initial ideas: mindmap and pinterest board
https://uk.pinterest.com/stella9573/transformation/
To provide some initial inspiration for the theme, I visited the Fashion Space Gallery to see an exhibition.
Mad About The Boy explores fashion’s obsession with youth, focusing on the way ideas of the teenage boy are constructed through specific collections and fashion images. Sparked by the success of designers like Hedi Slimane at Saint Laurent, Raf Simons and Gosha Rubchinskiy – all of whom seem to share a fixation with youth culture – the exhibition sets out to examine the tropes and parallels within fashion’s treatment of youth, unpicking the many notions of the young male that feature in fashion’s imagination, from outsider to sexual fantasy to reveller. It presents the work of a variety of designers and image-makers, current as well as select examples from the 1980s and 1990s, for whom the boy provides a constant source of inspiration. Testimony about masculinity and youth is also included to shed light on the sense of fluidity and possibility that many associate with teenage years – a time of perceived infinite opportunity, spontaneity and creative freedom. It includes photography, fashion pieces and art installations.
It transforms and somewhat subverts the traditional idea of masculinity- exposing it as a flexible concept as opposed to a concrete idea, forcing the audience to reconsider their own perception of gender. It links to the theme in that it reveals the ways in which a societal 'norm' or accepted structure can be transformed through looking at it through 'new eyes' or with a more open mind. It inspired me to think more about how something abstract can be transformed too.
Mad About The Boy explores fashion’s obsession with youth, focusing on the way ideas of the teenage boy are constructed through specific collections and fashion images. Sparked by the success of designers like Hedi Slimane at Saint Laurent, Raf Simons and Gosha Rubchinskiy – all of whom seem to share a fixation with youth culture – the exhibition sets out to examine the tropes and parallels within fashion’s treatment of youth, unpicking the many notions of the young male that feature in fashion’s imagination, from outsider to sexual fantasy to reveller. It presents the work of a variety of designers and image-makers, current as well as select examples from the 1980s and 1990s, for whom the boy provides a constant source of inspiration. Testimony about masculinity and youth is also included to shed light on the sense of fluidity and possibility that many associate with teenage years – a time of perceived infinite opportunity, spontaneity and creative freedom. It includes photography, fashion pieces and art installations.
It transforms and somewhat subverts the traditional idea of masculinity- exposing it as a flexible concept as opposed to a concrete idea, forcing the audience to reconsider their own perception of gender. It links to the theme in that it reveals the ways in which a societal 'norm' or accepted structure can be transformed through looking at it through 'new eyes' or with a more open mind. It inspired me to think more about how something abstract can be transformed too.
Time transformation
The quest to capture eternal youth is something that has fascinated man throughout the ages and has been the subject of many books and films. The evolution from youth to old age is something that will eventually effect us all. In class, we transformed one of our classmates' faces into that of an old person's, using photoshop. This 'instant-ageing' would demonstrate the effect of time and how it transforms youthful features into old age on our subjects.
PROCESS
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After completing the above steps, select the eraser tool and rub out any overlapping elements of the old portrait to tidy up the image. Then, change it to black and white to eradicate any colour inconsistencies.
RESULTS:
RESULTS:
Keywords: photomontage, ripped, similar, ageing, overlapping.
Mise en Scene: the image consists of two members of the same family (in separate photos) combined into one by the ripping of both images and collaging together. There are two examples. The features line up, and it is only the head that is collaged.
Process/technique: Individual portraits are taken of two family members in similar poses. The negatives are printed at equal size and torn and glued together to make one image of two family members. The technique for assembling this montage is 100% analog – film to paper- no digital manipulation is used to alter or enhance the original images.
Content: The photographer intended to answer questions that are fundamental to human nature- e.g 'who am I? where did I come from?' to try and understand both human connection to the world and "our place in a long history of family and forebears". He did this by visually placing the two family members in immediate vicinity to each other, thus highlighting all the similarities and differences between the faces and hoping to gain answers to the previously mentioned questions by comparing the two to each other.
He also intended to portray his interest in facial features, the effect of ageing and how DNA is passed down in the family. He did this by using members of the same family. This allows the viewer to visually map the ageing process and decipher which features of the younger person belong to the parent in the photomontage and which belong to the other, non pictured parent. The apparent similarities often trick the audience in to thinking that the two models are the same person at different ages. This raises further questions about self-awareness and the role that genes and environments play in someone's appearance. By creating this series, Adams demonstrates how some aspects of our futures were codified at the moment of conception. This composite photograph could be viewed as an eerie life-map as well as being a useful and interesting comparison of family members.
Mise en Scene: the image consists of two members of the same family (in separate photos) combined into one by the ripping of both images and collaging together. There are two examples. The features line up, and it is only the head that is collaged.
Process/technique: Individual portraits are taken of two family members in similar poses. The negatives are printed at equal size and torn and glued together to make one image of two family members. The technique for assembling this montage is 100% analog – film to paper- no digital manipulation is used to alter or enhance the original images.
Content: The photographer intended to answer questions that are fundamental to human nature- e.g 'who am I? where did I come from?' to try and understand both human connection to the world and "our place in a long history of family and forebears". He did this by visually placing the two family members in immediate vicinity to each other, thus highlighting all the similarities and differences between the faces and hoping to gain answers to the previously mentioned questions by comparing the two to each other.
