The Danger Tree collection takes its name from the only tree left standing on the battlefield during the fighting, and is inspired by classic WWI poetry.
THE WORLD’S FIRST AUGMENTIST FINE ARTIST
www.scarlettraven.com
Scarlett Raven (b.1986) is a British painter. She studied fine art at Central St Martins. Scarlett describes herself as an Augmentist. www.scarlettraven.com
SCARLETT RAVEN THE DANGER TREE A Visual Arts Experience
Design: Bruno Tllley , Content: Tim Fennell (2016)
SCARLETT RAVEN THE PAINTER WHO IS ABOUT TO CHANGE THE WAY YOU VIEW ART. FOREVER. Raven is its premier exponent.
Scarlett Raven works predominantly in oil. Fifteen years ago she created a painting that made someone cry. With The Danger Tree exhibition, she has produced a body of work with similar aspirations to enkindle the senses. This time Scarlett comes armed with a tool designed to take the painting process to a place far beyond the canvas. Scarlett is the World’s First Augmented Reality Fine Artist. Augmented Reality (AR) strips away the layers of her paintings to reveal Scarlett’s creative journey beneath: the thought processes, the paint strokes, the inspiration, the effort, the musings, the mistakes. It is a place where digital meets analogue. Where paint collaborates with pixels. And Scarlett
They say a picture paints a thousand words. Under the surface of Scarlett’s AR paintings are tens of thousands of other images, overlaid and layered with thought and inspiration. A thousand words doesn’t begin to cover it. To unlock the AR layers beneath each work in The Danger Tree, simply use Blippar. Download the free app onto your smart phone or tablet. Open it up and point your device at the artwork. Try it now on the painting on the opposite page to unlock an interview with Scarlett. Then do the same for each artwork in this programme, every time you see this logo . Be one of the first to view what no other art in the world can show you.
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THE SHELTER THAT WASN’T THE TRAGEDY AND A PILGRIMAGE THAT INSPIRED AN EXHIBITION
Raphael, made a pilgrimage to France to pay his respects to the fallen of The Somme. He visited The Danger Tree, returning home with a simple memento: soil from the ground where The Danger Tree had once stood. Her father’s reverence made a lasting impression on Scarlett who immersed herself in the history and poetry of the time. When Raphael died, Scarlett made her own pilgrimage to The Danger Tree. “I felt an enormous loss. I also felt a huge connection, through my father, with that part of history. That became the catalyst for The Danger Tree exhibition. I wanted to draw attention to the humanity behind the horror. It is my interpretation of a devastating, yet also touching, part of human history.” The exhibition features ten oil on canvas
paintings, each of which triggers augmented reality layers of hidden reference beneath the surface of the painting. These integrated elements include photographs, audio recordings, text, animated graphics, archive film, music and sound effects. The exhibition space has been transformed into a bombed-out French farmhouse, overlooked by The Danger Tree.“I want the show to have a very visceral context,” notes Scarlett. “The augmented reality will take the viewer even deeper into that process.” Alongside the AR, beneath the surface of each painting sits a very physical embodiment of that era. “I used the soil my father brought back, mixing it into my paint. It became an integral medium in each of the paintings in The Danger Tree. A true enshrinement.”
At 7.15 on the morning of 1 July, 1916, thousands of British and French troops started their fateful advance on foot across No Man’s Land toward the German trenches. Thus began the Battle of The Somme. By the end of that day, more than 57,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers were killed, wounded or missing. Two hours after the start of battle the trenches were so full of dead and dying that troops from The Newfoundlanders -- part of the 29th British Division -- were forced to start their push forward from a quarter of a mile behind the front line. By the time they reached No Man’s Land, the enemy trenches were still half a mile away. The Newfoundlanders headed for the shelter of a gnarled tree, halfway down a slope, one
of the few things left standing on an already shattered landscape. As they made their way down the slope, under a hail of enemy bullets, many of them tucked their chins in, as if they were walking into a blizzard back home. The ones that made it found little respite as the tree was an easy landmark for the German artillery. It became known as The Danger Tree, as it marked the spot where many of the Newfoundlanders would eventually fall that morning. The Battle of The Somme would rage for another five and a half months, finally ending on 18 November. The spot where the Danger Tree stood is still marked today. Though long since replaced, it has become a commemorative gathering point. Four years ago, Scarlett Raven’s father,
A BRAVE NEW ART WORLD HOW SCARLETT RAVEN MADE SENSE OF THE WORLD THROUGH PAINTING. AND THEN REINVIGORATED IT WITH TECHNOLOGY. BY JOHN-PAUL PRYOR
“My paintings evolve alongside me: recorded journeys of my feelings, experiences, and ideas. There wasn’t this raw proximity before augmented reality -- now you can engage on a deeper level. Now you can see the unknown.” Her interest in The Danger Tree story lies in how this monolithic tragedy plays into our understanding of the human condition and how its memory resolutely defines our perception of contemporaneity. While providing a penetrating exploration of an historical moment, The Danger Tree exhibiton also feels like a forensic examination of the artist herself. The incorporation of personal ephemera into the canvas provides a psychological unveiling of the artist. It is the intensely physical mark making indicative of a process via which a deliverance of identity is achieved. “All the layers of who we are and who I am are in here,” says Raven. “My darkest secrets, my happiest thoughts. My art needs to move, to shift feelings. It’s like a swan plucking at its feathers. Without it I have no idea who I am.” The subsequent augmentation of this process displays the passion of a raw empathetic soul; one reaching deep into the tragedies of the past in order to seek out meaning in a world where the soil is perpetually, and lamentably, enriched with the blood of those who have fallen. John-Paul Pryor is Senior Editor of Flaunt Magazine and Contributing Arts Editor to AnOther Magazine.
