Assessment Task 2, Make What Will Happen - The Life of Decay and Horror, 2019

The progression of traditional artistic focus towards Still life has continually been utilised in new forms and materials in the contemporary culture, especially photography.

My series of 11 photographs, collaborates with the traditional ideologies of still life, through the creation of a narrative-based story based around the death and horror of decaying fruit, exhibiting my work taking the life out of still life. My work demonstrates the notion of time and the aging effects and process of life upon an inanimate object. In creating high contrast shadows to portray depth and horror, I aim to create a daunting and horrific response from the audience. To respond to the project of ‘Make what will happen’, My practice focused on undertaking a variety of methods to best articulate and portray my theme of decay and lifelessness. My process initially focused on setting up the photographs, which influenced my understanding of the values of the black and white tones in shadows and the conceptual meaning of the placement of the various fruit. This carried on to taking photographs with the 35mm film camera, which required great attentiveness to gain a newly acquired skill. With the process moving on, I greatly utilised the darkroom in developing and processing the film. Then focusing on scanning my darkroom photographs to create a digital file of the piece and create dust and scratches on each photograph to add to the sense of decay and aging was vital. This enabled me to edit any blemishes and create higher contrast on each photograph using Adobe Photoshop to add to the drastic horror in which I aim to portray.

My practice gained great inspiration from a variety of historical painters in which captured still life in different forms such as Francisco de Zurbaran and Paul Cezanne which informed my understanding of still life and its historic value in the art and design world. More contemporarily, photographer Paulette Tavormina’s narrative-based practice, in her work, ‘Still life with Figs and Apricots, After L.M’in 2014, provided great insight to my structure and development of my photographic series through redefining the value of preproduction to photographs. Similarly, photographer Krista Van Der Niet challenges the notion of placement and collaboration with fruit specifically in her piece, ‘Butterflies’ in 2014.

Through gaining inspiration for a variety of both traditional based and contemporary toolmakers which valued the ideologies of Still Life, this enabled my conceptual and material-based practice to successfully combine to produce a narrative based series of the life and aging of fruit.  

Assessment task two: Development and Result of Photographic Processes and Methodologies

Post-production

Scanning and Utilising the Adobe Suite to create edits and formulate final ideas

Pre-production Set Up

Assessment Task Two: Experimentation and Development 

Throughout the course of ‘make what will happen’ experimentation was vital. Understanding the process of chance in taking photographs, and developing the practical skills to take photographs using a film camera, and processing them in the darkroom resulted in great success. I have gained a series of rewarding knowledge to my benefit surrounding the stages of production in photography, that has led my practice to represent thorough methodologies.  

Final Assessment one: ‘See What will happen’

In responding to the processes and development of photogram’s, luminogram’s and chemigram’s over history, both my methodology and design practice reflect my understanding and experimentation process in the darkroom. Through understanding the practices and techniques involved in using the darkroom, I was able to create a 12 small artworks in which encapsulate and test the motion of emotion. Through combining both coloured (mainly soft pink) and black and white photographs each work compliments each other, through evoking an emotive reaction from the audience. My methodologies focus on testing the boundaries with exposed photo paper in light and involving various materials of both translucent and oblique items. Placing items such as paper, plastic, bubble wrap, Teacups, saucer, plastic containers, and many more, I was able to create dense multilayered photographs after processing them. My experimentation and production is documented on my Tumblr, through a series of various photos and written work. In combination with my process of working with exposing photo paper and light, I have incorporated one singular black and white photograph created in the dark room. Through going through the processes of testing chance and change within the time frame exposing the paper is shown throughout my various photographs. The black and white photo is the center of my work and through the minimal imprints within this photo; it combines with the surrounding coloured photos to create harmony, and in result, evokes emotion from the audience.

In response to contemporary artist’s works presented in the ‘See what will happen’ lecture, both artist’s Lazio Moholy-Nagy and Man Ray inspired my methodology and final work in numerous ways. Both these artist’s focus on the value of experimentation and testing abstract shapes and forms within their photogram’s, similarly to my final presented work for assessment one. Combined with my own research, Garry Fabian Miller’s minimal photogram’s combined with Thomas Ruff’s work involving an influential use of abstraction inspired my methodologies to practice both inside and outside the darkroom. In summary, the notion of evoking emotion greatly inspired my 12 photogram’s, and through ongoing experimentation and processes, I was able to gain insight and understanding of the histories and methodologies on using photogram’s.

Experimentation and Documentation for Assessment task one. Experimenting with chance and change through the process of exposing various photograph paper, and then processing the photos in the dark room. 

Week 2: Out of class experimentation for Assessment task 2: 

This week I have started to experiment with natural light and Its abstract effect of the photography. I have experimented with various shapes and materials to create a similar piece to Man Ray’s pieces of work. I am extremely interested in this path and intriuged to see where the development of this work and experiment takes me for assessment task one.

Week two: Dark Room Induction and experimentation. 

During this week’s class, we experimented with light and play around with various objects and their placement for assignment one - “see what will happen”.

Through our week one introduction, we discovered the darkroom in which we experimented with practicing with the camera and learned how to develop photographs. Above is a picture of my developed photograph (yes I am still learning how to use), through experimenting with various objects. 

Through listening to the introductory lecture, I found myself drawn to Man Ray’s various abstract work, and will use his work as inspiration for my future practice and study into photography.