#criticalevaluation

My project ‘Portraits’ developed from wanting to feel more comfortable using a studio and digital medium format cameras and an interest in macro photography. I wanted to experiment with still life photography, which is something I haven’t really explored before, and create extremely detailed images of fruit and vegetables. My project is all about imperfections that people in our western society are ashamed for having and I wanted to show that people shouldn’t be embarrassed about them as it is something out of our control and is found in other forms of nature.

The journey of what I should photograph was a struggle. I first started with fruit and veg that didn’t show true imperfections, maybe for humans for instance hair and spots, but not for the fruit themselves. I found out that there is an EU law on what fruit and beg can be sold in the UK, and discovered a ‘People’s Supermarket’ that sells the fruit and veg that don’t pass the law. Here I discovered true deformities in fruit and veg and related them to more serious imperfections and deformities for humans. For example, in my project there are scars, sprangel’s shoulder, elephantiasis, vitiligo and Piebaldism.

As I had never really done still life before, I wasn’t 100% sure on how to best display and light my studio. I first started with an ordinary table and a plain white backdrop which covered it. I used two soft boxes, one high on the right of the object and the other level with the object two its left. I wasn’t happy with the outcomes of this shoot as firstly the fruit and vegetables I used were disappointing in themselves as they weren’t unique, secondly the lighting appeared dull and didn’t give the images any shine which is what I was after. From this, I then decided to use a light table to brighten up my image a little more because it was more reflective of light than the paper. I changed the lighting around slightly, still using soft boxes. However, I was still creating shadows that I didn’t want, so in my last shoot I light the table up from underneath using a floor light, and still kept the two light boxes above to help even the light out. In the end, I was happy with how the images were coming out, however there were images from the other shoots where I really liked the vegetables in them, so I decided to edit them slightly more in Lightroom and Photoshop than the ones needed in the last shoot.

I experimented with different medium format cameras and found that I didn’t get on with the Hasselblad at all, so many things kept going wrong with the camera itself as well as the shoot that day. However, I mainly used the Phase One, which I can safely say I worked well with and will definitely be using that camera in my future projects.  

As I child I trusted my parents and therefore didn’t stop to question whether what they thought was best for me, was the best; but as children I’m not sure we’re equipped. It’s not something we’re emotionally equipped to do.

It’s not that I didn’t trust them; but I needed to trust myself more. I needed to consider how valid and reliable their information was; what its strengths and weaknesses were; what the merits were and whether the information being presented were really in my own best interests and right for me.

As the adult, I understood and saw where decisions being made weren’t right; that where we think others have our backs, they have their own backs more. It’s usually what they want. It’s also an insecurity thing. To come out of their comfort zone creates more uncertainty. That they would rather continue to evaluate things for us through their own evaluations for themselves.

Of course the same principles apply to other areas too. When we use critical evaluation, we’re working on developing our understanding in more detail, as we come to evaluate, assess and judge any given circumstance or issue, in the hope that we can solve it.

In semester one when i  started my second attempt of graduating university. This time with more enthusiasm and more hopes. It was hard to star at first , i was lacking ideas and had troubles focusing on what i am interested in. I wanted to continue an old project , but i eventually did not. I browsed through the list in the module pack fro the ideas. In Digital  Practice we were asked to select one of the 10 points that offered us a starting point, an idea that could potentially develop in to a project. To be honest I do not really remember what was my choice back then. Eventually i came back to the idea of making sculptural objects that glow in the dark. I tried installations and discovered glass to be a potential full material. I started making mirror etchings. I was interested in the technology of etching since year one, but the method i discovered presented something unique to me. Something i personally haven’t encountered before. I researched the topic and could not really find any artists that would be doing mirror etchings. In semester two I decided to merge Digital and Art and Design practices in to one. This allowed me to manage my work. I have decided to share the work between two modules. Taking photos and editing them – part of Digital Practice. Composition, sketching and drawing – part of Art and Design practice. This allowed me to produce a few pieces of work this semester that i find to be quite successful in terms of visual appearance, technique, presentation and material. What i think is a big change this time, is that my thinking radically changed, my work started motivating me to create more. Perhaps because this is probably the first time in my life when I enjoy my work. One of the final pieces i presented this year is a triptych , Untitled. What i find successful about it? As above, the method of making. And the ability to judge work without being blinded. I like how the piece evolved from 1 mirror sized 10 x 10 cm to a massive trio. The process of making took some experimentation with the colour pallet and the mechanism of etching. I learned how to etch the mirrors in order not to damage the glass , so the images would remain more clear when placed in to an etched mirror. I think the most successful aspect of this year was actually making work that i felt a connection with. Why glass? Why etchings? Why folklore? Why so dark? I have always seen glass as a very elegant material to work with, but i never really had a chance to use it in my work. As mentioned before i was fascinated with the simple technique I discovered , so i just kept on making work. Seeing what happens. Etching was the only accessible safe method of working with my mirrors. Also it created a pattern on the glass that helped with merging the image with the glass/mirrored layer behind the glass. I was always interested in folklore, one of the reasons is – I am pagan, and so is my family. Folklore holds a massive amount of historical information, I just find it arousing curiosity, all these stories of mystical creatures and the unknown. The triptych that i have been working on for quite some time started of with an urban legend. i wan not sure what i wanted to achieve in  the end so i just started etching this big mirror. How does a 2d image work in a fake 3d space? How does a human perception of  a mirror work? What makes people look at reflective surfaces differently? (Unlike at 2d imagery) I think the difference is in expectation. We expect to see ourselves in a reflective surface rather than any other information. Does that make us narcissistic to a certain extent? Or is it just curiosity? These are the questions i think often about. I would like to think that my work has something to offer for the society, or at least will have something to offer to the society by the end of year three. I am also interested in the psychological aspect of the mirrors. I believe the answers to my questions are there.

Another set of mirror i have produced this semester was a set of 8 medium sized mirrors.

they were produced as a series of experiments on a larger scale rather than a project.

Still exploring the same questions, thinking about the idea of looking in to the mirror and subconsciously expecting to see something new, yet a reflection of oneself.

A collection of 14 mirrors – I have been researching fairy tales and picked 2 to be illustrated in a way within the mirrors.

I picked a young model and a older model to create an age contrast between the characters.

in my work i would like to talk about the aesthetics of a black and white image that combines a human body with geometrical imagery as a strong contrast.

lines hinting towards the idea of censorship.

i wanted  the piece to combine the beauty of shape in different types of human body (face, hands,shoulders,lips,hair,upper body parts.)

Aiming for it to target different audience .

The models i have picked – one of them is a friend of mine from year one, the second model is an old friend of mine.

I purposely idealised the younger model in photo shop and edited the older model less.

I wanted to keep the age contrast.

I recently realised why i felt connected to this work.

I read an article about mirrors this year, about the damage the media does to the society with the standards of body and appearance. I think it is ugly.

In my work 2 models are spitting black ink.

I was referencing bulimia in my work.

The idea of throwing up black.

Black as a symbol of consumed food to be hated.

I used flowers and apples in my photo shoots to accent the idea of health damage.

And how this body torture gives a feeling of satisfaction.