As a young girl, Scarlett Raven’s dyslexia was so profound she could only communicate using art. She deciphered the real world by reading between the lines. Through painting, she rebuilt the world in a way she understood. Imaginary conversations with Frida Kahlo also helped. The true beauty and profundity of art is as much about what is hidden, or imagined, as it is directly portrayed or communicated. In nature it is the distant sound of the unseen humming bird, as much as the deep green of the grass beneath one’s feet, that goes to complete the personal experience of any garden. Nature is important to Scarlett Raven, and it is precisely these ambiguous spaces between the lines of experience -- and the intangible elements at the heart of any form of expression -- that she seeks to explore in her latest exhibition, The Danger Tree. She takes as its source material the haunting words of some of The Great War’s poetic voices and a tragic rendezvous point in one of the bloodiest gardens in human history. Scarlett is an action painter, using hands rather than a brush. To watch her paint is like watching a conductor: sweeping gestures, arms
deep in the momentum of orchestrating paint and whatever else comes to hand. The sculptural nuances of her paintings nod towards Anselm Kiefer. The layers of medium -- both real and augmented -- float somewhere between impressionism and expressionism, and Scarlett’s animated style of delivery and free-form manipulation of paint call to mind the canvas-hovering antics of Jackson Pollock. Scarlett is the first Augmented Reality fine artist, deconstructing the process of painting via the mediated realities of modern technology. Using a digital interface, she takes the viewer on a journey mapping the various layers and stages via which a blank canvas becomes a repository for unfettered emotional impulses. It’s a fascinating process that throws into sharp relief that great question of whether a work of art is ever truly finished. Her poignant undertaking pits the past against the present, reframing history and classic painting techniques through the increasingly magical lens of 21st century technology. “The chaos of the layers within the painting makes it a living thing,” explains Raven.
THE DANGER TREE “THIS ISN’T ABOUT DEFENDING A COUNTRY, IT’S ABOUT DEFENDING THE HUMAN HEART.”
“The poetry of war is immune to propaganda. It is beautifully, brutally honest. Everything is true and raw and terrifying and soul-breaking. It moves me deeply. For a painter working from the heart, with honesty and freedom, it is an incalculable invitation. The Danger Tree is not a normal exhibition. I want it to crash into people and open them up. It isn’t about defending a country, it’s about defending the human heart. Painting is catharsis. I explore the darkest and most purest parts of me. And of humanity, past and present. Augmented Reality allows me to expose the layers of the physical and mental processes in my work. And of me. I open myself up so I can break everything apart. Then piece everything back together again, stronger and better. Every mark, every thought, every movement, every feeling is there to be analysed and I have to ride that, no matter how uncomfortable. I have to love myself more and be proud of the mistakes I make. Soldier, poet, painter -- we are all humanity.”
2016.
In Flanders Fields Oil and mixed media on canvas (2015)
The Last Post Oil and mixed media on canvas (2016)
Dulce Et Decorum Est Oil and mixed media on canvas (2015)
Anthem For Doomed Youth Oil and mixed media on canvas (2015)
In Times Of Peace Oil and mixed media on canvas (2015)
The Last Laugh Oil and mixed media on canvas (2015)
The First And The Last Oil and mixed media on canvas (2016)
Suicide In The Trenches Oil and mixed media on canvas (2016)
Black Poppy Oil and mixed media on canvas (2016)
The Soldier Oil and mixed media on canvas (2015)
WHEN ANALOGUE MET DIGITAL ONE PAINTING, 20,000 IMAGES PLUS A FEW STUPID MISTAKES. HOW SCARLETT RAVEN EMBRACED AUGMENTISM.
