The brief offered two options: Photographing the unseen; Using props.
Initially I had decided to photograph the unseen as the white shirt and handkerchief did not resonate with me. So I set about producing a list of 7 subjects that I felt were un-photographable.
Mental health – this would be based on my own personal issues with anxiety and stress which have begun to impact significantly on my day to day life and work.
Wood for the trees – based on the saying ‘can’t see the wood for the trees’.I like the idea of the meaning behind this saying…getting so much involved in the details of something such that you can not see the whole picture.
Air pollution/germs – I had an idea to use a bright light (eg. projector) to shine on dust particles in various locations in a domestic environment. e.g. living room, bedroom/under bed, bathroom, kitchen, shed, wardrobe/cupboards. Need at least seven but could be too similar.
Hearing loss – Deteriorating hearing is a condition that I have been living with over the past few years. My idea would be based on producing images conveying imbalance and cloudiness.
Software – based around my job of computer application development. The intention would be based on the technology behind the screen. Ideas include using shining light on or through computer components.
Food additives – investigating the source of some of the additives and ingredients in common foods. Bread sitting in a pool of fish oil. Food stuffs covered in paint and/or plastics.
Alternative futures/what if’s – reflection on life decisions and how they affect your current life and the future.
Nostalgia/Memories – Jodie Taylor’s Memories of Childhood project gave me an idea of using old family ‘slide’ photographs and projector.
I would like this assignment to be a narrative using a personal experience. These types of project get a reaction from the viewer in terms of sympathy, understanding or uncomfortableness. These responses can be from experience of similar situations or seeing something that they do not understand or even shy away from.
I would like to use a prop to make a visually consistent set. Gregory Crewdson uses draped clothing and fabric to tie together indoor and outdoor scenes in is Cathedral of the Pines series. Dewald Botha used the ‘ring road’ as his prop to convey the feeling of being an outsider.
Martyn Rainbird 