Category Archives: Project

4D foundation Project 2: The subverted object

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I must say, I am in love with project 2.

…….

Task 1:

Firstly, we were all given an object as the star of this assignment. My object turns out to be a watermelon; a solid fruit with contrasting colours from the skin to the meat of the fruit itself. We were then tasked to photograph our object where we denote the context of the object; a translation of a sign to its literal meaning. For example, capturing the object’s physical attributes, its practical function, how do we interact with it and where do we usually see this object. 

Brainstorming session 1

We did a short brainstorming session in class to help us better understand our object.

Some questions asked: ( and my on-the-spot answers )

What is the position in relation to the individual? Near

What era is it from? When humans are born??

What historical figure can it be associated? Egyptians 

What material do you see it wrapped in? Plastic bags

How does it get around? Humans are the transport 

What scent does it go with it? refreshing, sweet 
these questions gave me some ideas on how I can photograph the watermelon for task 1. For example, taking a shot of the watermelon in my kitchen to show that the position of the object in relation to me is near. Or taking a lady carrying a NTUC bag containing a watermelon walking out of the supermarket to show how the object get around. 

Task 2:

connotation; the suggesting of an additional meaning, apart from its primary meaning. This is where we subvert the object’s meaning through other elements of our shots. 

Brainstorming session 2

We were given several action verbs where we had to think of how we could portray our object based on the given actions. 
We were then questioned as to how a removal, replacement, 
or redefinition of the object is able to subvert its meaning. 
These 2 exercises gave me inspiration and ideas. Such as turning the watermelon into a helmet; or juicing it and staged it as though they were fake blood. 

 

Artist References

Rene Magritte – A surrealist artist that is known for creating witty and provoking images. His work are often depicting ordinary objects in an unusual context.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/205054589256397865/
In the 2 photographs, we see how he changed the meaning of the photograph just by 
changing his interaction with the subject (his wife) through body language. It made me 
questioned; is his relationship with his wife beautiful on the outside but unpleasant 
behind close doors? Is he playing a prank on his wife or is he for real? Is his wife 
oblivious to what was happening or is she just acting along? 
Magritte’s work inspired me to create photographs that changes the context of a watermelon between the good and bad; for example : enjoying the watermelon vs depicting it as a bloody and gross wound. Or enjoying a watermelon dessert vs having the watermelon placed on a naked body in a bath room. The contrast created is really mind blowing when 2 photographs are placed side by side. 

 

Final 3 photographs for Task 1

Watermelon dessert by the pool

In this picture, I showed the physical properties of how a watermelon can be enjoyed, with the removal of part of its meat; and replacing it with a combination of ice-cream and other toppings, with the outer skin of the watermelon as a bowl. Placed against a slightly blurry background of a pool, which suggested a delicious watermelon dessert that can be enjoy on a hot sunny day by the pool. What I love about this image is that if you look closely, most parts of the image is blurred out, however, the 4 pieces of watermelon bites in the middle is in focused. This allows us to focus more on the texture of the watermelon. 

Here are some test shots where I find the most suitable background to depict a the pool.

 

 

Dogs eat watermelon too!

My friend who owns a poodle told me that dogs eat watermelon too. Therefore audiences need prior knowledge of this fact to be able to understand this photograph. Here, I wanted to capture the dog eating the watermelon, but in a more interesting way. It took me several test shots before concluding the best shot. In this image, you will notice the dog’s head disappearing into the watermelon. This suggest the relationship between the dog and object; a hunger and thirst for the watermelon. Notice that the background is a setting of a living room, which also suggest that the owner of the dog treats the dog well; by providing not-your-typical dog food. 

Its extremely hard to capture a photo with an overly active dog. It took me several ( a lot ) of test shots before arriving at a perfect one.

 

 

Drink your water-melon

I am a huge fan of watermelon juice and I drink it at least thrice a week. In this photograph, I have my model and object placed in the center with a half body close up shot, with the model looking straight into the camera. Her eyes and smile suggested her enjoyment while drinking the watermelon.

I actually did a few test shots of her interacting with the watermelon juice, however I felt that the close up shot of her having the straw in her mouth depicts the strongest relationship between her and the object. 

