Evaluation-castle brief

Evaluation 

My final piece is a cutout lightbox titled Walk With Me, inspired by the idea of taking the viewer on a visual journey. It is made up of 38 layers of intricately cut card that generate a mystical land the viewer can imagine themselves walking through. The image is a composite of sketches drawn from memory and photographs of hikes and countryside walks with my children. I was exploring the concept of what cannot be seen behind Victor Pasmore’s gate. The overgrown vines create a sense that you're peeking into a secret space. I wanted to explore structure and depth through layering, using light to cast graduated shadows that reveal hidden elements and guide the eye through the composition.

During the development stage, I created a test piece using different materials to see how light interacted with them. I aimed to create a sense of depth and atmosphere by finding the right level of transparency for the layers. This helped me select the appropriate thickness of card that allowed light to pass through effectively. While testing the back lighting, I realised I needed white Perspex rather than clear, as the clear Perspex created a lighting effect that was too harsh. I also built my own lightbox, as I wanted to make the piece A2 in size while keeping costs down.

I faced many challenges when creating the sketches, such as figuring out how to design a layer without removing the negative space- this process would be done if I was sketching and cutting the layers by hand. To solve this, I used acetate to trace and build each layer—it worked well as I could see the previous sketched layers.  It became confusing at times, so I numbered each sketch to stay organised. Using Photoshop, I flattened all the layers containing the engraving and cut-outs for the laser cutting machine. This was a major setback, but I pushed through and was pleased with the new layers I created. I was able to add more detail to the trees, redraw the gate, and clean up and refine every layer.

I’m happy with how the final piece turned out, especially how the path draws the viewer’s eye through the lightbox. I think it looks much better now that I’ve added shading to the hills on the horizon and included my children’s shadows on the path. One of my favourite parts is the silhouettes of my children on the tree stump. The way the light shines through each layer and casts gradient shadows adds a soft, atmospheric feeling, which suits the reflective mood I was aiming for. I think the piece communicates a quiet sense of movement and invites people to imagine themselves walking with me through my memories.

This project helped me understand how important lighting and layering are when creating depth. I learned the value of thoroughly testing materials before finalising my choices. I definitely needed a stronger light source to shine through all the layers—most examples I’ve seen in my research use around 10 layers, whereas mine had 38. If I had the opportunity to create something like this again, I would spend more time planning and explore how to add more intricate detail to the background to make the scene feel even richer.