14/10/2024 Group Project Planning and Questions:
Initial questions about the project have been answered at this stage, such as how abstract the project needs to be and whether the idea of migrant stories that need to be heard should be pursued. After hearing everyone’s questions and their answers all of us had a clearer idea of what the next steps should be and where to start. The next step would be diving into research for the topic and generating initial ideas. 

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21/10/2024 Group Presentations & Feedback:
My presentation during the group sessions was about a magazine for people who feel like they don’t belong. Memories of migration—both direct and inherited—reshape the concept of ‘home’ and affect the identity and sense of belonging across different types of generations. (Please see notes from Google Slides below)

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This magazine would focus on how the nostalgia for a homeland one has never known creates a complex sense of identity—torn between their inherited roots and the modern reality of life in a foreign country. 

David and Jeanine were intrigued about the idea, but not completely sold by it. We already had an initial idea, which is a magazine for migrants, but what we needed was to refine the topic. 
On the other side, Mim said that the idea of dreaming and missing a place you’ve never been to is interesting but that we needed to be more specific. We needed to define who we are speaking to and how we can get to that audience. She also liked the idea of countertyping cultural norms and traditions, such as Nimisha Bhanot's art does. 

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31/10/2024 Individual Lecturer Feedback with Mim:
Before being assigned as our supervisor, we had requested a meeting with Mim to receive some guidance on our project. Based on previous feedback we were lost and didn’t know where to go next, and the 15 minute chat with Mim helped shed light on the next steps and the right path for us.

 

She agreed with our idea to make a zine, however she advised us not to generalise and pick a niche (refugees, women or children). We then realised that choosing a vulnerable audience would require the correct documents, so we needed to bear this in mind if we picked one of them. Mim also shared some valuable resources with us such as stackmagazine.com, which we then found inspiration from to experiment with type that migrates into pages.

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Based on the feedback received, we  needed to find an edge and then decide on what we want to look at specifically: the things we left behind or the place we never knew. 

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14/11/2024 Proposal and Indicative Creative Output Hand-in:
The initial proposal was based on a magazine called ‘A Place We Never Knew’ that uses rich visuals and storytelling to explore the identities of migrants across generations. The aim of the project was to portray a dreamlike vision of a migrant’s homeland by combining art, poetry and photography. We wanted to convey how the concept of ‘home’ is rooted in the tales told to ancestors who might have never been to the location but remember it vividly.

The feedback received on the proposal was that it needed to be framed with a question to answer - how, why, what, or which - after the title, and the connection to primary research, potentially using others, is unclear. There are elements that can be developed, for example it was not clear how we would bring first hand research with migrants into the research.

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Based on this feedback, the proposal was further amended with the help of our supervisor and was submitted and approved on the 08/02/2025. The changes made reflected how the first-hand research will be reflected into the methods used and how this project will be expanded beyond me and my co-creative. We understood that we needed to elevate the idea further than our own experiences and therefore amended the proposal and changed some of the phrasings and ideas. This way, we made the proposal reflect more than just us and our experiences, but something that can appeal to migrants in general, and bring them together. Please click            to access final and first drafts.

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Along with this, the creative indicative output workshop helped

with the submission and brought the initial ideas and thoughts

to life. My submission ‘Unknown’ was a collage of poetry and

pictures, mixed in a chaotic harmony to represent the different

states a migrant can go through. The name itself leads the

viewer to an illustrated abyss, which mirrors the feeling of

moving into an unknown country, as shown here. There are

multiple symbols, such as suitcases, maps and entryways

that lead to nowhere; open books and souls that mirror

emotions felt by me while being away from my homeland.

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Although the submission was showing some experimental

practice and was relevant to the proposal though the use of a

mood board and some exploratory typographic practice (according to feedback). What was missing was an indication of the edgy approach we talk about or the potential for creative written contributions.​ From the feedback received, I realised my submission should have been made clearer and closer to the project we are doing. For the future, I kept in mind to be less abstract especially at the start of the project. 

 

13/01/2025 Group Supervision Sessions. Evaluating progress over the winter break. Pre-Crit Discussion & Preparation:
Over the winter break, we have been advised to read some texts that will help us with our project, report and assigned roles: such as Human Migration by Clark, W. A. V. (1986)  and Social Life of Zines and Other DIY Micro-Media Constituting American DIY Communities and Scenes by  Verbuč, D. (2024). After reading the mentioned texts, finding more academic texts and researching the industry, the information has been collated into                      , which is outlined           as well (please click on both to access).

Researching, reading and looking at various artists’ work helped me come up with ideas more easily due to having more contextual knowledge. Along with this, me and my co-creative visited The Barbican, where we had the chance to look at Indian art, please see pictures          . 

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During supervision in class on 13th January, we told Mim the gathered insights and insightful lessons learned from the research, such as using light to discord images (spinning light box to explore with the constant progressions of the migrants’ journey or a rotating shadow lantern - telling stories and different perspectives).

 

Our supervisor then advised us to research into migrant and diasporic media. We looked into UK Fashion magazine ‘Hunger’, ‘The Gentlewoman’, and ‘The other side of hope’ (migrant literature), ‘Route’ (magazine), went hunting for zines in Shoreditch, SOHO bookshops for zines & books, ‘ICA’ bookshops. We also researched The Guerrilla Girls (fighting for quality) and Tanya B. (migration and identity) as seen         . We were also advised to research which groups of young women are immigrating to this country, what their experiences are and to interview these women, which would then help us get to the root of the issues and explore how to creatively represent this. 