stop-motion. I also work closely with film composer, Marc Canham, who scores all the AR. He is an amazing musician. I brief him on the emotional tone I’m after. Sometimes I let his experience guide the music and sometimes I get a little more involved with detailed notes or sourcing a guide track -- or ‘temp score’ as it’s known - for him to interpret in his own way. He is extremely intuitive and always gets the right vibe very early on. Everything is always driven by the creative anchor which is the painting itself. I’ve made plenty of stupid
Four years ago I made a stop-motion film, using my body as a canvas, which documented my work process. I’d often hidden behind my art and I’d reached a stage in my life where I wanted to reverse that, to open up. My mentor, digital artist Marc Marot, suggested I develop the idea further and apply Augmented Reality technology to my paintings. This allows people standing in front of the artwork to see the hidden layers using the Blippar app. I liked the idea that art in its most analogue form could become divulged by embracing a digital medium. The first painting was quite
mistakes along the way. I’m still learning and the process is still evolving. I storyboard the process and Marc Marot handles the digitial side, under my supervision. The first painting in The Danger Tree exhibition was In Flanders Fields. Research required trips to the Imperial War Museum and much genning up on the subject. I’m very dyslexic so I looked around and managed to find
simplistic. I recorded every touch of brush or hand on the canvas and the final result was a simple rewinding from final painting to white canvas. It was a success and it gave me the appetite to do more. I have worked hard on developing the AR process,
with Marc becoming more and more involved in the technical vision. The process is far more complex now and incorporates blue screen, time-lapse, and
part of the augmented reality. Embracing AR has changed the way I work immeasurably. The process has changed my relationship with art forever. I like working on my own, I get lost in it, but working with another artist has been a revelation for me. I’m the paint and Marc is the pixels.
like Sophie Okonedo, Sean Bean, Christopher Eccleston, Gemma Arterton, Stephen Graham and Vicky McClure. I listened to those poems over and over again while I was painting in the studio until I became convinced the words were actually ingrained in the paint. They now form a very key
a wonderful series of readings of the Great War poems on YouTube. They were read by people
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BEHIND THE SCENERY THE AWARD-WINNING TEAM THAT CREATED THE DANGER TREE SET
COD STEAKS is a team that builds sets for movies and music promos. The Danger Tree exhibition set took four weeks to complete. Says Renae Cronin from Cod Steaks: “Part of the design phase is to create a narrative for the set, like identifying where a bomb has exploded, which walls would be affected, where the dust would settle, etc. Structural integrity of the setworks is crucial and so the challenge is building structurally sound elements which have the illusion of being close to collapse.”
KAVE QUINN is an award-winning film set designer who worked on Trainspotting, Shallow Grave, The Woman In Black and Far From The Madding Crowd. Kave’s brief was to convert the gallery space into a blown-out building from 1916 France. Hanging from the walls that are still standing are Scarlett’s paintings. On the edge of all this, surveying the wreckage, is a replica of The Danger Tree itself. “I wanted to give context to the exhibition,” notes Scarlett Raven. “Kave Quinn has done exactly that.”
Film set designer Kave Quinn’s visualisation of The Danger Tree exhibition space
THE FINE ART OF PRINTING SCARLETT RAVEN WORKS WITH PRINT MASTERS WASHINGTON GREEN FINE ART TO PRODUCE LIMITED EDITION PRINTS OF HER ORIGINAL PAINTINGS
Spitfire Park sits on the north east edge of Greater Birmingham, a three hour journey from Scarlett Raven’s hometown of Chichester. It is also home to the headquarters of Washington Green, the UK’s most prominent publishers of limited edition art. “It’s a trip I look forward to,” she says. “It can get lonely working in the studio.” And Washington Green clearly like having her around the place. “Scarlett is a joy to work with,” says Creative Director, Glyn Washington. “Her enthusiasm and drive are contagious. Her talent renders the part we play in her artistic career an absolute pleasure.” Washington Green has represented Scarlett Raven since 2014 when she featured in their Summer Exhibition. They have produced a series of limited edition prints for The Danger Tree
project, some hand-embellished, and all signed by the artist. “The process to translate Scarlett’s original work to a limited edition is extremely collaborative,” explains Glyn on the attention to detail. “The nature of Scarlett’s technique, with her signature impasto finish, means that we need to work closely alongside her to ensure that the finished product reflects the depth and intricacy of her originals.” Above all, Scarlett is fiercely protective of her relationship with the original paintings. “I fall in love with my paintings unconditionally. They have a life after me. They have their own purpose, their own vision and destiny. The joy of editioned prints is that they can reach so many more people. I like to think of my art touching as many people as possible.”
SCARLETT WOULD LIKE TO THANK…
SEE WHAT ANXIETY LOOKS LIKE Mental health charity MIND helped Scarlett through a difficult period in her life. As a thank you she created this oil & mixed media AR painting called One In Four. “The layers beneath this work tell the story of my battle with anxiety. It’s a battle that millions of people fight on a daily basis. I wanted to share that.”
Blipp the above image for full exhibition credits.
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