Final 3 photographs for Task 2

Camouflage me please watermelon helmet

The watermelon acted as a helmet for my model who is wearing an army uniform. The green “helmet” and uniform blends in well with the green plants in the background. This suggested a solider trying to camouflage and hide from his enemy. Does the audiences need prior knowledge in conjunction to this image? No. It is a norm in Singapore for soldiers to be fully green. Here, I changed the context of the watermelon by showing that it is not only an object that can be eaten, but can also be acted as a source of camouflage tool ( in this case a helmet ) in time of desperate needs. 

HAHAHA I had a fun time shooting my brother. Through the test shots, I was finding the perfect expression/ body language and interaction with the grass to portray a scene of wanting to hide and be camouflage.

 

 

Bleeding watermelon

I guess no one would ever associate watermelon; something so delicious and edible, with wounds and blood. Here, I changed the context of the watermelon into something deadly; suggested by the background tool of a chopping board and knife. This photo was shot from the back shoulder of my model , where you are able to see parts of her face and strains of her hair falling. This provide the photograph with a eerie and mysterious sight. This main focus of this image is the fresh cut wounds on her arm (created with glue and makeup), where it blends into the flesh of slices of watermelon, which can be depicts as the model’s own flesh. I love how the warm red tone is saturated in the center, contrasting the cool blue tone at it’s surroundings. 

In the test shots, I find it hard to connect the different elements (wound, watermelon, knife, model, chopping board) all together into the photograph. Until I found the right angle to take shot the photo; the back shoulder of the model.

 

 

Sacred butt

In this photograph, I change the context of the watermelon by shooting this scene in a bathroom; as suggested in the background. A watermelon which is often placed into one’s mouth is now placed at the most sensitive part of a human body. The watermelon cut into a shape that perfectly covers the butt of the model, and it placed against his skin. The arm and hands of the model provides the photo with a balanced proportion. The watermelon can be depicted as a protective layer to cover up the vulnerable naked body.

There is no test shot for this photograph as it was taken within 3 tries. The model was shy..

 

 

Final poster for Task 3

“我的美人“

When text is included into the photograph, it is turned into a poster where the text given a clearer explanation of the visuals in the poster. Let me first explain the background story of this poster. This poster is an advertisement about a Chinese novel where the title/heading of the poster reads, “我的美人” which means my beautiful lover. The text on the watermelon skin shows a short write-up about the novel. It tells a story of a woman who wishes to be a famous celebrity, but can and never will succeed. Until she met this man who is able to help her achieve her dream. With that, she tries to seduce him to gain his attention. “我的美人”,  sounded similar to the word “watermelon”. The word “watermelon” holds no other meaning other than being a fruit. And this is the exact interpretation of how the guy is to the main lead in the story. He is depicted as “我的美人”, but in actual fact he is just an object like a watermelon where u can just eat it and throw the skin away. Yet the watermelon is placed near the naked, most vulnerable part of the human body; which suggest that the guy in the story held a close relationship with the female lead; and acted as a protective layer. 

 

 

 

Project 1: Picture Story – Curating Self

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Through each of my photos I will talk about the key concept idea, how and why the photographs are taken in that manner, test shots and research done for each work.

 

Task1: Me

If I could only use 3 photographs to describe myself, I would form a connection between these 3 photos, like a sandwich with fillings pack within two slices of bread. Inspired by Nan Goldin’s self-portrait of herself one month after being battered, I felt the urged to based this series on an existing negative fact about myself with some staged props to convey hidden meanings that contrast with this negativity. In Nan Goldin’s self-portrait, she was deeply abused, and covered with bruises all over her face. The portrait was taken upfront with her in the middle; depicts that she has nothing to hide. However, she choose to stage her photograph by dressing herself up with shinny accessories and makeup. This sparks my curiosity as I came up with the assumption that she was trying to show a different side of herself. 

 

 

In task 1, I showed a series of 3 photographs depicting the messy side of me behind close doors, where the photographs interlink with each other. The photos must be arranged in a downwards line; the first image of my desk with the portrait shot of a lady in a magazine (depicting the top half of a human structure) , my messy clothes portraying a mid-shot of the structure, and my legs with shoes as the bottom half of it. The arrangement of the photos is important as it creates a flow and continuity of my messy self from head to toe. 

