Exhibitions
To begin my project, I look at various exhibitions that inspired my following work and understood all the different interpretations both artists and photographers use that represent the word attached.
Zanele Muholi-Maison Europeenne de la Photographie
Rodin Museum
The Rodin museum in Paris is dedicated to French sculptor August Rodin. The entire exhibit takes place in his house giving a personal feeling, being filled with his work and sculptures from throughout his life. His sculpture and their three dimensions, in comparison to the photography exhibitions I have visited previously, gave me a different perspective on how to portray my theme. I was particularly inspired by the images below entitled 'Fragments of Roman feet and hands'. It strikingly compared simple human features with one another. It helped with my theme of 'attached' because it made me consider the way the body parts are assembled or attached together.
My initial research into attachment photography was centered around the body as I find it the most expressive form of attachment that can be demonstrated explicitly in photography. The most common and visually moving form of the body for this I felt was hands, which inspired my first strand. For my second strand I wanted to put into practice editing skills that show attached images. For my third I looked further at the relationship between the body and attached objects and emotions or identity. *
Strand 1- 'Subway hands'
My initial response to the word 'attached' was hands. They are the immediate instrument for attachment and can be visually portrayed easily and effectively. I chose to use this on public transport where it is common to find large groups of people grabbing on to rails creating a combination of different people and hands. I wanted my images to be close-up without distraction, focusing emphasis on the hands.
Hannah La Follette Ryan
Hannah La Follette Ryan inspired my first response with her piece 'Subway hands'. This was taken during the initial outburst of COVID whereby the world was filled with uncertainty and anxiety. She focused her photographs on hands but particularly ones sheltering themselves from the virus with gloves, tissues etc. This created a moving commentary on social life at the time and the reluctant attachment of everyday people towards public services.
My interpretation of this project was to capture the hustle-bustle of subways and tubes. I tried to take photographs in the more busy scenes of commuting. I think that my images were successful in portraying attachment physically but on reflection I could have developed and improved the composition so that the focus of the images was solely on attached hands. *
Strand 2- architectural attachment
'I wanted to look at the theme of 'attached' architecturally, and the way that buildings can combine, for my second strand. I think this was important to developing my response to the word attached because it would give me the editing skills to create attachment within everyday structures.
Micheal Shainblum
Michael Shainblum's project 'Mirror City' highlights the shapes and lights from city skylines such as Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego and Las Vegas. He makes a reflective time lapse that recreates the kaleidoscope effect. Below are stills from his video that inspired my work of architectural attachment. Although I didn't use his techniques exactly of quadrant reflections that extenuate lights, the form he uses created my idea for this strand, to take simple structures and use mirroring in Photoshop to attach them together and make a more abstract response to attachment physically.
To create my own interpretations of this style, I took pictures of interesting architectural structures. Rather than wide angle birds eye images like Shainblum, I focused more on individual buildings. I particularly wanted to look at things that when combined, would create the impression of never-ending attachment like stairs. When editing in Photoshop, I extracted the shapes I wanted to reflect away from the background and pasted onto a plain white canvas. I then played around with how best to attach the shapes together, starting with the simple reflection techniques from Shainblum, and then progressing into more complex forms, like layering the staircases.
I think that my images were successful as a basic response of attachment in buildings and the technique of reflection was a good way of creating new, abstract structures however I felt I could have created a more refined piece if I had developed my ability to pay attention to the details of cutting and pasting.
Strand 3- personal attachments
For my third strand I wanted to look at attachment in a more human and personal way, that reflects identity. My initial response to this was to create an abstract portrayal of people being merged/ attached to the objects that they find best describe or define them.
Mitsuko Nagone
I used the work of Mitsuko Nagone to look at a more surrealist approach that depicts how humans can get attached to things, rather than my previous more literal approach I looked at a more abstract way that also comments on social standings. I was inspired to do this by the work of Mitsuko Nagone's project entitled 'I am more than my face'. The idea behind her work is to reject how society can conceptualise and stereotype individuals after seeing their face and so created an entire series with her face completely obscured. She also wants to convey the idea that identities can be created through daily routines. I wanted to use this in my response for attachment because her positioning and use of props also alludes to the roles that define her, suggesting the constraints of women's roles as 'homemaker'.
When creating my response to Nagone's series I wanted to convey a similar message as it is a relatable message. I used my mum as a model because she similarly can find her identity somewhat morphed by household requirements. I did not want to create an exact replication of Nagone's work so used different materials and experimented with using other items to obstruct the face. With some smaller objects, I asked my mum to hold them away from her so that the perspective meant they were obscuring her face.
I think that my first response was successful in conveying the tone and message I had intended behind my photographs. It is a clear portrayal of my mum's constriction to household tasks and her role in the family. To improve my images I think I needed to find more complex ways of attaching the items to her, so that it would appear more as a part of her being rather than her holding the items.
Second attempt
I chose to develop this strand further as it allowed me to convey a message behind attachment and get more personal with my images. I wanted to develop the initial idea with different editing methods that would enhance the feeling of being attached to certain objects.
In my second attempt I wanted to be more immersive so I decided to digitally edit the attachments rather than using perspective tricks. I took photos of my model holding the object that I wanted to attach, then took photos of the model without the object, thinking carefully how to place their hands so that they interacted with the object. In Photoshop, I cut out the object and pasted it onto the image. I then removed the head and neck of the model so that it would be replaced with the object and fit underneath their clothing. When choosing what to photograph, I used everyday household tasks that resonate with lots of people and are easy to become attached to, such as the television and computer.
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I think these images were successful particularly where I introduced an interactive element, the composition of the action with hands instructing the object that is placed on the head makes it replicative to the human brain, which improves the composition to my first attempt. I think the attachment of the physical objects into the neck and shoulders was completed well as I developed my ability to use Photoshop to ensure that the objects were integrated with the models rather than just put on top, but that lines remained clean.
Second development -'personal attachments'
I chose to develop my exploration of people being attached to things. This way I found I could show a message behind 'attached' and how it presents itself. To add a more human element I looked at self-reflection and self-attachment with objects.
Tony Luciani
I responded to the work of Tony Luciani entitled 'Mamma, in the Meantime' about his mother with dementia. He conveys attachment in memory by editing his mother's interaction with herself particularly though her hands, creating a sense of inner self reminding her how to go about everyday life. I was inspired by his work because using similar editing techniques as I practiced previously, still using the setting of everyday life, he shows a more moving and human attachment.
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When taking my images, I took one picture of the model in normal stance reading and then a second one for the arm coming out. When doing this, I had to keep lighting the same for the arm picture so it flows together as one being. I then in Photoshop extracted the arm to paste onto the book but I found that to make it appear submerging out of the book I then had to extract the section of the previous photo of the book and paste that back on top. When angling my images I had to ensure that the glasses appeared at the correct angle going onto the models face, whilst still having the arm positioning to appear human. I found this to be successfully technically, but lacked the poignancy Luciani had evoked.
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Second attempt
To develop this, I moved away from the studio environment as it is a blank canvas that does not show much personality. Similar to Luciani, I used my grandmother who faces the same issues with ageing. Using her as the subject of the piece allowed a more meaningful response as the idea of her inner self guiding everyday tasks resonates with her and many other old people's lives. When taking my images, I struggled with finding the best positions and angles as she is not very mobile meaning that I had to manipulate my pieces, particularly the images of the hands, more in Photoshop. I decided to frame some of my images directly responsive of Luciani's work and in some came up with my own composition.
I chose to photograph my grandma in the scenes that often can be difficult for her as an elderly person, recreating the things that were once ordinary tasks that become more challenging with age. I also wanted to make the images reflect her personality as much as possible so set up my images in her home in the places that felt most evocative to her as a person. My best two edits, I turned into black and white to create a sombre effect that muted the lively colours and extenuated her skin and wrinkles, further translating the sense of ageing.
Artist and me
Best edits
I think that my response was successful in capturing the emotions of my grandma, the emergence of her own hand effectively portrayed her daily routine being aided by her 'inner self' in the areas where she has most physical needs. I think in particular the image of her reading with a magnifying glass being held up describes her increasing issues with vision and how she has to find ways to combat this- highlighting the inner struggle of getting older.
Third development- 'attached with hands'
My next development was to use similar techniques and editing skills in a more complex way that expresses attachment. I wanted to include the many different ways your inner self can help you, through a single piece. From using my grandma to my friends, who are young, I realised I needed to adapt the message behind the images to what faces young people. I also wanted to show the way in which we can constrain ourselves and ability to do things. Instead of continuing with the problems of growing older, I focused on the issues faced by young people as there are increasing struggles and a wide variety of things young people must pay their attention towards.
To create my first response, I used one model for the face and another for the hands. I got the face/body to be stationary whilst the hands distorted her face and presented her with the different worries and tasks presented to young people. As in the previous development I aimed to incorporate a mixture of interaction with the body and presentation of items. I wanted to use a book that showed the academic pressure on young people, and held the model's eyes open to physically demonstrate the tiring nature. I think that the different layers and emerging hands successfully portrayed juggling of activities a young person can face.
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Second attempt
The editing process for this development was slightly more challenging because there were so many differentiations of dismorphing the face that I wanted to include, this meant I had to blend the skin tones in Photoshop by erasing layers on a low opacity. I also had to experiment with which layers to include and which not to, as the image was too overcrowded and complicated with all of the pictures in.
My second development was a more refined response because I made the decision to focus the composition almost entirely on the face so the images were less cluttered and the effects of the hands were clearly demonstrated. I wanted to physically deform and contort the models facial features so that she looked under the control of a separate being. I think that the hands successfully appear to be constraining because they appear from many different angles. I successfully created a piece demonstrating the energy and conflict between outside influences and inner self around young people which contrasted strongly with the much calmer and slower tone in the images of my grandma to my previous development.
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Fourth development-'connecting the body'
Following on from my attachment responses exploring external forces manipulating the body, I wanted to dive further into possible forms of manipulation. Aiming to make these less obvious than hands reaching out from the frame, I looked at how to do his from within the body.
Angela Buron
I found the work of Angela Buron pertinent to my attachment response because of the editing techniques used, and the abstract placement of human features creating the same eerie effect that I have been attempting in my project. Buron’s images are surreal interpretations of the formation of the body. She also particularly studies the movement and shapes of hands, describing how to express facial and emotional elements merely through hand placement. Her work inspired me to use hands not just merged into the body, but representative of a completely different feature. Her project is called ‘A safe self mutilation’ which I thought coincided well with the message and direction of my project. It suggests distortion of the body, not just in a painful way, but in a way that allows us to reinterpret the structure and forms of how bodies are perceived. Dis-arranging and re-shaping bodily features redefines the form and function. For example by placing the arm and hand instead of head and neck accentuates the emotion that can be inside hands, which would normally go unnoticed. I used her work to inspire my displacement of features and melding together of different angles and profiles of the body such as replacing hands with the neck and switching the head facing front onto the back profile of the body.
My initial response to Buron's work was to recreate the head using the hand. I thought that deconstructing the face would be the most striking way to reconnect the body because the emotions in the face can be obviously demonstrated. I then wanted to replace the face with a hand and got my model to place their hand in a way that most showed some sort of feeling , I also asked them to curve their hand to suggest the shape of the head.
I took my images of my model standing straight, with hands by his side, I also got him to wear a collared shirt as the defined neck line was easier to edit. This gave me the base body to paste on my configuration of the hand, while getting my model to pose with his hands creating interesting shapes that somewhat replicated a head. Whilst doing this, I realised I wanted to take a picture where the arm represented the neck and the head was still in shot, so I got my model to squish and distort his face for my edit on the right (below).
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My editing process was to create a new layer of just the body, so copied and pasted the image going up to his collar. I then pasted the hand image in between the background and the body so the arm looked emerging from the body. From then, I rubbed out the face and body beneath by using the eyedropper tool and painting the background.
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I think that these edits were successful as the collar shirt allowed a seamless replacement of arm as neck which was simple to create. The crumples in the shirt also reflected the texture of the hand bringing the images together. Then distorting the models face showed their discomfort at the manipulation and emphasised the emotional element. It was a successful response that was inspired by Buron's work, and redefined features of the body.
Further experimentation
I was interested the the perception of human form experimented previously, and editing forms to connect the body. This inspired my further experiments of combining profiles. I began this by experimenting how to merge two different bodies. My immediate thought was to create two heads with different facial expressions. I then wanted to see how best to compare the whole of the two bodies so got my model to bend forward as though she was falling forward and then lean back casually. **
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Fifth development- 'back to front'
After reconnecting the body by editing side profiles back to back, I had the idea to develop this by reconnecting the front and back facing profiles. In doing so I wanted to create a more subtle distortion. I felt that creating these images would redefine the attachment of joints and positioning of the body. On first glance it will look normal because the proportions are the same, but on further inspecting the image it becomes unsettling and creepy.
When editing this in Photoshop, I first aligned each of the layers by cutting out the whole chest/back and pasting it onto the other image, I played around with sizing and colouring to create the most believable contrast between the two layers. I then used the technique from my other developments of erasing and smudging to create the most seamless transition possible, so that the image is not obviously edited.
I think these images create a striking unsettling effect that makes you understand bodily forms, the similarities and differences between the back and the chest are highlighted when their functions are swapped. I successfully blended the two images together, creating a coherent reconstruction of the body.
Sixth development- 'destructing the body'
Micheal Maku
In 'Altered emulsions and exposed emotions', the work of Michael Maku distorts the body through use of images portraying destruction that are also edited digitally, creating an impression of self inflicted damage. He creates the model as the person who forms the abstract distortion which aligned well with my previous work. He inspired me to experiment with a ripping effect in the body that makes the photo itself ambiguous.
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I wanted to continue with distorting the body, and the attachment to yourself, but also referring back to the external forces I had experimented with earlier. I chose to do this by creating the impression of the model's hands emerging from their body, and add an effect of physical destruction. Rather than getting the model to do the destruction as an outside force, as Maku's work, I wanted the model to appear vulnerable with their 'inner self' (their own hands edited in) being the destructive force. I chose to do this through the stomach as it would allow the middle of the image and the body to be ripped open, making it more dramatic with the rest of the body remaining intact.
To create my images I got my model to stand still and then took pictures against the same backdrop, in hope to keep lighting consistent and without adjusting camera settings. I used white tissue paper in order to create the texture that I could blend into the clothes, and in which I ripped a hole and photographed my model placing their hands around the hole and gripping the paper.
In the image on the left I positioned the hands all around the edges of the hole, to blend this into the shirt. I found however using all my images of the hands overcrowded the overall image, and the ripping and deconstructing effect became less obvious so I removed some of these layers. I then used the eraser tool to blend the edges and make the hands appear as though they are emerging from the body. I think I managed successfully to keep the grip of the hands on the tissue paper, highlighting the force of the 'inner self'.
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Second attempt
In my first attempt, although I thought replicated the meaning of inner self destruction, I found that the editing could have been more polished. In my second attempt I wanted the hands and hole in the shirt to reveal my model's skin, rather than the background of the wall, as this would be easier to edit and more clear as to what is going on in the image. I also decided to make the editing easier and more perfected by physically ripping a t-shirt rather than having to blend in tissue paper. I took images of the model in the t-shirt normally, and then cut up a hole where stomach is.
The process of taking these pictures were challenging because I realised I was not able to get both of the models hands in the hole of the t shirt whilst balancing the top so that underneath was her stomach. This meant that I had to edit together 3 images, one of the shirt on normally, one of the hole of the shirt and one of her stomach, making the editing process slightly more complex and meaning that the image of the rip of the shirt was a slightly different colouration to the shirt on, which I had to correct in Photoshop.
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I thought that these images successfully developed my project into portraying the body at mercy to their hands. Using the models stomach as the background, and a plain top, conveyed the message much more effectively than my first attempt by creating a cleaner and more arresting image.