He also intended to portray his interest in facial features, the effect of ageing and how DNA is passed down in the family. He did this by using members of the same family. This allows the viewer to visually map the ageing process and decipher which features of the younger person belong to the parent in the photomontage and which belong to the other, non pictured parent. The apparent similarities often trick the audience in to thinking that the two models are the same person at different ages. This raises further questions about self-awareness and the role that genes and environments play in someone's appearance. By creating this series, Adams demonstrates how some aspects of our futures were codified at the moment of conception. This composite photograph could be viewed as an eerie life-map as well as being a useful and interesting comparison of family members.
Object Transformation
Penn's approach to the still life evolved over decades; from the 1930s onwards, he arranged everyday objects to create assemblages, which transcended their origins and original purpose to become conceptual works of art.
In the case of Cigarettes however, Penn literally found his subjects on the street. By bringing them into his studio and carefully creating these minimalist compositions, he transformed one of the most widely consumed and discarded products of consumer society from that of pure detritus into a symbolic representation of contemporary culture. This transformative act resulted in one of the most elegant yet direct expressions of post-modern artistic practice.
Cigarettes sheds light on the development of the still life under Penn’s lens, whereby something as disposable and worthless as a cigarette butt is endowed with artistic value.
As a response to Penn's work, we went out to find and photograph everyday objects that we would transform into works of art in the studio. These included a christmas tree, sofa stuffing, decaying flower petals and cigarette packets. We photographed the objects where they were found and then up close in the studio. When in the studio, we used appropriate lighting to fully illuminate it.
In the case of Cigarettes however, Penn literally found his subjects on the street. By bringing them into his studio and carefully creating these minimalist compositions, he transformed one of the most widely consumed and discarded products of consumer society from that of pure detritus into a symbolic representation of contemporary culture. This transformative act resulted in one of the most elegant yet direct expressions of post-modern artistic practice.
Cigarettes sheds light on the development of the still life under Penn’s lens, whereby something as disposable and worthless as a cigarette butt is endowed with artistic value.
As a response to Penn's work, we went out to find and photograph everyday objects that we would transform into works of art in the studio. These included a christmas tree, sofa stuffing, decaying flower petals and cigarette packets. We photographed the objects where they were found and then up close in the studio. When in the studio, we used appropriate lighting to fully illuminate it.
my response:
I tried to choose objects that were visually or texturally interesting, and that were more than just pieces of litter. I also took inspiration from Penn, specifically looking for things that humans have used/touched to explore the different interpretations they would offer in the studio. Photographing them in a studio enhanced their decay; the pristine white background and full lighting exposed further imperfections that weren't immediately obvious where they were found.
artist & me
I chose to compare these two images as they both depict cigarettes, and are in black and white. It is interesting to see how their branding and their logos have changed over time; whilst Penn's are in traditional, old font, the newer ones have a modern typeface and a health warning that would not have been included on older packets of cigarettes. Also, Penn's image is a close up of the actual cigarette butts, whereas I photographed a packet. However, both show signs of decay and deterioration.
Transformation of the camera
Photography is a medium which is constantly evolving. The quest to fix an image has occupied the thoughts of men for centuries. Below are three different forms of photography that different generations have used to capture the image in front of them. To demonstrate this, we took self-portraits on 3 different mediums:
1 ) Pin Hole Camera
2 ) Film Camera
3 ) Digital Camera
This highlighted the difference in clarity and colour between them, and also the technological leap that photography has made in the last few years.
1 ) Pin Hole Camera
2 ) Film Camera
3 ) Digital Camera
This highlighted the difference in clarity and colour between them, and also the technological leap that photography has made in the last few years.
Darkroom workshop: chemigrams
As an extension of the transformation of the camera task, we experimented further in the darkroom transforming and creating images. We produced a series of chemigrams, including nivea prints, cyanotypes and adding different chemicals to each piece. Chemigrams are made by directly manipulating the surface of photographic paper, often with varnishes or oils and photographic chemicals. They are produced in full light and rely on the maker's skill in harnessing chance for creative effect.
Cordier has described his works as a mutation, as hybrid and marginal - fake photographs of an imaginary, improbable and inaccessible world. Writing to Cordier in 1974, the photographer Brassaï exclaimed: 'The result of your process is diabolical - and very beautiful. Whatever you do, don't divulge it!
The simplest form of chemigram involves the application of photographic developer and fixer to gelatin-silver photographic paper, using the chemicals like watercolours. Developer creates dark areas, while fixer produces lighter tones. Cordier used this method here, pouring rather than brushing the chemicals on to a lightly oiled sheet of photographic paper.
The simplest form of chemigram involves the application of photographic developer and fixer to gelatin-silver photographic paper, using the chemicals like watercolours. Developer creates dark areas, while fixer produces lighter tones. Cordier used this method here, pouring rather than brushing the chemicals on to a lightly oiled sheet of photographic paper.