The 1st photograph shows the original state of my desk in my dorm room. Light enters the photo from the right side of the table, which enhance the messier side of the desk itself. The contrast of light is strongest at the center of the photo, where it draws attention to the magazine. The magazine was placed deliberately by me, with a strong woman figure in the front cover and visible text that state “The Next Generation”. This suggest the the strong and confident woman which I portrayed on the outside (to others), despite being a very messy and layback person on the inside. 

The 2nd photograph shows a photo taken in a top view shot with neutral lighting, and clothes filling up the frame, peeping bits of the bed sheet. Since this photo is placed in the middle of the other two, I felt that the key elements in the photos (the clothes) should all be shown clearly to get the message that I want to convey clearer to the viewers. 

The 3rd photograph highlights the lighting coming in from the left as it fades away to the right. With the light coming in from the opposite direction in comparison of the 1st photograph, it creates balance throughout the three photographs. 

 

Test shots:

 

Task2: Object and representation of self

The object that I selected is my favourite structured bag with silver buckles; as I dressed up in my Secondary School uniform. I was inspired by Cindy Sherman, where she dresses up in different roles that she wants to be portrayed in each of her photographs. Using this technique enable viewers to see a clearer link between me and the object. In this series, I want to show the unpleasant secondary school life that I had back in the days. I used to be a very rebellious kid that sleeps throughout every lessons and skip classes. I was unhappy and felt that life was meaningless. Despite that, my school bag has always been with me.

 

 

In this photo, I portrayed myself skipping class and sleeping in a carpark. The rule of third in the photo enable the background to be shown clearly, so that viewers are able to see me skipping classes ( as the location show is not within the school compound) The elements in the background also helps to gravitate the eyes towards the object (me and the bag). With the bright yellow line and arrows on the floor pointing towards my direction. Good structure and proportion is also created with my leg being parallel to the yellow line and the adjacent towards the wall that I am leaning on. 

Test shots:

This next image shows the same rule of third, with me and the bag being in the center of the photograph. In this photo, I want to show the depressing side of me, with the thought of school being a burden ( therefore the bag was placed above my shoulder). And although I managed to skip class, I was unable to go home ( the buildings at the left side of the background is where my house is located at) ; afraid that my parents will notice. The photo was shot at a low angle, therefore a full body shot was shown since I am sitting down. The bag blocks the sunlight from my face, which creates a gloomy effect on my expression, against my white fair skin.

Test shots:

 

In this photo, I want to bring out the feeling of being trapped. Whats left were me and my bag, against the world. Therefore my expressions and body gesture with the bag is portrayed in this manner. The background plays an important role in this photo, therefore the objects (bag and myself) is shot further away from the camera, and in a 45 degree angle. The two fences (one nearer and the other further) creates depth to the photo. Notice that the middle role of the fence (nearer to the camera) highlights the white and orange buildings at the back, which brings attention to my face and bag. 

Test shots:

 

This photo shows a close up shot of me hugging the bag. The light shining on my hands and onto the bag builds up a connection between the object and myself; suggesting an unseparated bonding between us.

 

Task3: My World

Childhood memories means a lot to me. Especially at my favourite funfair; Uncle Ringo. This types of funfair are hard to come by these days, and I am lucky enough to chance upon one. I used to visit them with my friends when I was young, but never did I have the chance to visit it with my parents. Therefore in this series, You can see that I am drawn into capturing younger kids and adults interacting at the funfair (as seen on the second and third photos). These two images are more close up in comparison to the first photo. This is because in the first photo, I wanted to show an overview of the whole funfair; with the Uncle Ringo signage upfront and the buildings behind the funfair to depict a homely neighbourhood funfair scene. Notice that the sky is dark as it was taken at night; this way, the sky contrasted with the fun fair’s bright warm lights. As for the next two photos, notice that each particular funfair stall filled up the entire image. This creates an illusion of a spirited away wonderland (like scenes in Japanese anime) as it is hard to tell where this particular fun fair is located at. 

 

Test shot: