My peer interviews showed me that people were reminded of elements of nature, natural disasters, and fantasy creatures based off of nature when looking at my developed creature designs when given no context. I acted upon this feedback and researched a series of images that reminded me of parts of each character, and as a result I was able to find a deeper meaning and connection between my work and the origins of my inspiration, the Caribbean.
For the Soucouyant, I was told that it reminded my peer of a volcano due to its fiery head and hands, and had the menacing and threatening feel to it. A volcanic eruption can be a dangerous and frightening yet awesome spectacle, and the burning reds, oranges and blacks of the photos I found proved this. I also looked at fictional characters based off of volcanoes, such as Te Ka from Disney Pixar's 'Moana' (2016). As a malicious and corrupted being, she appears to be a looming and powerful force of nature in both the concept art and the final animated figure. Similar to the Soucouyant she also has flaming hair and a burning body. Furthermore I found it interesting that some of the Caribbean islands are volcanic or based near underwater volcanoes, such as Grenada and Montserrat and that this was a fascinating coincidence.
When comparing the Jumbie to nature, my peer told me that the mouth reminded them of termite holes in wood. From this I looked at different types of wood rot, such as water rot, and branches hollowed out by termites e.g. used as didgeridoos, floor board louse holes and surface wood rot. I also took the opportunity to look at fantasy creatures and images, such as the conscious walking Ents from Lord of The Rings, and the Weirwood tree faces from Game of Thrones. The Weirwoods were most striking to me as the solemn and melancholy expressions carved onto the trees reminded me of the frightening yet sad expression on the face of the Jumbie. Another peer had told me that the Jumbie evoked feelings of sadness as well as fear, and so the comparison between the Weirwood carvings and the Jumbie's face, inspired by Yoruba masks, opened up my perspective more. I find it interesting how an expressionless, yet living being can be so easily turned into something almost human and empathetic, as demonstrated by the carved faces.
Lastly, I looked at cyclones and hurricanes as viewed from satellite imagery. This reminded me of the recent natural disasters caused in the Caribbean by hurricanes Irma and Maria, that tore through the Caribbean islands and the east coast of America in 2017 and caused some of the smallest islands, such as Barbuda, to be evacuated. I chose to look at these images because the twisted face of the Douen after 3D digital sculpting reminded me of the eye of a hurricane as viewed from above. Hurricanes are a natural part of Caribbean life. In the summer of 2017 I met some of my relatives on the island of Grenada who told me stories of their frightening lives during the weeks of the devastating hurricane Ivan in 2004. Like a hurricane, the Douen in the folklore has no regard for others and selfishly drifts around, causing harm to children and adults. Once again, I found this visual resemblance to be a fascinating coincidence.
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