This is my first big daddy picture. It comes from this year and runs 64x140 inches. It's made out of 112 8x10 RC sheets of Ilford Glossy paper. It's nice to be able to prove to myself that I'm not a total dunce once in a while. This project was a one shot deal, get it right or you suck. The process involved no camera, only myself, a flash, and a friend to help me out. It took an entire Boneshakers album to get all 112 sheets of paper on the wall, 1 second to expose my shadow, and an entire Smiths album to get them down. All the while knowing that if we messed up, that was it, the project would be ruined. Anything could have gone wrong, the shadow could have missed the mark, the brightness of the flash could be too harsh or too dim, or the picture could have just ended up looking lame.
But exposing my shadow was only the very first part. From the beginning I wanted this picture to represent my style of photography. To do that I would have to make and add some of the textures I love to create. But adding them to the picture was risky. The sheets were already exposed, my additional exposures would have to be just enough to be seen, but if I were to overexpose a panel it could ruin the entire picture.
In the end, thanks to my great mind and that of my partner, things worked out terrifically. This image was submitted into an exhibition with all my fellow graduating peers, and while there was some good stuff to be seen, I know my picture took the cake. This picture represents way more than just me, or my photography. As usual my work goes a bit deeper, at least in my mind, maybe I can deepen yours...
When others look at my work, I cant be sure what it is they are thinking. If they thinking the way I do, if they are seeing what I see. For all I know people are vapid creatures who look at these shapes and just see shapes and are happy to recognize them, and while in the context of an abstract photograph they see shapes and think something like "oh, how nice, I know that shape, how artsy. Where's the cheese plate?" Hopefully I'm just being negative and there are people out there who are as compelled as me to dig deeper, and see more. These segments, which are a product of simply dirtying a layer of glue, and then dropping drops of clear glue onto the layer results in this pattern of cells. A very simple means to create a familiar natural phenomenon that can be seen all over the world.
Just a few examples of what my cells could represent. Top being a 400x closeup of celery cells, middle being cells going through mitosis, and on the bottom soap bubble. All very different, but at the same time similar natural occurrences of the texture I created. Being cells I thought it would lend itself well to my project because they can easily represent our own bodies skin cells. MOVING ON.
These rougher textures were created using fire, or soldering irons to melt away at the plastic. It always leaves bubbles and burns and holes that remind me of.... remind me of.... mind me of... me of..
When I see these textures they always conjured images of flames, or burning flesh. Not really in a morbid way, but in an aesthetic quality. However in that regard, and in the context of putting that texture onto a human figure, the texture could easily represent pain and suffering. A lingering pain much like that of a burn. Also the randomness, and the dare I say dirtiness of dirt also favors this texture, that is why I mostly use this texture as the ground in my image.
I've talked about how I make these cracks before, it is one of my favorite textures, and for this project it served me well. What is it you see? Here's what I see:
As I was saying in an earlier post, I find that nature seems to have a predictable randomness to it. And in this example, whether big and grand like a tree or a lightning bolt or tiny like the veins of the body or dendrites in the brain, these things have a common way of forking and thinning as if the laws of the universe demand they do so.
This is what my photography is all about. More than just making a picture of a chick look dark and dreamy, or making a landscape look like a place of imagination, those things are just fringe benefits. I like to think of my photography as an examination of the physical universe, of chemistry, and just the way everything seems to be connected to one another.
The pose, and the profile also have purpose to them...
The way I shaped my arms were to be in the shape of the symbol of infinity. This. unless I am mistaken is one of the symbols for Nirvana, the state of pure bliss in so many words. And the side profile as so often in the history of art represents death. One would often be painted in the side profile after they had died because everything would hang nicely when they were lying down. So draw whatever meaning you would like from that juxtaposition.
One.