NIVEA PRINTS
We created these by putting nivea cream on different parts of our body (hands, fist, face/ facial features) and pressing them on to photographic paper. Depending on the body part used, this produced fairly abstract results that could be interpreted as completely different things- e.g one of my brow bone looks like a small figure. We could then choose to develop them normally, or reverse the normal developing process by placing it into 'fix' rather than developer first. This process reminded me of Cordier's work, where he experimented with changing the sequence of the chemicals applied. This produced an interesting result- if we placed it in fix first, the background would go white whereas the developer gave a black background. Furthermore, if we chose not to wash off the excess cream before developing the paper, the print came out pink which was intriguing. To transform them further, I experimented with pouring lucozade, oil and sugar on to some undeveloped prints and left them for around 10 minutes. This created lighter and darker trails with speckles for sugar and added further interest to the prints. I have detailed the matching process to the image in each caption.
cyanotypes
Malin Fabbri is a photographer that studied and produced cyanotypes. She was interested in the hand-coated quality of the images and their vivid blueness as an alternative to normal colour film that she had previously been shooting on. She liked the process and results so much that she ended up basing her Masters thesis on it; creating a website called 'cyanotypes.com' for other artists to showcase their cyanotypes. She also commented on it's versatility and accessibility as a photographic process, citing it as a "gateway to further exploration of alternative processes".
I like the distortion of the face in the portrait and it's colour.
I like the distortion of the face in the portrait and it's colour.
As another way to transform a portrait, we experimented with creating cyanotypes. A Cyanotype is a photographic printing process that produces a cyan-blue print. Engineers used the process well into the 20th century as a simple and low-cost process to produce copies of drawings, referred to as blueprints. The process uses two chemicals: ammonium iron(III) citrate and potassium ferricyanide. We took a digital image of ourselves and inverted it on to acetate. We then put cyanotype paper behind the acetate overlay and placed it in the sun for 10 minutes. After rinsing the photographic/cyanotype paper under water, the cyan blue print was produced. The results proved Fabbri's explanation to be correct; cyanotypes are an accessible, yet effective method of photographic experimentation.
Transformation of a landscape
Tate Modern's major exhibition “Performing for the Camera," is a fascinating and carefully researched survey that explores the intense relationship between photography and performance. Somewhat surprisingly, it's not at all an exhibition about selfies (although they do make an appearance in the form of Amalia Ulman's conceptual Instagram persona).
Organized by Tate's senior curator of photography Simon Baker, the show gathers 500 works spanning 150 years, which tackle various questions to do with (self)representation, shifting identities, and posing.
Seen from our social media-obsessed vantage point, these are all topics that one is tempted to describe as “timely." Baker illuminates through this show that they are in fact as old as the photographic medium itself, regardless of new technological developments. Photography, Baker claims, has always been performative, ever since it was first invented circa 1839.
It’s about self-exposure and self-dramatisation,the dynamics of confrontation: between photographer and subject, image and spectator. Photographic space becomes a theatre. Sometimes the photographer is witness, sometimes collaborator, sometimes the one in front as well as behind the camera. The exhibition explores the relationship between photography and performance, engaging with serious, provocative and sensational topics, as well as humour, improvisation and irony. It shows how photographs have captured performances by important artists including Yves Klein and Yayoi Kusama, and ground-breaking collaborations between photographers, performers and dancers. Below are 3 of my favourite works from the exhibition.
Organized by Tate's senior curator of photography Simon Baker, the show gathers 500 works spanning 150 years, which tackle various questions to do with (self)representation, shifting identities, and posing.
Seen from our social media-obsessed vantage point, these are all topics that one is tempted to describe as “timely." Baker illuminates through this show that they are in fact as old as the photographic medium itself, regardless of new technological developments. Photography, Baker claims, has always been performative, ever since it was first invented circa 1839.
It’s about self-exposure and self-dramatisation,the dynamics of confrontation: between photographer and subject, image and spectator. Photographic space becomes a theatre. Sometimes the photographer is witness, sometimes collaborator, sometimes the one in front as well as behind the camera. The exhibition explores the relationship between photography and performance, engaging with serious, provocative and sensational topics, as well as humour, improvisation and irony. It shows how photographs have captured performances by important artists including Yves Klein and Yayoi Kusama, and ground-breaking collaborations between photographers, performers and dancers. Below are 3 of my favourite works from the exhibition.
Released as a book in 2000, 'Autoportrait' by Martin Parr is a collection of photographs not actually taken by him, but, rather, taken of him. During his travels for assignments, Parr would have his photo taken at various portrait studios, by street photographers, in photo booths, any avenue he could find where he could walk away with a photo of himself. What resulted was a diverse collection of portraits, kitschy and over edited, all saturated with satire and irony as is typical of Parr. With many photos of Parr edited beyond recognition, and most completely staged, the project inspires a reevaluation of the idea of identity and the art of the photographic portrait.
I liked this photoseries as it was somewhat comical and the over-saturation and unrealism made these a dated, yet accurate reflection of the tourism in the various places that he visited. I also liked the concept; grouping all of these images in to one ironic series with the photographer as a subject. |
Masahisa Fukase presents here a visualisation of madness and death. Bukubuku (Bubbling), is the last series Fukase completed and exhibited before a debilitating fall which left him in a coma for 20 years and later cost him his life. The series is made up of self-portraits made in the bathtub with a waterproof camera.
