T4 WK 4 - THE EMPATHY MAP

My Empathy Map for my project - Mu/Between Footsteps

Reflection:

Using an empathy map can be helpful because it encourages you to step outside your own perspective as the artist. By imagining how viewers might think, feel, say, and act, you gain insight into how your work communicates emotionally and conceptually.

Audience responses will not always be consistent. Different viewers bring their own experiences, cultural backgrounds, and expectations to the work. In fact, it reflects the open-ended nature of the concept of 'mu', where meaning is not fixed but emerges through encounter.

Materiality:

Cyanotype is both a photographic process and a material within the work. The iron-based chemicals react with light to produce the distinctive blue pigment known as Prussian blue. When applied to surfaces such as paper, canvas, or fabric, the cyanotype becomes embedded within the material itself, making the photographic image part of the physical structure of the artwork rather than a separate printed layer. Much like ink or charcoal.

This connects to the research question because the images emerge through partial control rather than complete precision, mirroring the uncertainty present in the concept of 'mu'. The deep blue tonal range also creates a visual atmosphere of memory. The colour often feels associated with memory, water, or the sky, which reinforces the sense that these moments exist between presence and disappearance.

Printing cyanotypes on materials such as canvas or hessian also changes how the photograph behaves. Instead of appearing as a clean photographic print, the image becomes embedded within a textured surface.

The photograph moves away from being a precise record and becomes a material trace of time, light, and movement. This shift strengthens the conceptual framework of the project by allowing the material itself to express the instability and openness suggested by the idea of 'mu'.