Impossibilities of Being- 4D Fundamentals Assignment 2

Delving into the subconscious with these 90 images, I seek to show the three stages of sleep and my idea of the myriad of chaotic processing that goes through ones’ mind when in slumber.

The images are set in three stages: falling into sleep, light dreaming, and deep sleep.

Stage 1: Falling into sleep

The images are a metaphorical take on the act of falling into sleep. The figure is literally sinking downwards in a calm blue background. Bubbles and water then rose up to consume her entirely; they engulfed her being. Bubbles are almost whimsical things, they are fragile and disappear in the blink of an eye, and water has always been used to represent many things from peacefulness to danger. These two items introduces the viewers to the second stage.

 

Stage 2: Light sleep

 

The figure’s environment represents her state of mind. Flowers start appearing in different combination, in abundance to a single unit, and this represents observations from everywhere. We perceive with our five sense and each flower is a representation of the observations. When they clump together, they become an idea.

The flowers are present in an ever changing mass, they seem to be constantly in motion in the photos, while interacting with the figure.

The flowers are still realistic and recognizable here, suggesting a link to reality and the conscious.

 

Stage 3: Deep sleep

Flowers are shown with paintings in art. The figure awoke to find herself in a painting. This is her mindscape and the act of travelling represents the act of thinking through solutions to problems or mulling over an idea in one’s sleep. The figure is interacting with her subconscious here and it’s a personal space; the art are pieces which I feel an affinity to. The choosing of using art as a mindscape was made through my previous experience with art over the years too.

The environment is no longer reality and this suggests a break from it. The figure is truly in a space that does not exist but only in her mind. This is where she can find her true thoughts and ideas. It ends with the figure lying back down to sleep, exhausted with her mental forage, and ready to wake up to reality.

 

Artist reference:

Jeeyoung Lee

The Moment, Jeeyoung Lee

Childhood, Jeeyoung Lee

An artist who manipulates the space of her studio to showcase different realities.

 

Akira Kurosawa’s Dream

 

A movie that featured a part where a character went into Van Gogh’s paintings.

 

Hannibal

Screen Shot 2015-09-17 at 11.19.40 am Screen Shot 2015-09-17 at 11.19.33 am Screen Shot 2015-09-17 at 11.19.20 am Screen Shot 2015-09-17 at 11.19.26 am

There were certain scenes in Hannibal that showed the character sinking into water to reflect what is going through their mind at that point in time.

 

Reflection:

I have to admit, this was a really stressful assignment for me, perhaps because I have yet to define what photography means to me. Therefore I am still in the midst of experimenting and attempting to incorporate my skills with photography. I feel that this series aesthetic visuals were pleasant though awkward in some areas but I should also learn how to let photographs speak for itself and exist by itself instead of doing major photo-manipulation.

Class exercise- Anchor and Relay

 

Anchor

 

 

4D 1

NTU, School of Arts, Design, and Media, 28/07/2015, .58PM, ISO 1/40

 

1

NTU, School of Arts, Design & Media, 28th August 2015, 3.49PM, ISO 1/20. Photo-taking activity for class.

4D 2

NTU, School of Arts,Design & Media, 28th August 2015.

The ADM school can be pretty empty but this time I think there is a legitimate reason: It’s probably class time right now.

 

 

Relay:

 

4D 1

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

Langston Hughes

 

1

Text: The gaze

 

4D 2

Text: The noticeable dilemma of taking an arts education in Singapore

 

 

 

 

 

Documenting project 1b-fern

Fire and Ice

Robert Frost

 

In Frost’s poem, he spoke of Fire or Ice and their devastating effects of either one. The theme love seemed to resonate throughout his poem and in my visual interpretation of his poem, I seek to show the balance that arises from the combination of both.

 

The image of a heart is chosen because of its common symbolic use as love.

 

2.1.1

2.1.2

2.1.3

Fire

  • Fire is smoldering passion and desire from the heart. Fire consumes, warms, and illuminates but can also bring pain and destruction.
  • Loving someone so much the intensity of it hurts you can be detrimental.

 

Ice

  • Ice is a symbol of rigidity, frigidity, coldness, and the absence of love. Ice suggests distance and space but it is also synonymous with loneliness; its cutting edges and biting cold can harm.
  • When one loves no more, the heart seems to be absent.