Taken from an essay of one of Fukase's friends: //there was, behind the scenes, a growing atmosphere where people had started to have misgivings about Fukase's confused and failing behaviors. Friends had started to worry about him living alone, and his incident characterized Fukase as a photographer. // The photoseries was shot carefully and consistently; shot day by day. Test shots were taken with care as he calmly framed himself accurately in the tiny stainless steel bathtub floating unsteadily. Fukase's autistic photography act, where the revelational digital numbers showed the date, continued exactly for one month. |
strand 1: distortion/scannography
For my first strand, I wanted to explore how images could be transformed by distortion, and the extent to which the distortion would affect the final piece. An effective method of demonstrating this came in the form of scannography: using a digital scanner to disrupt an image or object, sometimes beyond recognition. This is achieved by physically moving and dragging the desired photo/object across the screen whilst the light scans it, and results in patterns and disruption that entirely transform the initial work. I used my body parts, previous cyanotypes & prints, objects like shells and images of celebrities to respond to it.
my response:
strand 2: projection photography
For my second strand, I decided to try projection photography. It is interesting to see how altering the projected image both transforms the model's physicality and affects the mood of the overall photo. I also like how light plays a big part in the success and poignancy of each photo- darkness presents a completely different meaning than a brighter image when projected on to the same figure.
I first projected images that I found on the web that I thought would be visually entertaining on to the models, and then used my own images that were on my laptop taken previously.
I first projected images that I found on the web that I thought would be visually entertaining on to the models, and then used my own images that were on my laptop taken previously.
Keywords: patterned, blend, vintage, wallpaper, positioned
Mise en Scene: The image is composed of a vibrant patterned wallpaper which fills the entire frame. In the centre, facing away from the audience is a body; posed turning away and with the arms meeting above the head. The pattern of the background carries on and covers the entire body. The only non-patterned bit of the image is the woman's hair.
Process/technique: Paredes perfects the technical aspects of each photoshoot (location, lighting etc) with her crew one week before photographing. A week later, they return to the pre-arranged location and she paints her assistant (using body paint) according to the pattern by which they will pose next to. She also sometimes paints fabric instead of actual skin. She then takes images , then swaps roles with her assistant. She instructs the assistant to paint her identically under her guidance, then poses whilst being photographed.
Content: Through her 'photo performances', the photographer intended to portray the confusion and crossover between a female body and nature. She does this partially by photographing her body nude. This allows her to be completely blended in to the background pattern (as she can be painted fluently) and therefore convincingly confused with the background. It suggests that the photographer views her body (or the female body in general) as a sacred zone, not profane, and is aiming to restore it's forgotten perception as something miraculous amidst the technological chaos that currently surrounds us. This is further enhanced by the poses in which she places herself (or her model). The rounded shape created in this image by the arms could be interpreted as a visual representation of growth/flowers/plants. The unity created by the touching hands could also represent strength and completeness: something that Paredes tries to demonstrate. I think it is deliberate that she has left just the fingertips without the bold red motif, to expose it as a central focal point and highlight the touching/unity.
Paredes tries to create the body as a tool/sign, and describes it as "a vehicle to express our thoughts". This is confirmed by the fact that she changes the position of her body and the patterns on them in each shot to portray a different meaning. She describes how locations (e.g Peru) evoke different sensations which she tries to capture too. For example: if the location is serene and beautiful, the colours and pose will be very calm and controlled- making androgynous shapes and creating a pleasing image. The images seem to have a double meaning to them, in that the elaborate body paint can be seen as both providing a protective layer of concealment as well as the reassuring effect of adaptability to the surroundings. This creates a contradictory parallel between desire to escape and longing to be accepted; which provides similarities to the theme 'Apart and Together'.First observations
Mise en Scene: The image is composed of a vibrant patterned wallpaper which fills the entire frame. In the centre, facing away from the audience is a body; posed turning away and with the arms meeting above the head. The pattern of the background carries on and covers the entire body. The only non-patterned bit of the image is the woman's hair.
Process/technique: Paredes perfects the technical aspects of each photoshoot (location, lighting etc) with her crew one week before photographing. A week later, they return to the pre-arranged location and she paints her assistant (using body paint) according to the pattern by which they will pose next to. She also sometimes paints fabric instead of actual skin. She then takes images , then swaps roles with her assistant. She instructs the assistant to paint her identically under her guidance, then poses whilst being photographed.
Content: Through her 'photo performances', the photographer intended to portray the confusion and crossover between a female body and nature. She does this partially by photographing her body nude. This allows her to be completely blended in to the background pattern (as she can be painted fluently) and therefore convincingly confused with the background. It suggests that the photographer views her body (or the female body in general) as a sacred zone, not profane, and is aiming to restore it's forgotten perception as something miraculous amidst the technological chaos that currently surrounds us. This is further enhanced by the poses in which she places herself (or her model). The rounded shape created in this image by the arms could be interpreted as a visual representation of growth/flowers/plants. The unity created by the touching hands could also represent strength and completeness: something that Paredes tries to demonstrate. I think it is deliberate that she has left just the fingertips without the bold red motif, to expose it as a central focal point and highlight the touching/unity.
