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Morgan Dunbar.jpg

Morgan Dunbar

Morgan Dunbar.jpg

Self-Recognition Through the Other

Etching on Steel
30x36cm
2024

 

Featuring 'Head of a Young Woman' by Edward Byrne-Jones with the body of a vulture, forming a complete Harpy facing away from its reflection cast in a bird bath. Originally a creature from mythology, the word harpy now is used to describe a "very unpleasant woman". The title comes from the philosophical theory of the same name and quote: "Self Recognition through the Other: I watched what happened, happen to someone else; Upon a distant reflection, I realised that someone happened to be me."

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A Little Bit About The Artist

What is your favourite style of painting and why?

Back when I was younger and I actually painted personally, I was very into Surrealism; specifically because of the symbols used to convey abstract emotions and ideas through an aesthetic lens, individual to each artist. In general these days however, I have been drawn to what is described as Prelapsarian art, due to it's pure essence and softer filter, which I like to use in my own work.

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What’s your favourite Movie or Tv show?

My favourite film of all time is Howl's Moving Castle by Studio Ghibli, probably because of how whimsical and beautiful the movie is, it also reminds me of certain times in my life when I was younger and struggling and I escaped to fantastical worlds through imagination, similar to the one in the movie. Likewise, my guilty pleasure and favourite TV show since being a teenager, has always been Rupaul's Drag Race. I love seeing drag being treated as an art form and an environment separate to reality which is based around celebrating alternative and inclusive identities; the show really shaped my formative years and still gives me a lot of laughs even after rewatching it so many times.

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What’s the biggest influence on your work?

Psychology and Philosophy have always played an important role in influencing the ideas behind my practice. I would describe my process as a form of psychoanalysis on my own childhood and how it has manifested in my adulthood, translating my experiences and emotions into work. There is conscious effort towards trying to approach it in an effervescent way to try and touch upon the child's free state of mind when creating. The psychological studies of child development play a key role, but also themes of attachment, comfort, and emotions can sum up a lot of my works. In the final year of my studies at Art School, I took a deep interest in Marxism's theory of Reification, mostly due to its discussions on the value of objects when viewed through the lens of a Capitalistic society. Using this as a tool for cross examination, I compared this theory with certain attachment theories in Child Psychology due to the nature of specific objects having an intrinsic value compared to a material value, and while this theme has taken a back seat for now, it is still something that influences my practice and it's research heavily: the value of emotional, comforting objects.

For More On This Artist

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