INTROSPECTION

A Brief Summary of the Term and Key Influences

Initial Thought 

1st blog post: 

I would like to continue the work of last term, exploring further how people will respond and interact with my images. Changing my photography from purely visual and making it an experience to interact with the work on a personal level looking.

Last term,

*I shot images in the studio of the dancer using free lensing techniques 

*I created a stop motion video the create a platform in which to engage with the dance more than just visually 

*I used sound in conjunction with the video to further the interaction and engagement.

*I created flip book to make the experience more personal as it could only be viewed by one person at a time. 

This was the start of my exploration of creating an immersive experience. 

Key Inspirations 

Ori Gersht 

Nick Knight, Isabella Blow Images 

Chris Nash 

(View earlier blog posts)

Jenifer Kelly 

"There is a reciprocal interaction between behaviour and environmental responses. A persons behaviour can be influenced by an environment and behaviour can like wise shape an environment."

-Wollaton Hall 

How and why I shot 

*Free lensing 

*long exposures 

Both these techniques mired both the movement and speed of the dance, creating an empathy between the photographer and dancer to create further interaction. 

I initially set out to create a video but I struggled to get dancers involved and organising timing and locations was very difficult. Using Wollaton hall was great, it was such a beautiful space but I couldn't use the space for any more than 20mins at a time without having to rent it out at wedding costs which was well out of my budget. This didn't allow much time to fully explore new techniques. Besides all the technical issues I felt it was a perfect time to experiment with installation as it's exhibition term. I had begun to explore it at the end of last term but decided i should wait until exhibition term to really explore it properly so I decided to revert back to my initial plans. 

Immersive experience 

I now feel that creating an installation was far more immersive and engaging than a video could have been as there wouldn't  have been the opportunity to explore movement and the touch which are both emotively powerful. 

Key Inspirations 

-Yayoi Kassumi - seeing spots 

-Sam Taylor wood orchestra

-Jo longhurst A-Z of gymnastics 

-Rankin Alive in the face of death (View Earlier Blog Posts)

 Installation 

-movemnt 

-Interaction 

-not just linear 

-platform to engage 

-make the most of exhibition term 

according to the gadget show the most immersive experience is gaming simulators. I however feel i have left room for it to be very personal, the viewer can project what they want onto the dancer and take what they like from the images. Perhaps more immersive and freeing than a prescribed simulator environment. 

This is a good half way point in the project, not complete. I am happy with where It is at now and how and how I have arrived at this point. I have thoroughly enjoyed this experience, what I have learnt in the process. I am now in a much better place to push this further and explore moving image and other avenues to explore an immersive experience. 

Reflecting on my work

I have really enjoyed this term and the explorative process I have been on, looking into dance, Installation, creating an experience and a private moment has been incredibly interesting and I have learnt a lot from it.

I have thoroughly enjoyed building an installation for the exhibition to display my images and create a platform of further engagement for the viewer. It has been incredibly challenging and a huge amount of work, I was very pleased with the final result when I had finished but unfortunately it was not strong enough to deal with many people moving around it and touching it at the exhibition. I have learnt just how much work putting an installation is, along with producing such a vast amount of images and the time spent printing.
It was a shame it couldn't deal with so many people handling it and I should have worked out a way that would have been much more secure to hang my work. The intention was however to encourage peopler to interact and immerse them selves in the images, so I achieve what I set out to do.

If I was to create an installation again I would look into weather or not it would be better to have the images displayed against and wall, still hanging but with just the white wall behind to stop their being any distractions in the back ground.
I am pleased it wasn't against a wall this time round as it would have stopped people moving around it an engaging in the way they could this time round.

I am really pleased with my final images, the camera techniques worked really well to create engaging images and the location I shot in was beautiful with really wonderful light. I am however slightly disappointed as I feel I was so focused on creating images to build an experience and work together to create a journey that I wouldn't actually be able to pick just one image, I would like to have come out with images that would still look strong on theire own and out of context with the mobile and the other images. The images do however work very well together and create the experience I set out to do.