Paredes tries to create the body as a tool/sign, and describes it as "a vehicle to express our thoughts". This is confirmed by the fact that she changes the position of her body and the patterns on them in each shot to portray a different meaning. She describes how locations (e.g Peru) evoke different sensations which she tries to capture too. For example: if the location is serene and beautiful, the colours and pose will be very calm and controlled- making androgynous shapes and creating a pleasing image. The images seem to have a double meaning to them, in that the elaborate body paint can be seen as both providing a protective layer of concealment as well as the reassuring effect of adaptability to the surroundings. This creates a contradictory parallel between desire to escape and longing to be accepted; which provides similarities to the theme 'Apart and Together'.First observations
strand 3: destruction/ decay
Keywords: corrupted, broken, decaying, peeling, vibrant
Mise en Scene: This image consists of a picture of a room, but it is barely visible under the obvious destruction and decay the image has undergone. A window is visible at the end.
Process/techniques: Yass photographs former dance studios then put the large-format transparencies around a demolition site - on diggers, under girders, in piles of glass and rubble - and then retrieved them some weeks later damaged scratched, ripped, and transformed them by colour reactions on the emulsion.
Content: Yass is interested in the psychological and formal properties of architecture and recording time and space. She portrays this by photographing simple yet practical and recognisable spaces, like a dance studio and making them almost unrecognisable via the various transformative processes she puts them through.
She also wanted to transform her own memories of the places she photographed and personalise them. She did this by photographing the old locations, placing them on lightboxes and putting them back into the new building. She did this to depict “small windows into a past and interior world illuminated by imagination and memory”.
Mise en Scene: This image consists of a picture of a room, but it is barely visible under the obvious destruction and decay the image has undergone. A window is visible at the end.
Process/techniques: Yass photographs former dance studios then put the large-format transparencies around a demolition site - on diggers, under girders, in piles of glass and rubble - and then retrieved them some weeks later damaged scratched, ripped, and transformed them by colour reactions on the emulsion.
Content: Yass is interested in the psychological and formal properties of architecture and recording time and space. She portrays this by photographing simple yet practical and recognisable spaces, like a dance studio and making them almost unrecognisable via the various transformative processes she puts them through.
She also wanted to transform her own memories of the places she photographed and personalise them. She did this by photographing the old locations, placing them on lightboxes and putting them back into the new building. She did this to depict “small windows into a past and interior world illuminated by imagination and memory”.
For my third strand, I wanted to explore the effects of decay and destruction on images. Catherine Yass is a photographer who destroys her images physically. Group f/64 was a group of seven 20th-century photographers who shared a common photographic style characterised by sharp-focused and carefully framed images. In part, they formed in opposition to the Pictoialist photographic style that had dominated much of the early 20th century, but moreover they wanted to promote a new Modernist aesthetic that was based on precisely exposed images of natural forms and found objects.
They are largely regarded as taking 'perfect' images, so I decided to destroy one of their landscape photographs in an attempt to subvert perfection and transform it into decay. For the portraiture element, I took Bert Stern's iconic portrait of supermodel Twiggy as it is a great example of 'perfect' portraiture and plan to physically ruin it. With the still life image, I plan to spread food on it and leave it to mould, thus subverting the initial perfection and transforming it into something disgusting and related. Below are the mentioned images.
I want to destroy the images with a relevance to their individual subject matter. For example, the portrait will be destroyed by the physicality of movement and the landscape will be left to decay by nature.
my responses:
PORTRAITS
LANDSCAPE
decay/destruction (strand 3)
After exploring 3 different strands of transformation photography, I decided to develop the third: decay/ destruction of different genres of photography. I chose to further experiment in transforming portraiture and still life photos as they represent accessible and recognisable genres with lots of room for experimentation and potential transformation. I plan to destroy the images I take in relevant ways to the content.
PORTRAITS To develop the idea of transformation via destruction, I took a series of 'perfect' portraits if some of my friends. I achieved this by taking them in the studio so I would have the neutral/shoot style white background and was able to control and alter the lighting according to my needs. They ended up very plain and almost like school photos, which is an interesting concept. I plan to print these out and destroy them by using everyday products that you would use on yourself; e.g nail polish remover, make up remover and other skincare products. This will transform them in a relevant way to the subject matter. I may also experiment with burning some and other methods of destruction. |
hand sanitizer |
shower gel |
The different products produced vastly different effects on the images, especially when burnt. For example, the hand sanitizer preserved and protected the image from the flames, which led to interesting results wherein the model's face was still evident amongst the rest of the completely burnt surroundings. Contrastingly, the shower gel was flammable and burnt the whole image.
landscape
For the landscape section, I went to Hampstead Heath and Kenwood House in an attempt to take classic landscape shots. I also chose to go on a sunny day to enhance the outdoor feel and hopefully improve the resulting images.
After visiting Kenwood House and the Heath, the images were picturesque, but lacked something that would make them 'perfect'. This may have been because of the time of year and it's effect; although I chose a sunny day to go, the trees were bare and the atmosphere wasn't necessarily the best for emphasising the destruction. However, I did like photographing landscape as a sub-genre under 'transformation' as I feel there are many ways that transformation can be achieved (more so than through portraiture or still life). I may return to and improve upon this by refining my options moving forward.
fruit/ still life
Keywords: growing, grotesque, extra-terrestrial, texture, terrain
Mise en Scene: This image consists of an entirely moulded fruit/vegetable that is so decayed that it's beyond recognition.It's background is black.
