Photography- task 1 “yourself in objects”

When thinking about what objects convey a sense of self for me I was mainly drawn to the idea of what would be the main focuses of those who see my for the first time. In this way I took time to consider the things that are noticeable on the surface of myself and my initial thought was my love for taxidermy, I have accumulated a small collection of oddities and this is something that I really enjoy showing off as it has been a massive fascination of mine for a long time. You can observe some of my collection within the images, although I wanted to create an environment for these items to sit within as I thought simple pictures of my collection would seem quite simplistic and stark.

Over lockdown I have found much comfort in paganism and learning more about the religion and what it means to me. I have particularly found crystals very comforting and knew that this is something that I would love to display within the images. I think that they add a subtle and complimentary spark of colour to the images and look really good with the lighting experiments. I wanted to see how I could use diverse lighting to create something that I found aesthetically pleasant. I used an intricate candle burner to cast beautifully complex waves of shadow across my images along with tealights and smoke from sage to create something I thought was pretty. I also experimented with a violet lens for my camera and some violet lighting, I really like how these experiments turned out.

I also thought that the first things people see when looking at me is my makeup and my overwhelming obsession for doctor marten boots, I suppose it has become something that people know me for now. I tried to meet the theme of the palette that I was photographing, which is why I added a tarot deck and some crystals to it which I really liked in the end, it took a while to get the lighting how I wanted it but I think I was able to capture some pretty pictures of it in the end. I wanted to show a direct contrast with the doc martens and the white roses, I think a lot of people would say I am quite feminine in appearance but my fashion contrasts my looks in the same way that the boots contrast the flowers.

Artist research-

Jake Hicks- Gel Photography

It is Hick’s seemingly stunning photography that has drawn me to his works, his background as a photographer and lighting specialist when used together to create a progressive aesthetic is stunning to me. I really enjoy the heavy uses of pink and purple which is something that I also tried to capture with coloured LED’s in a dimly lite room. Hicks states, “being technically very proficient, and with a strong background in the pre-digital era of photography, my ability to capture dynamic visuals ‘in-camera’ without the need to rely on heavy post-production and photo manipulation has always made me far more adaptable on shoot day. It is for this reason that I have been the preferred choice for those clients who want to remain part of the creative process from start to finish”. I really enjoy his use of non edited lighting and images that have a breathtaking finish, this is something that I tried to capture when taking my own images and something that will continue to inspire me.

Artist research

Gerhard Richter-

Richter self described as a visual artist has produced abstract as well as photorealistic paintings, and also photographs and glass pieces. regarded as one of the most important contemporary German artists of the 21st century and several of his works have set record prices at auction. He utilises both photographic and fine art elements into his pieces, layering paint over prints to create a unique and interesting visual. I would love to do something experimental like this with my self portraiture, I find the idea of incorporating elements of painting into photography to be very appealing. I think that the paint adds interest and intrigue to the photographs and makes one wonder what the full image is and why certain parts have been covered and others exposed. It leaves much room for interpretation and wonder.

Duane Michals-

Duane Michals is an American photographer. Michals’s work makes innovative use of photo-sequences, often incorporating text to examine emotion and philosophy. Michals first made significant, creative strides in the field of photography during the 1960s. In an era heavily influenced by photojournalism, Michals manipulated the medium to communicate narratives. The sequences, for which he is widely known, appropriate cinema’s frame-by-frame format. Michals has also incorporated text as a key component in his works. His handwritten text adds another dimension to the images’ meaning and gives voice to Michals’ singular musings, which are poetic, tragic, and humorous, often all at once. I am particularly drawn to the black and white theme has running throughout his work and the slightly surrealness of his images. I love how he uses projection and nature along with human forms to naturally alter their appearances. This is something that I could see myself trying to recreate.

Man Ray-

Man Ray was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Surrealist movement, although his ties to each were informal. He produced major works in a variety of media but considered himself a painter above all. His art spanned painting, sculpture, film, prints and poetry, and in his long career he worked in styles influenced by Cubism, Futurism, Dada and Surrealism. He also successfully navigated the worlds of commercial and fine art, and came to be a sought-after fashion photographer. He is perhaps most remembered for his photographs of the inter-war years. I really enjoy his photography for the distortion of faces and how he used glasses and printed images to alter the appearance of faces. I would love to use elements like this to distort my own portrait and show a sense of a distorted self perception, I think this would be really interesting. 

Initial Ideas-

I really liked the idea of using my own reflection from the beginning I think there is something very fascinating about how mirrors and clear surfaces can be used to distort our appearance, I want there to be a clear distortion of self and in a way show my own self perception (which is often warped and altered through my own vision). I also liked the idea of printing out my images and adding things like paint and other things that would alter how the images are viewed. I think the combination of these ideas are complimentary and will get the message across.

My Project-

I started this collection of photos off with a time-lapse of painting my own reflection in the mirror, this was an idea that I liked after getting the initial brief, although I was skeptical about how this would turn out and if it would even be something that I would consider using. I set the camera back at my eye level in the hopes of it showing the process as if I was being watched, the camera being set back behind me also makes it more personal in my opinion as it not only shows the process of creation but also myself both reflection and physical. The painting took around 30 minutes to complete, from the beginning I was just trying to replicate what I saw in the mirror, however the layers of paint slowly covered the reflection and I found myself forgetting what I looked like. It was strange that I see myself daily yet when the mirror was taken away from me I panicked as my memory was betraying me, this is where my mind took over and my main concerns seemed to turn to my insecurities and how I hated how my nose looked and how my eyes were different sizes, my forehead was large, my chin was weak and small, my eyes are surrounded by dark browns and reds from lack of sleep and my lips thin and pale. I found myself recalling these insults I tell myself daily instead of trying to think about the things I like. Seeing myself compared to this is strange though as it bares a similarity to me yet the things I am insecure about are exaggerated in the painting.

I took some quick pictures after painting the mirror of me posing with it, I tried to keep expressionless as to make the painting and my face look as similar as possible. What stands out to me the most is how small and thin my nose looks compared to the painting ( this is something that I have always disliked about myself) and seeing how it looks nothing like how I remembered it is strange. I think I was able to capture the movement and style of my hair very well even though it was only a few brush strokes. I have come to like how I look a little better after seeing how mean I was to myself when painting my portrait, even though I resemble the painting it is something that is merely a display of how I make myself look in my warped self perception even though I was looking at a perfect copy of my face.

I really adore these images they turned out better than what I thought they would, I wanted to show how easily someone’s self perception could be warped and decided to use a glass of water to distort parts of my face. I used a black and white filter to force the viewer to strain while focusing on what the images are actually displaying, therefore making the distortion almost unhuman. The glass enlarged small parts of my face and kept the rest looking regular, I really enjoy the effect that it gave the images. I set up a camera and tried to position myself in different ways to try and make the result as effective as possible.

I added bubbles the same images as I thought that the bubbles would cover certain parts while exposing certain parts, I think that the images turned out visually interesting and really make you work for the complete image. To further manipulate the images I also used a scarring pad to scape into the image, however I kept this image coloured as I thought that having the saturation turned down it would make it too difficult to read. I also added paint to one of the images, the only thing that is left of this image is the nose and mouth which I think is quite interesting. I enjoy how the images became more abstract in character towards the end of the series and I think I was able to capture the manipulated self perception that I wanted to from the beginning.