Month: May 2020

Artist Statement

Humphrey Cristofoli on

To follow the brief of a sense of place I decided to capture the beauty of my home village Kings Worthy. This is because Kings Worthy has perhaps the strongest sentimental value to me personally, in addition to being filled with scenic routes. I have drawn upon individual structures and areas that resemble great importance to my life growing up. Furthermore, not only are these photographs reflecting much of my youth, but help to construct a clear image of what Kings Worthy looks like.

Whilst initially some of my photographs contained people, I chose to exclude them from my final portfolio. Despite the aesthetic qualities people can bring to images, I prefer to represent Kings Worthy’s structures and areas in their raw form without including humans. Not only does this mean that my collection focuses on Kings Worthy’s structures and areas, but it helps me to explore the thematic nature of my collection.

My theme that interlinks my photographs is exploring how nature and man-made structures amalgamate with one another in Kings Worthy. My collection illustrates how the two contrasting forces of man and nature collide through my images. Convincingly, some of my photographs highlight how man-made structures have been overcome by nature due to people no longer requiring them. This is evident through the images of the disused war bunker and the rusted plow. Although the structures are deteriorating, as there is no human upkeep, nature is thriving without the presence of humans. Whilst a few photographs focus solely on the beauty of nature, the majority of my images express elements of both man and nature.

Another key feature of my work is the way in which I use natural sunlight to emphasise the beauty of Kings Worthy. For my collection the natural light helps give insight into the physical appeal of living in a rural village such as Kings Worthy. The daylight and sunsets accentuate the astounding scenery that can be seen.

Initially, whilst developing my photographs I chose to either pair my images or place them into groups of three. However for my portfolio, whilst the images have been carefully arranged and chosen, I have not kept all of them in their original grouping as I believe that all of the images are cohesively linked through their representation of my home village.

I believe that my portfolio conveys a strong sense of place. In addition, the way I have captured Kings Worthy creates a positive and pleasant feel to the photographs without the inclusion of people. My work portrays a part of the world that amalgamates man and nature into one place.

 

Photograph Development

Humphrey Cristofoli on

For this sample of my photograph development I have chosen to show these three images from a secluded rural walk in Kings Worthy. The second two photographs depict horses grazing in the field. I aimed to portray the animals as undisturbed and going about their daily life. The images convey a sense of peacefulness that I experience whilst walking on this particular route.

The first image conveys how nature and man meet through capturing an electrically-wired post besides a tree top. The clear blue sky helped to emphasise the two contrasting objects, giving the photograph an aesthetically pleasing look. This technique of combining man-made objects with natural structures follows the work of photographers Soth and Bendikson.

I aimed to capture the vibrance from the natural environment on days when the sky was a clear blue. The blue sky compliments the greenery in the three photographs. Moreover, due to the brightness of the sun, the two dark horses contrast effectively against the grass, almost to make them appear as a silhouette.

Artist Research – Alec Soth

Humphrey Cristofoli on

Alec Soth is a photographer from America, born in 1969. He currently makes “large-scale American projects” that feature the Midwestern United States.

Soth’s ‘Walks to work” is collection that I admire in particular. His photographs are of generic urban structures and objects. As the photographs are taken in the morning, the variety of natural lighting, despite being at same the time of the day, makes the images aesthetically pleasing. This links in well with my project for I have produced photographs using the natural light in a way to aesthetically enhance my images. I am interested in the different ways that lighting can help accentuate the natural scenery of Kings Worthy.

In addition, the project itself depicts Soth’s experiences. Similarly, my project offers insight into my personal experiences into where I have grown up. The collection that I am constructing gives a clear reflection of both my recent experiences and some of my earliest memories growing up.

Furthermore, the angles Soth has used to take photographs of man-made generic objects is admirable. I appreciate the way he captures everyday life through the images in his collection, without using people. Convincingly, I have applied many similar techniques to my photograph development.

Photograph Development

Humphrey Cristofoli on

For this set of photographs i chose to predominantly focus on the beauty of the nature in Kings Worthy. The images are paired for specific thematic reasons. Convincingly, Jonas Bendikson contributed to the production of these images, for they amalgamate both human and natural aspects of my hometown together. Moreover, alike some of Bendikson’s work I showed images in which nature is outlasting structures that humans made.

The first two images depict the same route to walk, however this is not why I chose them to be paired. They link together through the property of containing both man-made and natural aspects, in which the man made structure is deteriorating and being consumed by nature. The first image depicts a WWI bunker that has been consumed by growing bushes and weeds. The second image shows a rusted and out of use plow, that has been set aside. These images convey the ephemeral nature of mankind’s creations, compared to nature which continues to grow and flourish. They also highlight an ongoing conflict between man and nature, in which nature is winning.

The second two images can be interlinked by their sentimental meaning to me. The first image of the cows grazing portrays the view that is opposite my house, that I see on a daily basis. It’s paired photo, whilst appearing irrelevant to the other, is a walkway close by that these cows are often herded through in single file. Interestingly, when the cows are not in the field, they will be being led through the thin walkway to be milked. This means that in Kings Worthy, generally the animals can be seen in the places depicted in either photograph.

The third pair of photographs, alike the previous, may not appear to be interlinked. However, the bench depicted in the image is the place in which I most associate the girl in the second image. These two particular places are of great significance to my experiences growing up in Kings Worthy. The photograph of the bench in front of a house is particularly interesting as it reflects how nature and human structures can be combined to create a pleasant image. The house is covered with decorative flowers that compliment the structure, in addition to following my theme in reflecting how nature meets man.