Emily Dunn

My inspiration for my composition is Hendra Gunawan’s ‘War and Peace’ (1950). The original painting was based on Hendra’s experiences at war. When the Japanese started to take over Indonesia, Hendra joined ‘Pelukis Front’ (painters’ front) where he depicted the battle scenes between the native Indonesians and the Japanese. When I first studied the painting, I was intrigued by the combination of both cool and warm hues.  The ideas behind this piece of artwork were the fleeting nature of the waves and just how quickly they can disappear, an idea that came to me whilst looking at Hendra Gunawan’s ‘War and Peace’. I love surfing, something we used to do around 10 in the morning, which I initially wanted to base my piece but instead decided to develop that. I knew to base my composition on waves. Expanding more on the idea of number 10, I wanted to showcase the number two different ways. I made the number 1 more traditional, but I made the 0 out of ten different sized circles. 

I am really happy with how this piece turned out. The delicate layering of colour and texture creates the surreal atmosphere I was hoping for. The use of a darker colour palette in the background and then lighter, brighter and contrasting colours in the foreground really add to the unique quality of the piece. However, I feel that this composition could have been more dynamic and could have benefitted from a stronger focal point. At the moment, the viewer's eyes are drawn to all of it. This artwork taught me the importance of finding balance between technique and concept, and I plan to use this knowledge in future projects.

My composition is an artwork that invites the viewer to explore the beauty and fragility of life. These waves were just a metaphor for how we have things in life that don’t last forever. I hope this inspires viewers to reflect on their own lives and cherish things whilst they last.