Seventh Development - 'Reinterpreting the body'
Meltem Isik
To develop my work I looked at the art of Meltem Isik, her piece 'Reinterpreting the body' aligns with my distortion of the human form and gave me inspiration to experiment with physical materials. Her technique of printing images of the body to obscure and contrast the shapes of human skin and form coincides with my previous experiments. I was interested by the way the skin tone and details can appear seamlessly fluid, but Isik extenuates the differences using proportions. I wanted to further experiment restructuring the body and use her aspect of incorporating physical prints to exaggerate flaws, that the model then compares themselves with. Isik’s use of this different technique inspired me to look further at the different processes and materials I could use in collaging body images
My response
When responding to Isik, I wanted to continue my explored themes of being distorted by hands. I took inspiration from the composition of Isik's work but conveyed a different tone, one in which the body is appearing suffocated and constricted, held up against the model seemingly unphased. The body parts that I chose to do this with were the neck the mouth and the shoulders as they can physically appear the most constrained.
After taking my images, I printed them out and got my model to hold them up against them in the exact same setting, making sure that the details were aligned and the whole body looked fluidly together. The slight disolouration from my print outs enhanced the effect because the photos appeared rusted and created the impression of a distorted reality.
After creating these images, I realised I also wanted to include the face so told my model to distort and crumple his face, along with pulling his ear to the point where it looks painful. This would allow my final collage to have more depth by including facial expression constrasts.
Artist and me
Isik's work helped with my inspiration of incorporating materials, creating a sense of attached where the body looks attached to another side of themselves, although the message behind my work is slightly different from the artist.
Initially I took the images that contained one picture and edited them in Photoshop. I chose to make my images in black and white because it enhances the shadows and details, particularly the skin on the hands, with a disturbing effect. It also allowed for more seamless comparisons of picture to body as the discolouration of the prints was muted.
I then decided to put together all of my images in a singular collage so that there were multiple distortions, making the image more complex. I had to play around with the placements of the hands in Photoshop. I was pleased with my piece because it used a new method to create a confusing yet meaningful collage. However I felt the image would have been cleaner if I had been able to use better quality printing.
Eighth development- 'a face of hands'
I wanted to experiment using physical scans of hand prints. Given the complex and intricate nature of hands I felt as though it might be more effectively created than using Photoshop. I also wanted to use a scanner to photocopy hands to see if I could convey the pressure exerted, particularly with palms, to allow me to create a vivid response. I began this by using the same hand motions as I my model had done in my previous attempt, placed up against a photo-scanner. I then imported these into Photoshop and layered and collaged them together. I thought this showed the intricacies of hand details more than before because I wasn't constrained by creating shapes that were able to be copied into Photoshop.
My first response was a quick experimentation as I soon realised I wanted to recreate this physically using paper cut outs. The Photoshop technique is laborious, but still very similar to my response before. However I still used the photos taken to help understand composition and detailing of what works most effectively for my later work.
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My second attempt allowed me to be much more detailed and playfully experiment with composition, sizing and layering as I made my collage entirely physically rather than having to use Photoshop. I created my images by positioning my hands for each facial feature and scanning them through a photocopier. I then printed these out and cut the shapes so they could best resemble the features, allowing me to fully experiment on paper with the layout of the composition. Using a photocopier also allowed me to create a more refined response because it allowed me to put pressure on the scanner which adds life to the face, as is shown by using the palms to create cheeks, compressed by the scanner.
I think that overall this was successful in replicating facial features through means that may not be obvious, such as the nose being created by knuckles. I think this was a new take on attachment in the body, using hands to continue the impression of constraints, but in a more abstract way. However I wanted to see if I could develop this idea by using different processes.
Digital response
Working with multiple layers of hands inspired my next developments of removing the face entirely. This portrayed the attachment of hands being constraining, manipulating and altering facial expressions in a more abstract way. I chose to remove the face because I think it highlights more the shape and details made up by hands and reflects the similarities of body features. I created this by getting my model to use her hands to hold all the aspects making up her face, I wanted to take my images with her face still in shot, rather than just the hands so that I could keep the hands in proportion against her face when editing.
