Collaborative Work

We decided to experiment with projection, light and distortion using different materials. We made a conscious decision to not think of making a final outcome, just to use new techniques and any everyday material we had to hand. By working like this we did not limit our output and could progress on techniques and ideas we found most effective. We reflected on what these could represent and become if developed further. We enjoyed the fact that these pieces were open for interpretation and did not have a direct concept placed upon them. 

The unknown

This in an extension of the previous video. It is a short moving image which in simple yet there is something interesting about the white circle which appears half way through. By uses zoom on the video camera I have created something which does not allow the viewer to hold on to anything which is familiar to them. 

Through the tunnel

Whilst focusing on this idea of unknown finishing points I realise that a photograph itself is a finishing point. I want to push my tunnel pieces one step further and create a moving image. This piece is just a snippet which is very simple and basic. However, it is effective in the sense that it is more immersive for the viewer than a photograph. 

Behind the curtain

Here I have been experimenting with ways of pushing this idea of the unknown within my photographs. I have used a magnifying glass to bend and enlarge areas of the subject. I have used a window as my subject as like tunnels they have ideas of the unknown and mystery linked to them. "What goes on behind closed curtains.."

These images were taken by chance when lithium balls were being prepared for lithography outside the studios. Thousands of ball bearings were being thrown around in a random motion. By photographing them the movement caused a blurring so it is not completely obvious what is being portrayed it is this which makes the images so fascinating to me. 

Tube model 2

Tube model 1

This paper model was created with the intention of forming almost an optical illusion. However the object itself became more of a focus, this would have been more successful to have made the piece on a larger scale with tubes emerging from an entire wall so the viewer could stand back and allow their vision to be taken over by hundreds of circles. Even so by photographing this model and projecting light through it i was again able to play around with scale and perspective. 

Tunnell

By taking a photograph through a cardboard tube and a pair of binoculars I was able to create these images which again centre around this idea of holes and voids, although they are simple it is the ambiguity which I find interesting.

Burnt paper

By burning through layers of paper I was able to create a black hole impression, there was something organic about the shape which interested me as well as the crisp edges which were different in shape each time. The holes became smaller after each layer and by photographing them I was able to play around with scale and depth.

newspaper void

By ripping into layers of newspaper a tunnel impression has been created. The textures and layers which become increasingly smaller make these images visually interesting to me. The camera has emphasized certain 

 areas and exaggerates the depth and perspective to give a more uncanny impression. 

moving fan

Whilst walking around university I noticed  moving fan on the side of a building. There were moments where I could see inside and when I photographed this the images above were produced. They remind me of the saying "light at the end of the tunnel". The blurriness and contrast between the dark shadow and the clear detail of whats inside is striking. 

Tunnel

Taken through an old found concrete tunnel these images exaggerate depth, perspective and shadow. There is something about the circle shape which becomes smaller and smaller which I find interesting, there is a sense of mystery and intrigue. 

Uncanny - 'kitchen roll'

Uncanny can be defined as something which is familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. My starting point was to take a familiar material and make it unrecognizable. I think this was successful in the sense it isn't immediately obvious what it is, the viewer focuses on the hole and asks what is behind there and where does it lead to.  My camera has allowed me to expand this idea, different settings giving some very different impressions. 

29/10/2011 Frozen 'micro-environments'

Extending the idea of combining the man-made and the natural, after growing plants inside the confined space of a petri dish, I added artificial colour and froze each one. The first three photographs were taken through the computer screen several times. This distorted the image but also made the subject appear even more artificial and pixelated. The garish colour emphasises the unnatural whilst the trapped shoots inside oppose that.