 

The Balance

  • Fire and Ice have to exist together. They balance each other out, similar to Ying and Yang.
  • While one can love the other a lot, distance provides clarity of mind and might even fan the embers of one’s heart.
  • In the middle photo, the heart beats in synergy with the blend of solid shapes and negative spaces reminiscent of veins amidst a warm background.
  • The photos are placed so that the first depicts fire, the second the balance, and the third ice.

 

Composition of Images:

 

  1. The first image is over-saturated, providing an intensity of colors that seemingly radiate heat. It strains the viewers’ eyes and suggests pain and hurt. There is a graduation to the colors of the lone heart, from warm red to almost black, suggesting that the deeper the descent into the embers, the more likely the heart is to char.
  2. The third image shows a cutout of a heart. The background is a cool blue and the cutout is black with an obscure reflected image in it. In contrast to image one, image three suggests the absence of love and the reflection in the cutout suggests an infection of the heart.
  3. The middle image is the balance. It combines elements from both the first and third images and is reflective of Fire and Ice together. Both complements each other to create a more humane looking heart.

 

 

Documenting Project 1a- Fern

Task 1

 

In Assignment task 1, I have done three parts: introduction of yourself, your object, and your world.

1.1.1

1.1.2

1.1.3

  1. In introduction of myself, I started with a sentence that I wanted to express in three images: Reading is a solitary activity and it helps me build Worlds.

 

Therefore the three photos represented a simple message that leads to the larger objective:

 

  1. I like reading.
  2. Reading is a solitary activity for me.
  3. The books help me build worlds when I read.

 

Composition of images:

  1. The first image is a close-up to the object I wish to show and is a lead-in for the viewers to the other two images and the message.
  2. The top down shot shows a fairy ring-like semi circle of books around me to suggests the magical quality of the books around me. The subject is faced away as a subtle indication that she wished not to be disturbed.
  3. The last image is a not-quite close up that allows the viewers a glimpse of the subject’s delighted face, as she seemed to be building castles with the books. The prevalent theme in the photographs is Play, and is indicative of the state of mind of the subject when reading books.

 

 

  1. In photos of object, it is used for the representation of the Self. My reference sentence was:

 

“We think with the objects we love, we love the objects we think with.”

– Sherry Turkle, Introduction: The Things That Matter

1.2.6

1.2.1

1.2.5 copy

Using that idea of relating an idea with an object, my chosen object was a soft toy. These are photos that require context to understand; the toy was a gift from my secondary school friends and was the only toy I chose to bring with me to my hostel. The soft toy represents a link to the Past and the safety and comfort associated with it because I was comfortable with it. The space, which was my hostel room, represented the present and the foreseeable Future.

 

Taking a picture of the soft toy in the hostel room was a representation of a link to the past in my current future.

 

In the photos,

  1. Hands hold onto the toy in a possessive gesture, which represents an unwillingness to release the Past.
  2. A face of happiness shown when interacting with the toy shows an unwillingness to let go and my ability to continue finding comfort in the past.
  3. Picture three shows me dragging the toy like a child would, which represents youth or childishness. The morose expression and hand at my face, representing regret, shows reluctance at letting the past go.

 

Composition of images:

  1. Close-up of hands to show the meaning of the toy to the subject.
  2. Half body shot to show interaction with the soft toy and further visual clues of the importance and thoughts of the subject to the soft toy.
  3. A full body shot and gesture of the subject as representation of the soft toy and its symbolism to the subject.
  4. Black and white was chosen to highlight the soft toy and the expressions or gesture made by the subject.

 

  1. In the photos of my world, I chose the National Library. It has astounding architecture and was a building of knowledge. Books are amazing because they hold so much information inside.

 

1.3.4

1.2.5

1.3.3

Composition of images:

  1. I wanted to show the architecture in different layout because of the way you had to view it in the space itself- crane your neck to view the ceiling, look out the window to see the building- and I wanted people to be able to marvel at that. This could be considered a wide shot, and it took in the whole space to show the structure and innate beauty.
  2. Books are amazing in themselves but this should have been better thought out and expressed to show what I wanted to. The close up of books might have been too literal.
  3. Similarly, the architecture once again presents itself in interesting form.

 

Final Presentation:

2

 

Reflection: On hindsight, the project could have been better if I had a focus before I went out to take photographs. This would have cut down on wasted time as I struggled to rush to places to retake photos. Although the brief is short, the project demands a higher level of thinking in terms of composition, meaning of images, and flow. It was not easy but I had learnt a couple of new tricks and even a better understanding of the use of the camera.