

• VIP invite to the private view live stream exhibition

• £9 donation to World Wildlife Fund

  *painting is created on unstretched, raw canvas and delivered rolled up in a tube for safety. It will need to be framed before it can be displayed.

The Animal in You Virtual Exhibition 

I plan on working with creatives to build a surreal, dreamy virtual gallery space, which will be accessible to anyone with an internet connection. The goal is to exhibit the paintings online but also to create an alternative gallery space unlike anything you have seen before. Think mood lighting, chaise longues and surprising objects inhabiting the exhibition space.

The beauty of creating a virtual gallery is that the limits that exist in real time and space do not apply in the virtual world, which leaves a lot of room for an imaginative environment that suits themes of the unconscious and dreams. The online gallery will be interactive (meaning you can move around the virtual space using your keyboard or phone, much like a game).

I’m very excited to work with other creatives on this aspect of the Animal in You project.

Live Stream

The virtual exhibition will have an opening evening in the form of a live stream. You can watch live, online, as I walk you through the virtual gallery space, discussing the paintings and the Animal in You journey.  During the live stream, guests can post questions and interact with one another in the comments.

VIP guests will get entry into the live stream one hour before anyone else and will have the opportunity to ask me questions, live, about their painting and the project.

Hopefully I’ll be able to arrange an appearance by a Jungian specialist/therapist to add insights along the way, to talk about inkblots and the subconscious and add value to the live stream experience.

The Impact

Your contribution will help me evolve my creative practice and produce a series of paintings which I truly believe will spark conversation and bring connection and joy to people.  It will be another step in the direction of touching as many like-minded art lovers as I can and of sharing the meditative quality, magic and joy of introspective art.

As a professional artist and teacher, this project will help me to develop my practice, not only through the research into this intriguing branch of psychology, but also to develop my craft and collaborate with others to create art with meaning.

I have offered several free workshops to the public and have been invited to do my second Animal in You workshop at Greatart, a large art store in London, which supports artists in a multitude of ways. These workshops afford the public the opportunity to create their own inkblots and develop them as they wish, with my guidance.

This project will increase my credibility and allow me to spread my reach, offering more opportunities for the public to engage with art that is therapeutic and psychologically beneficial.

What others are saying

Meet the artist

I was born in South Africa and moved to London in 2009 after graduating with a BA (honours) in Fine Art from the University of Pretoria. I create oil paintings in the theme I’m most passionate about, the body mind. I have a great curiosity about dreams and the subconscious and the many ways these drive people. Animal in You combines my love of surrealistic methods like automatism (a surrealist technique of free-association or creating without thought or plan) with pareidolia, the phenomenon whereby we see faces in random patterns, shapes and forms.

I am a qualified teacher of art and design and teach at a college where I realised the therapeutic and psychologically beneficial qualities art had for my special needs learners in particular.

I have gone on to offer several free workshops to the public, two of which have been Animal in Me workshops at Greatart store in Hoxton, where participants made their own inkblots and, with my guidance, brought out their own vision with paint.

Animal in Me inkblot workshop and residency at Greatart

Painting the Animal in Me series started as a meditative process, which helped me to calm my reeling and often overwhelmed ‘animal mind’ during an emotionally challenging time. I have very little control of the shapes and forms created during the inkblot making and so, had to learn to surrender to the process, which, in turn, helped me to surrender a bit more to life. Because of the unpredictable results of the inkblots, I’m always surprised by the results and what people see in them.

Watch my interview with art critic Tabish Khan where I talk about the project and reveal his Animal in You painting 

Other Ways You Can Help

Animal in You is an insightful collaboration between artist and viewer and the paintings that result from this amalgamation of minds are delightfully surreal. The Animal in You series is about starting a conversation and opening your mind to see things from different perspectives, after all it’s very rare for different people to see the same thing in the same inkblot.

If you can’t support the campaign financially, please share it with those who might like the idea behind Animal in You. Ask them what they see. You might discover something interesting about them! If you know any animal lovers, psychologists or lovers of the human mind and how it works, please share this with them.

This is a great time to invest a small amount for an original oil painting and become a patron of mine.

Thank you for your support.

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