C&N Assignment 3 – Self Reflection

Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills

When I am taking photographs I am often pre-occupied on getting the basic technical elements in place and I neglect the artist side of the work. With this assignment, I have allowed myself to experiment with found images which at the being of the course and EYV I think I was fairly dismissive of as an art form. Why this should be the case when I have always admired the Campbell Soups and Marylin Monroe pictures by Andy Warhol which are essentially found images.

The reason for the found imagery is an am very uncomfortable in my own skin around my own appearance I hate being photographs, I look in the mirror and start to see my Grandma especially as I’m getting older. Combine this with lifelong low self-esteem, it didn’t bode well for a project of “putting myself in the picture”.

Of the photographers, I have studied for this module I was most moved and inspired Elina Brotherus Annunciation and Nigel Shaftons Washing Up.

When I look at Annunciation I can feel the sadness, isolation, loneliness desperation that she is feeling going through with the IVF treatment. It very brave to record that is such a public way I have known friends that went through it and for them it was a very private affair because once it did come attention of family and friends the stress level intensified. I am not comfortable in myself to be able to replicate Brotherus’ but I took inspiration on how to illustrate the isolation.

Shafton’s self-absented portraiture plays to me, being able to illustrate myself with having to deal with physical insecurities.

So reflecting on my normal pursuit of the technical, and inability to deal with my own image – need to found an outlet for combining them. After deciding that “found Imagery” of me and Anastasya was the way to go – because these are images I am happy with I am relaxed and had time to process them. I Initially I juggled with the idea of joiner similar to the joiner portraits of David Hockney. This did not work as they can’t be done successfully retrospectively – not about just cutting things up.

The next experiment “mosaic” imagery using photoshop to add a pattern over an image – this worked and my initial idea was a favourite sentiment image covered into this style but after butting to the side for few weeks for reflection I felt it did tell a story to the viewer/reader.

I feel my final selection of images – self-portraits which almost all avoid showing me completly work to convey to isolation I feel from my partner while living with a long distance relationship

Quality of outcome

The images are not the pin sharp images I’m used to presenting however, they are not poorly executed, they are the product of time and experimentation with photoshop to get the right tome and feeling. I feel the images express what I am trying to say although perhaps there needs an element of time added to show that isolation is compounded by time

Demonstration of creativity

This is a leap outside of my comfort zone this for me I not sure how the assessors will feel, has been a change in direction. I have not been taking photographs. I have been making art using my camera. I’m not very good a reflecting on myself or my work but this has felt different, They are not great art I doubt I’ll be receiving an invite from the Tate Modern, but I feel I have created something not just captured it.