Moving Forward into FMP, I know that I would like to continue considering photographs as a medium to prompt the viewer to move into a place of stillness and quiet. Through my work, I hope to invite the viewer into the depths and the spaciousness of the present moment. A way in which I will do this  is through portraying authentic and raw emotion that creates an intimate connection between between the audience and the images. The concept of image as a form of intimacy is interesting in itself, and something that I would like to research moving into FMP. I also find the concept of the ‘inner child’ to be very interesting;  the way that we as adults carry around with us the parts of ourselves that were present throughout childhood. This is certainly an  idea that could help drive narratives and create emotion through my imagery.

Carr M.D, Susan and Hancock, Susan. “Healing the inner child through portrait therapy: Illness, identity and childhood trauma” International Journal of Art Therapy”, 22:1, 8-21, DOI: 10.1080/17454832.2016.1245767  (2017)

Pivac, Dunja and Zemunik, Maja. “The Self-Portrait as a Means of Self-Investigation, Self-Projection and Identification among the Primary School Population in Croatia”Centre for Educational Policy Studies Journal, v10 n4 p143-164 (2020)

Sjöblam, Margareta et al “Health through the lifespan: the phenomenon of the inner child reflected in events during childhood experienced by older persons.” International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being.11:1, DOI: 10.3402/qhw.v11.31486 (2016)

Yerebakan, Can  Osman .“We Carry Our Younger Selves Around”: Gillian Wearing on Life, Art and Time” Another. 17 Nov. 2021

https://www.anothermag.com

Bibliography (Sketchbook)

“Automatism” National galleries: Glossary terms, [n.d]. Web. 5 Oct. 2021.

https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/glossary-terms/a

“Bright Young Things.”National Portrait Gallery,[n.d].web.3 Oct.2021.

https://www.npg.org.uk

Cooke, R. “Searching for the real Francesca Woodman.” The Guardian, 31 Aug. 2014.Web. 7 Nov 2021

https://www.theguardian.com

“Francesca Woodman.”Tate, [n.d].web.27 Oct.2021

https://www.tate.org.uk

Mead, D.“Pina Bausch’s Bluebeard is unmissable theatre.”Seeing Dance, Feb 12.2020.Web. 9 Nov 2021

https://www.seeingdance.com/pina-bausch-bluebeard-16022020/

Sisley, D. “Photographer Paul Phung’s Post-Pandemic Celebration of Feminine Intimacy.” Another, 29 June. 2021.Web.17 Oct.2021.

https://www.anothermag.com

Steer, E. “Man Ray: Contacts at Atlas Gallery, London.” Aesthetica, 6 March 2013. Web. 9 Oct. 2021

https://aestheticamagazine.com/man-ray-contacts-at-atlas-gallery-london/

“Surrealism.”Tate,[n.d].Web.7 Oct.2021.

https://www.tate.org.uk

Yerebakan, O. “Ryan McGinley on the Intimate, Cinematic Photographs of Mark Morrisroe.”Another, 29 June.2021.Web.4 Nov.2021.

https://www.anothermag.com

“Ziqian Liu, Independent Photographer.”, Ziquianquian, [n.d].Web. 11 Nov.2021.

https://www.ziqianqian.net/about

Watling, E. “Power, privilege and glamour in 1920s London: Inside the glittering world of the Bright Young Things.” Independent,7 March.2020.Web.3 Oct.2021.

https://www.independent.co.uk

“Sisterhood” is ultimately a celebration of the support and intuitive bond between all women,” It is “a celebration of intimacy, rekindled connections and timeless bonds formed long before a time of distance,” Phung explains. “It focuses on the reconnection of their natural bond. Unforgotten feelings, movements and touch become reignited, and familiarity through embrace sparks a sense of happiness and joy in having the ability to once again dance together.” I love the sense of connection that permeates through his images. The models, who are dancers have a beautiful way of capturing a profound sense of emotion, through the gestures and body language that they portray. In my mind, dance is a highly intuitive art form, guided by the internal self, this being why it is able to capture and present such remarkable emotional sensibility. The exploration of gesture in this manner could be a purposeful way that I could present a raw felt connection, something that is deeply moving.