Process/technique: The photographer used a macro lens and digital camera in a studio setting to capture the image and mould in high definition.
Content: The photographer intended to portray the extent to which objects can be transformed naturally. He did this by letting the fruit decay for a long period of time (many months) which allowed bacteria/mould/fungi to grow on it. He also took this one step further by aiming to create 'other-worldly' landscapes - ones so beyond recognition that they are considered alien.
Leis also intended to address the concept of after-life in this appropriately titled body of work. He did this by letting the fruit 'die' by death of bacteria/fungi, and documented the aftermath. Perhaps, by doing this, he created parallels between perception and reality of the afterlife with humans: depicting it as unpleasant and biological rather than holy or spiritual.
The photographer due inspiration from some potatoes they had once left out in a pot for too long. He noted how "they had started to mold and on closer examination the colors and textures looked interesting enough to take some photos."
Mise en Scene: This image consists of an entirely moulded fruit/vegetable that is so decayed that it's beyond recognition.It's background is black.
Process/technique: The photographer used a macro lens and digital camera in a studio setting to capture the image and mould in high definition.
Content: The photographer intended to portray the extent to which objects can be transformed naturally. He did this by letting the fruit decay for a long period of time (many months) which allowed bacteria/mould/fungi to grow on it. He also took this one step further by aiming to create 'other-worldly' landscapes - ones so beyond recognition that they are considered alien.
Leis also intended to address the concept of after-life in this appropriately titled body of work. He did this by letting the fruit 'die' by death of bacteria/fungi, and documented the aftermath. Perhaps, by doing this, he created parallels between perception and reality of the afterlife with humans: depicting it as unpleasant and biological rather than holy or spiritual.
The photographer due inspiration from some potatoes they had once left out in a pot for too long. He noted how "they had started to mold and on closer examination the colors and textures looked interesting enough to take some photos."
my response:
After letting mould grow on top of the famous still life photo, I liked how it was being physically destroyed by the growing bacteria and transformed the exemplar image into something grotesque. To develop this idea, I decided to flip it so that I would take 'perfect' images of the already transformed fruit, in the style of Heikki Leis. I achieved this by bringing it in to the studio and using the bright lighting and white backgrounds to provide the suitable setting. I also used a macro lens to photograph the mould in detail and up close.
artist & me
I chose to compare these two images as they both portray an arrangement of rotting fruit/vegetables. Also, they are taken via the same process; letting the fruit mould and grow bacteria and then taken in to a photography studio to be photographed. They both use macro lenses to accurately photograph the microorganisms close up. However, there are also some obvious differences between the two images. For example, Leis' food has been left a lot longer and probably in more bacteria-desirable conditions, so there is a lot more extensive mould growing on it than mine, which was only left for a fortnight. Also, Leis used a black background whereas I used white. this made the white mould stand out more.
mould on film
I also decided to take pictures of the moulded fruit on film and make prints from them. I liked how this offered a different texture and age to the images, and fit well with the subject matter (more so than the sharper digital images). Because of this, I am going to experiment more with film in my project. |
development: destroying film
Keywords: bacterial, broken, flakes, cracked, desert
Mise en Scene: This image consists of a black background, covered in a sand coloured/blue/green layer. It's cracked and inconsistent, with flakes all over. It looks like the surface of a barren planet, or a desert from space. Process/technique: Bacteria taken from the photographer's body was cultivated on film and left for a while. Then the actual bacteria was removed, leaving the remnants behind. Content: The photographer intended to produce photographic images that are entirely created by a chance. He has done this by leaving the bacteria to grow with no control or restrictions placed on them, which will result in the random alignments and patterns formed on the final images. He also intended to create an unusual self-portrait. He has been removed from the process but, at the same time, the images are a product of his body; self-portraits. This is because he has taken the bacteria from his body and then let it grow on film- so they are linked to him biologically and aesthetically. Raitanen also wanted to want to raise questions about representation and reality; "the nature and the place of [the] photographic medium in contemporary society" through this work. This was achieved via the concept that the images are just a piece of degraded and deconstructed film. This reveals the components that create the illusion we perceive as a reflection of the reality in the photographic image. |
Keywords: ethereal, galactic, melt, bleached, trail
Mise en Scene: This image shows a pastel blue/purple background with chemical trails on either side. The top of the image is black and has been obliterated. Process/technique: Miller used a damaged polaroid camera to take and warp these images. The exact method by which each polaroid would be transformed was random; the prints were entirely at the mercy of the faulty camera. Content: The photographer intended to pursue a photographic endeavor whose only narrative is the internal processes of photography itself. He did this by letting the broken camera dictate everything about this work: the process occurred by some chemical chance and the resulting image appeared accordingly. He also intended to educate himself on a new, unusual photographic process that differed from his normal job of photojournalism, citing that "This doesn't happen in journalism". Any representational remnants of the original image as well as any hint of the will of the photographer become re-contextualised inside this new dynamic. He effectively had no control over the results. This project, Ruined Polaroids, is an unintended exploration into the three-dimensional physical character of an antiquated photographic medium. It touches on the concept of chance, and questions of what constitutes a photograph. It is unintended because it is focused on a technological anomaly; a failure turned success. |
To develop the idea of decay, I found some old film in the darkroom and used various chemicals on it to destroy it and transform it. On one section of the film I squirted washing up liquid, on the next bleach and I scuffed the last section on the floor. I then made prints from the damaged film. This reminded me of the earlier chemigrams workshop, in which I took inspiration from Pierre Cordier's random experimentation with photographic chemicals. I tried to incorporate this concept when working on the film.