I created this image in Photoshop by cutting and pasting the hands onto my plain image of her face, then aligning the hand-created features to her natural features. I experimented with layer ordering as I wanted all pictures shown but not overcrowd the image and make it look somewhat natural. I found the hands difficult to edit in as they were so intricate, but was pleased with the way I developed my technique in doing this.
Nineth development-'a body of hands'
I thought that my creation of facial features using the same model's hands was a successful interpretation of 'attached' and led me to further explore how parts of the body can be mimicked by other elements of the body. I chose to further expand this, leading to my next development 'a body of hands'. I wanted to expand on my idea of recreating features, but focus further onto the attachment of bodily parts. Using hands again allowed me to manipulate the shapes as best possible, and conveyed the idea of gripping and connecting that we physically associate most with hands. I chose to transition back to digital editing as for this development I wanted to merge the images together rather than collage them. My first thoughts for this experiment were to look at the parts of the body that visibly connect and are essential to structure, so I chose to recreate the spine and the neck as some of the most integral ways of keeping body parts together and functioning. To do this, I took photos of these features unobstructed and then photographed the same model's hands, aiming to replicate similar patterns and shapes found in the part of the body. So for the neck I wanted elongated fingers, and for the spine for my model to interlock her palms creating a zig-zag shape.
My first editing stage was to copy and paste the hands onto a section of her neck, I took two sets of hands so that the whole space taken up by the neck was encompassed by her fingers/ palms, this created an effect of the model looking strangled and unable to breath, creating the sense that she is completely at the mercy of the hands.
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In my final edit of the neck I merged the layers together in a successful replacement of her fingers becoming the neck. To do this in Photoshop, I used the eraser tool with the softness effect at it's highest and a lower opacity, which allowed me to blend the two layers. I then used the smudge tool to further blend the transition from shoulders. I think I effectively kept the key elements of both layers whilst ensuring they appeared connected. However one aspect that I hope to improve upon is the imprint of her fingers as I wanted the image to show the physical damage more clearly, and neaten the edit as a whole
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My final edit of the back used similar techniques and was a successful because of the illusion of the spine being mimicked by hands. It creates an effect that is initially unsettling but on further inspection the crevices it becomes clear the makeup of her spine being conjoined hands. I decided to replicate the use of skeleton/bones because the idea of protruding bones is already an uncomfortable concept, and then to be replaced by hands makes a believable but confusing impression.
Second attempt
My next attempt aimed to use the skills learnt in a the previous response, to merge hands into parts of the body. As I found my response recreating the spine the more successful image I wanted to use another bone/ part of the skeleton. I chose to recreate the collarbone as the bone is very prominent within the skin and is an integral part to the structure of the body. When deciding how to recreate this with hands, I got my model to move around the positioning of her hands to see what configuration most resembled the collarbone. I chose to photograph her knuckles as they give off a similar effect of bones, but can still be recognised as hands. I also wanted to photograph the fingers behind the knuckle so that they would look as though the hand was clinging onto the skin.
Although I had multiple images of the hands I decided to use just one image and resize and flip it when needed in order to keep lighting consistent. I turned down the opacity and directly aligned the hands to the collarbone while ensuring the positioning of the hands was in line with the bones. I found the editing challenging because the hands are detailed and don't merge as naturally into the skin. Once pasted, (image top right) I used the eraser tool to rub out the part of the hands that weren't needed and then used the same tool with a lower opacity to blend the two, along with smudging the two different skin types. I also wanted to give the impression of the hands emerging from the body and gripping her collarbone, so to make the hands appear as protruding and restricting the body I kept the fingers over her shoulders.