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03/02/2025 Crits:
While preparing for the crits, me and my co-creative decided we would both do different versions of the same zine, with two very different aesthetics and we would then decide which one to present. However, we then found ourselves in a difficult situation, not knowing which one to choose, as we both loved the different visual languages of both. One of them very simplistic and aesthetically pleasing and one of them more unique and eccentric.

We then decided to go for both, and let viewers help choose which

option works best. Our classmates and lecturers were very helpful

with their feedback and impressed with our work! Most of the

feedback about the two opposite aesthetics was positive and the

viewers liked the duality of the two zines. Our lecturers said the

moving background was a nice touch and that the line drawing was

a good addition to the cover.

 

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Overall our crits presentation helped us a lot to move further with the project and develop it in final stages, as it gave us a clear idea: two opposing thoughts. It also gave us more confidence in our ideas, as we were unsure at first if some ideas are worth pursuing.

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17/02/2025 Report writing outline Advanced Projects Supervision 4:
After being asked to submit a report outline, Mim’s feedback via email was that it needed to be more specific and to have a clearer argument.

Please see right for the first draft submitted.

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I then re-wrote, and colour coded the outline, to which Mim

then said: ‘This looks good, a really clear argument for why

you are doing what you are doing.’

I can honestly say the report outline was of huge help to

me when writing the report, I never expected it to be that

helpful. I found myself following it every time I was getting

lost in my own train of thought and it helped me stay

within the topic. Please see the improved report outline

and my report          . Moreover, the outline and feedback

helped me ensure that examples are used over a couple

of paragraphs and by looking at the colours it can easily

be spotted. This brought my report together seamlessly

and ensured the points made are always backed up and

well researched. 

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10/03/2025 V&A Exhibition Visit:
When going to V&A, I have been advised by my supervisor to look online and find some things that will be specifically helpful at the visit.

At the museum I found inspiration everywhere, and took more than 100 photographs, as seen           .

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17/03/2025 Group supervision groups Advanced Projects Supervision 5:
David via email: ‘The main aim of this meeting is to discuss

what you are going to do for the practice exhibition. In the

practice exhibition each project should be represented by 1

exhibit, that can be a print, a video on a smart TV, a made or

found object, a sound work and so on. The item you choose

to exhibit does not necessarily need to be the same as what

you intend to exhibit in the final exhibition, but it should be

an output connected to your project'.

 

The aim of the lesson was to prepare for the exhibition, and

get feedback from supervisors on our ideas and progress.

During this group supervision, it was helpful to see the

progress our classmates have made, and everyone's

feedback.

The extensive research for the report, our Crits feedback and the visit to V&A have all helped us progress and establish insightful ideas on what to present during the Exhibition. We were tasked by Mim to have a flat plan for our zine and a double page spread each to prepare for the Interim Exhibition. So, we started making progress towards a more established visual language, brand assets, colour palette and overall zine editing (as seen above). This was a process as well, specifically figuring out the colour palette we wish to go for and which motifs to use consistently. This is when we also decided to go for the name 'Unsettled' instead of 'A Place We Never Knew'. We felt like this fit the trajectory of the zine we were going for, rather than the name we decided initially, when the zine was supposed to represent the memories of a home never known, please see here for full development process           .

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24/03/2025 Interim Exhibition Installation:
For the interim exhibition we had a lot of decisions to make, so my co-creative oversaw the line drawings and I was looking for the perfect captions and text that can be written in the double page spreads and overall visuals and layouts. That’s when we came up with the ideas of the dual zine, one side for hopes and dreams and the opposite side for the harsh reality, something that every migrant can relate to as this is the price of moving away. We then found the perfect letter to home and started piecing the work together. Printing turned out to be a long process, due to the system being slow but we came in on the Sunday before the exhibition in order to prepare and manage everything on time, so we had plenty of time to print everything up to our standards. 

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31/03/2025 Feedback on Interim report and Planning for Final Project Stages Individual Supervision Session 6:
During this supervision lesson, I received portfolio guidance, with advice on what valuable information is looked at  when grading, such as detailed explanations and chain of thoughts. Part of the grade is based on wording, what is important to remember is not to say what the feedback was but what this taught me and what I took from it. 

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22/04/2025 Individual Supervision Session 7:
During this supervision session, together with my co-creative we were able to show our

final editing stages, to get our supervisor’s approval before finalising the work. We

received valuable advice about printing and exhibiting the right way, as we want the

exhibition and the zine to look consistent. We discussed the possibility of a projector for

the exhibition, which is an idea that needs to be carefully thought out before executing

as it can get misleading. Our supervisor gave us advice on visual language for the

portfolio and some encouragement as the last days before the deadline approach. 

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05/05/2025 Individual Supervision Session 8:

The last supervision before the big deadline was very helpful. Although the portfolio

was 90% done at that point, I still had some doubts and questions. I received specific

guidance and advice on what to change and how to improve each section of the website,

and I also learned that I should include some pictures of what the plan for the

exhibition is. After the supervision, I was able to make the final edits to the site and

upload it successfully.