washing up liquid/ acetone
bleach
scuff/scratching and washing up liquid
It was interesting to see how all the different substances effected the resulting images- the washing up liquid seemed to cause streaks with small crystal-like structures in them, whilst the scuff/scratching was evident in thin scrapes through the image.
The bleached ones weren't so obvious; they altered the light and white balance on them. To develop this, I want to experiment further with the bleach by using colour film and varying the methods in which the bleach is administered to see the effects of that. Also, using found film made it more interesting to see the final result (as I hadn't seen the images previously or had any idea of their content/when they were taken). Moving forward, I want to take some of my own pictures and experiment on them. |
visual progress map
Keywords: colour, spacey, bleach, pastel, chemical
Mise en Scene: This image consists entirely of chemical stains/bubbles/imprints. There us nothing concretely recognisable as a subject matter; it has been completely transformed into a mass of colours and patterns. The main colours are blue, purple, pinky-orange and yellow-green.
Process/technique: The artist used bleach and other acids (lemon juice, vinegar) on film to create the image.
Content: The photographer wanted to explore the corrosive effects of everyday acids in his work series. He did this by bathing the strips of film in “Coffee, vinegar, soap, hydrogen peroxide and oven cleaner", citing them as “basic items that we all have in our kitchens". By doing this, he also made this medium of photography instantly accessible to an amateur or everyday artist that would normally not have access to more scientific chemicals.
He also intended to gain a further understanding from his process and body of work, and elicit different responses from different people. Malghan reported that he found the abstract results hugely gratifying. “I can show one image to 10 different people and get 10 different responses,” he says.
motivations for work:
Malghan is partially motivated by subverting the restrictive pressures of the art world. Bleached is a one-finger salute to the overly serious art world that wraps its work in pretension and self-importance. Malghan simply wanted to play and experiment; to do instead of think. “Everything around me [in photography] was literal and standing on the shoulders of lengthy explanations. So I went the other direction,”
Malghan draws inspiration from The Power of Sour on Your Teeth campaign. After reading extensively about it, he began to consider the acidity all around us, particularly in candies and food, and what would happen if he combined acid and film emulsion.
Mise en Scene: This image consists entirely of chemical stains/bubbles/imprints. There us nothing concretely recognisable as a subject matter; it has been completely transformed into a mass of colours and patterns. The main colours are blue, purple, pinky-orange and yellow-green.
Process/technique: The artist used bleach and other acids (lemon juice, vinegar) on film to create the image.
Content: The photographer wanted to explore the corrosive effects of everyday acids in his work series. He did this by bathing the strips of film in “Coffee, vinegar, soap, hydrogen peroxide and oven cleaner", citing them as “basic items that we all have in our kitchens". By doing this, he also made this medium of photography instantly accessible to an amateur or everyday artist that would normally not have access to more scientific chemicals.
He also intended to gain a further understanding from his process and body of work, and elicit different responses from different people. Malghan reported that he found the abstract results hugely gratifying. “I can show one image to 10 different people and get 10 different responses,” he says.
motivations for work:
Malghan is partially motivated by subverting the restrictive pressures of the art world. Bleached is a one-finger salute to the overly serious art world that wraps its work in pretension and self-importance. Malghan simply wanted to play and experiment; to do instead of think. “Everything around me [in photography] was literal and standing on the shoulders of lengthy explanations. So I went the other direction,”
Malghan draws inspiration from The Power of Sour on Your Teeth campaign. After reading extensively about it, he began to consider the acidity all around us, particularly in candies and food, and what would happen if he combined acid and film emulsion.
Further development- destroying film/prints
To develop the previous experiment (destroying found film) I decided to try it on my own images. I liked how, in my previous observations of destroying found film, the different substances both chemically and visually altered the prints.
I took 2 rolls of colour film in Costa Rica, with the aim of photographing idyllic places/landscapes. I did this as I liked the element of the portraiture work I did earlier in the project which juxtaposed the beauty or 'perfection' of the subject matter and the destruction of the result piece, but felt that landscapes were a more versatile subject matter to transform. These scenes would be a whole world away from the arguably unsuccessful observations in Hampstead Heath as there would be far more opportunity to photograph properly beautiful and picturesque scenes.
I also chose to do it in colour film as this would produce more interesting images and results, and hopefully interact with the bleach more. Malghan's colours in his bleached works also inspired me to use colour film; I felt it would let the bleach run and mix the colours to produce results that wouldn't be possible with black and white film.