I attended the 180 LUX exhibit at 180 The Strand. This exhibition showcases  twelve of the world’s most celebrated artists ‘to expand the boundaries of immersive art and blur the lines between the physical and virtual worlds.’ Overall, I found the exhibition to be inspiring: I loved its immersive nature; It really brought me into the now, by enabling me to experience what is around me. My intention was to not read too much about each piece, but to be a spectator, and to see what unique insight I was able to gain from each exhibit.

 

 

 “The black Corporeal (Breathe) is a critical examination of the relationship between materiality, and the black psyche. It explores the idea that our ability to breathe-an act that is continuously challenged by everything from air pollution, stress and anxiety and societal prejudice-is more than our lungs ability to take in air, but a reflection of the way that we live individually and together.”

This piece felt highly emotive, the way sound, visuals and language came together made for a profoundly captivating piece. I love the concept, and the way that the literal definition of breathing is paralleled to a metaphorical concept;  the way that Black people exist within society  in the 21st century.

The large scale moving  imagery with sound that surrounded me, made me feel as if I was very much part of something; as though I was invited into the art, as opposed to merely looking at something from afar. This blurred the line between art and spectator, and created a sense of closeness between the exhibit and myself.

 

 

 

I noticed how much the children were intuitively responding to the light. Without a care in the world, they were exploring the light and the mirrors, not worrying about the way they may be perceived by others. There is something in this childhood  playfulness that we are prone to losing sight of as we move into adulthood. This could be a good potential concept to explore.  On a more general note I was reminded of the way that light impacts people of any age, whether it be daylight, moonlight, artificial coloured light, there is some sort of emotional bond between us and light; light and dark. This is also fascinating to me and definitely something I will potentially explore through my own work.

 

 

 

I love creating when if feels the most fluent and uncontrived, and therefore I feel extremely inspired by the concept of Automatism; creating without conscious thought. I felt that it may be interesting to write in this manner, using my own work, as well as that of artists that I am researching, to build a connection between language and image.

The following poem came about naturally upon looking at the image and felt in some way as though there was an innate link between the images and the expression created from the words.

 

 

 

 

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While these visuals are simple, I definitely feel that there is potential to create something exciting. I think that they could be interesting, as a small shot of a longer film, or I may explore their speed, as well as seeing how they work with sound, though I think they work well without any sound at all. They could make strong projection imagery.

I feel that up until this point  my ideas have been too surface level; I wanted to visually represent The Bright Young Things, but have found this very hard to do without either recreating images I have previously taken (see figure 1 and 2 below), or just grasping certain visual elements from that era. While I know that I could go into more depth of the social conditions and behaviour of those that were part of this group, this doesn’t feel like a direction that I want to continue in. I think that the potential intentions within this theme, are quite fixed, even looking at specific concepts like escapism, this for me still feels restricting in some way.

 

 

I feel at this point, it is very important for me to find a focus that can direct strong and meaningful intention in my work. My favourite images so far into the project, and of my work in general, are photos where the viewer is drawn in instantly without any thought at all . While strong emotive qualities can to some extent, be portrayed through colour and composition, for me the images that are most powerful, arrive through spontaneity,  and being more in touch with being immersed in the creative process. I love images whereby there is a nameless quality about them, one which cannot quite be articulated through language alone.

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This is my favourite image from this particular shoot. It was definitively a photograph that came about with significantly less conscious thought.   A lot of the images that I took looked ‘pretty’ but lacked a meaning. I feel this is because I didn’t hone in on one specific element or issue that I wanted to portray, as well as this, my focus wasn’t refined, but was a little all over the place in terms what exactly it was that I wanted to get from the images.  I was considering concepts  of surrealism;  dreams and the subconscious mind, whilst also thinking about the subculture ‘The Bright Young Things’, This being what I was initially planning on basing my project on. This photoshoot overall really helped me to identify that I don’t  want to continue exploring this subculture, or even this specific time period; instead I want to look more at the way images can speak languages that words never  can quite portray. This image I believe has transcendent quality . I feel as though here voiced, is a subtle kind of  language that can be felt equally as it is seen; rather than the image itself making an impression primarily through a colour palette or curated composition, it draws the viewer in on a level beyond what can be seen physically. There is a vulnerability to the emotion portrayed, and thus a  deep connection formed between the viewer and image.