INVISIBLE CITIES

Online Greenlight
Review

Alexandra Martin
16/10/19
Armilla
Baucis
Diomira
Ersilia
Esmeralda
Esmeralda
Fedora
Isaura
Leonia
Moriana
Phyllis
Sophronia
Tamara
Thekla
Zenobia
ESMERALDA
 MISSION STATEMENT

After looking at all of the cities and creating thumbnails for each I found that the cities Isaura, Leonia and Esmeralda stood out to me the most. After some thought I
decided on Esmeralda as I was interested in the duality between the beginning of the text describing the pathways, and the end of the text, where the writer describes
the rats, sewers and manhole covers. I found that the description reminded me of Cornish seaside towns, the steep cobbled paths, all surrounded by water.

In my thumbnails I focused on the streets, the text described them as a ‘zigzag’, so I looked at old English and French streets. I feel that the 16th century style
architecture from both countries fits well how I imagined the city to look. The mixture of grand Cathedrals with small leaning houses and shop fronts. The idea that this
city is built around water suggest parts of it would be dank and run down, lots of water in the air (e.g. fog).

My thumbnails are black and white so when I produce my digital paintings I plan to use muted colours as well as some dark tones to create things like shadows. I intend
to use a mixture of earthy and autumnal tones.

I have decided that the most interesting time to depict this city would be dusk/after dark. I want to focus on the shadows cast by the street lamps as well as other things
lurking at night. For the exterior I want to emphasise the endless winding streets and canals that create a maze like pattern. For the interior I plan to show a public space
like a pub or bank. Conversely I am also looking at the idea of showing a factory or warehouse.

Overall, I hope to create three pieces that translate Italo Calvino’s text into a depiction that creates the same effect on the viewer as the reader.
INFLUENCE MAP (EXTERIOR)
INFLUENCE MAP (INTERIOR)