To destroy them, I used diluted thick bleach. I experimented with using a paintbrush to make patterns with the bleach and letting it drip down the image. This created interesting effects; the most bleached areas were completely washed out and turned white, with other areas going a burnt orange, yellow or red colour. It also reminded me of Cordier's work in which he let the chemicals drips down the paper to observe a more interesting and alternative result. I liked the results as it completely transformed the images, and it was fairly easy to control which elements of the pictures you wanted to accentuate or obliterate.
I took 2 rolls of colour film in Costa Rica, with the aim of photographing idyllic places/landscapes. I did this as I liked the element of the portraiture work I did earlier in the project which juxtaposed the beauty or 'perfection' of the subject matter and the destruction of the result piece, but felt that landscapes were a more versatile subject matter to transform. These scenes would be a whole world away from the arguably unsuccessful observations in Hampstead Heath as there would be far more opportunity to photograph properly beautiful and picturesque scenes.
I also chose to do it in colour film as this would produce more interesting images and results, and hopefully interact with the bleach more. Malghan's colours in his bleached works also inspired me to use colour film; I felt it would let the bleach run and mix the colours to produce results that wouldn't be possible with black and white film.
To destroy them, I used diluted thick bleach. I experimented with using a paintbrush to make patterns with the bleach and letting it drip down the image. This created interesting effects; the most bleached areas were completely washed out and turned white, with other areas going a burnt orange, yellow or red colour. It also reminded me of Cordier's work in which he let the chemicals drips down the paper to observe a more interesting and alternative result. I liked the results as it completely transformed the images, and it was fairly easy to control which elements of the pictures you wanted to accentuate or obliterate.
process:
digital prints to bleach
I also took pictures of idyllic scenes on a digital camera, so I could have another form of photography and experiment with printing and bleaching them. I thought that this would be interesting as they are higher quality, so the bleach may destroy them more or less effectively than the film images. Also, they produce more vivid colour that the bleach can disrupt. Below are the selected original images that I intend to choose the best ones from, and print in A4 to physically bleach.
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I liked how, in these ones, the bleach enhanced the sun's colours. I also directed the bleach using a paintbrush (bringing forward the same method I attempted in the previous set) to highlight specific elements of each image- for example, I concentrated bleach on the river on one of them. I felt this was effective. I also dipped one side of a print in bleach and let it run down the image. I liked this as it added a new dimension of texture along with the new burnt orange colours added by the bleach, and reminded me of earlier experimentation I had done in the project. From my research into various photographers and artists that destroy their images I appreciate how experimentation in the dark room can lead to interesting and completely transformed images that would never have existed with a planned or recorded method. They also provided inspiration for how I decided to apply the bleach. From the earlier prints that I bleached in the same way, I learnt to control the timings of the bleaching and how to direct the bleach using a paintbrush that meant that these ones were less washed-out and presented a better exposure.
visual progress map
Peter Hoffman's photo series Fox River Derivatives also involves destroying film- in a very extreme way. He douses the negatives in gasoline and sets them on fire, before plunging them into water soon after. This caused the film to melt and burn- and produced amazing results when printed from. The chemical bubbling and colour all distort the image and make them look other-worldly, radioactive and almost ethereal. The process was mainly trial and error, Hoffman says, with more failures than success. In some images, the film curled which distorted the image further- manipulating the perspective and creating more trippy results. I like these as they are both colourful and completely transformative, and arise out of an unusual yet effective process.
bleached negatives- final piece
To destroy/ transform the images further, I bleached the negatives from the film I took in Costa Rica. I drew some inspiration from Hoffman's physical manipulation of negatives. This was difficult to control as it only took a matter of seconds for the bleach to completely eradicate the image on the negative (due to it's thinness). However, it produced some interesting results; turning the negatives purple/blue before going clear.
I then took these to the local photography shop to get enlargements of my favourite images. I had shifted the point in the developing process in which I altered them to earlier, giving a newfound element of uncertainty as to what the results would include. These came back as red/orange/yellow and completely transformed: they remind me of Richard Mosse's manipulated colourful images (an example of which is to the left). Below are the original prints, then the corresponding negatives that were bleached and enlarged. My final piece is the series at the bottom; the developed bleached prints. I plan to order the reddish prints in A3 to display them. |
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I am pleased with the final images as I like the strong colour and textures that are evident in each. I think that in some sense, they can be interpreted as linking to climate change and it's detrimental effects: the different layers on some images remind me of a cracked ozone layer. This is enhanced by the colours, associating with heat and burning. The colours fit the subject matter: the colours compliment and enhance the sunsets and beach scenes. Also, bleaching the negatives as opposed to the prints meant that different textures were incorporated and contributed to destroying them further, adding depth to them. I also chose to present it as a photo series as I liked how the colours linked them together, but they were all unique in the effect that the bleach had on them. To arrive at these, I combined elements from the various photographers that I researched. For example, I tried bleach as a method to destroy film after experimenting with other chemicals and then looking at the work of Ajay Malghan. I decided to use the negatives of film after researching alternative methods of destruction and encountering Hoffman's photo-process that produced dramatic results. My final piece is a culmination of different elements inspired by photographers that I have learnt from and adapted into my own images and direction overall.