I think this edit was my most successful attempt at creating 'a body of hands' because I had practised and improved my editing ability each time, and this was my most smooth transition of hands to body. I also learnt the importance of consistency in lighting of the two images. I prioritised this in my second attempt by getting her to hold up the hand against the part of the body I had already photographed so reducing the different hues that I had to account for in Photoshop in my previous attempt. This resulted in less discolouration in the final edit, which makes the layering more believable. I also thought that the photographs of the knuckles added an extra layer of detail and shape to the images of hands as they contain more textures. Using a bone within the hand replacing a bone within the body also enhanced the impression I have been trying to create of the body being structurally reliant on hands.
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Final piece- 'skeletal hands'
For my final piece I aimed to include elements and techniques from all of the skills I learnt before, and portray attachment of hands with the rest the anatomy in a direct and complex demonstration. Firstly, I chose to mimic the brain as it is a recognisable feature that's structure can be emanated with hands. To photograph this, I pulled up a picture of the brain to understand it composition and shaping then got my model to use various hand shaping that would replicate these. I focused on photographing the fingers in particular as they appear most similar to the folds of the brain's cortex. I wanted to keep the interaction between fingers and hands so created a spiral motion where each layer was pasted on top of the next.
I did not use every image I had of the hands because if the collage got overcrowded it wouldn't be obvious that the brain shape was constructed from hands. I think the curves I got my model to make effectively positioned circular shapes and the light and shadows on the fingers successfully replicated cells and resembled the brain.
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I wanted to keep the images of the model's head to place along with the brain as I wanted some sort of interaction between the inner part of the body and the outside. I experimented with how to paste the brain on, so the transition looked believable but also contained an element of contrast to stand out. For my final edit, I cut out the outline of the constructed brain from the model's head and painted it black which allowed the brain to stand out and highlighted the shadows.
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I turned my final edit into black and white because I felt this highlighted the details of each element of my image. I think the brain shape and composition was successfully constructed, and requires a second glance to realise it was made up of hands. I also think getting the model to look up created a sense of interaction between the brain and the head. The image
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For my second attempt I wanted to enhance my work into a full scale depiction of the body and anatomy, so I decided to use the skeleton. This was a culmination of my techniques used previously and allowed me to experiment with multiple different formations as the skeleton has diverse shapes. When taking my pictures I began with using the whole body in order to outline the figure, so I could then ensure the proportions of other parts were right. I found in my previous experiments that the knuckles and fists were the most effective at shaping into bones as they convey a hard structure, so I focussed on this for my images.
Technically, deciding to use Photoshop for my final piece was the right choice, while the other different techniques I experimented with earlier created arresting images I felt that the techniques overshadowed the emotional message. The clean joins of Photoshop make the attachments more seamless and believable. I further developed my use of opacity and the eraser and smudge functions, and my understanding of light consistency to attach my different images, choosing the parts of the hands and arms that reflected that part of the skeleton most intriguingly.
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Constructing the skeleton within the model’s own outline was important in ensuring the proportions were credible.
In my final attempt, I also successfully incorporated the emotion I had created in my responses to Luciani. I managed to portray the ways our hands are both our primary attachment with the outside world, but then serve to both manipulate and also care for our attachment with our inner selves. The hands forming the brain are nurturing and protecting the inner self as well as bringing the outside world in, while the pelvis is convoluted and troubling reflecting the challenges faced by young women as we develop. I was pleased with the complexity and intricacies of the rib cage, hiding and protecting the literal heart of the body, while the shadows add depth.
I am pleased with the way that my final piece is the culmination of my work building complex and intriguing techniques in merging images, that bring together physical and emotional ways of exploring the theme ‘attached’.
In my final attempt, I also successfully incorporated the emotion I had created in my responses to Luciani. I managed to portray the ways our hands are both our primary attachment with the outside world, but then serve to both manipulate and also care for our attachment with our inner selves. The hands forming the brain are nurturing and protecting the inner self as well as bringing the outside world in, while the pelvis is convoluted and troubling reflecting the challenges faced by young women as we develop. I was pleased with the complexity and intricacies of the rib cage, hiding and protecting the literal heart of the body, while the shadows add depth.
I am pleased with the way that my final piece is the culmination of my work building complex and intriguing techniques in merging images, that bring together physical and emotional ways of exploring the theme ‘attached’.