Some of the feedback I have has is that the images could have been larger in the mobile, I purposefully kept them small to ensure people would have to take the time to view them and intentionally engage, rather than having a sweeping view and getting an idea of what the work is. I will in the feature experiment with image size and weather the scale of the images would change the way people interact and engage with the work and weather or not it would change the way they personally view and experience the images.

I am very pleased with the finish of my work and feel I did achieve what I set out to do, I feel I have learnt so much this term both conceptually and technically as well as experiencing creating work specifically for an exhibition.

Introspection

I have chosen to call this body of work Introspection, the Oxford dictionary definition is:

"The examination or observation of one’s own mental and emotional processes:
quiet introspection can be extremely valuable"
This body of work has been made with the intention of giving the viewer the opportunity to explore the work and interact on a personal level with the opportunity the explore their own personal experience and emotions and project them onto the work. Space is made to explore their own mental and emotional processes within the context of the work. 

Creating a Holistic Experience.

This body of work is all about the interaction of the photographer and the dancer and how this translates to the viewer, their own personal engagement and reaction to the work.
The goal was to create a more than visual experience using photography as a counterpoint to creating an experience, to do this I have shot the images in a way that reflects the dance while making the images slightly difficult to read encouraging the viewer to stop ad really explore what they can see.  I have used an Installation to hang the work to ensure their is movement and variation in the positioning in the work, reflecting that of a dance,  creating another platform of engagement. I have also used the sound of the dancer, it is very subtle and like the images not instantly recognised as the sounds of the dancer, it adds a new dynamic and a route to explore when viewing the work.

building the Installation

the process of building my mobile:

1. print two of each image and cut them out

2. use double sided sticky tape to attach invisible wire to the inside of on of the two prints.

3.Use spray mount and place both images together.

at this point I had all my image backed together with invisible wire coming from the centre ready be attached to wire.

4.Cut the wire to the length that is desired (I used white coated wire coat hangers)

5.Starting from the bottom arm of the installation decide which picture you would like on the arm and tie them on, when I was happy with the positions I superglued the nots.

6. Find the centre point of the wire and at that point attach the invisible sting, attaching the other end to the next arm of the installation.

7.Arrange the images around the string that is attached, glue them down when happy with their positions.

8. continue working up until happy with the height then attach to a top wire.

9. repeat all of the above working up and attach to the top wire crating a mobile the has many arms  that will work together.

Making this mobile was a very explorative method as I spent a lot of time working out how to build it and how to ensure all the images worked well together and were at heights that would lead the eye through the images.

I found finding the balance point of each arm was incredibly challenging as often it would line up and balance, then swing around throwing all the other images off balance. once they were all perfectly balanced it meant they could move freely in the breeze and they wouldn't trow the balance off. to get to this point was very difficult.

Making an Installation

I have chosen to utilise term two as it is exhibition term and use an installation to display my work, I have chosen to make one like a mobile, this give the viewer the opportunity move through the work and interact with it, creating more of an experience and understanding of the work. 

The way the mobile is built means it relies totally on balance, for it to stay up each component in completely balanced and in line with each other, this is incredibly intricate and difficult to make but it creates a really dynamic movement and natural flow when its viewed, all the images will work together and move in harmony with each other, enhancing the feel of dance and the viewers engagement with the work. 

It also give me the opportunity to not only play with varying heights but depth, my work is not just linear, it has many levels and depth that represent the experience of dance encouraging the viewer to explore it further and have a deeper engagement and understanding. 

Printing

Printing was something I had to really carefully consider as I am building a module for the images to be hanging form. When I made a test mobile I realised that the photography paper I printed on was far to dense and took way from the delicacy of the mobile and the scenes of movement s and fluidity.

I chose some very light artist handmade paper, it worked so well as it was very light and the hand made quality adds to the engagement for the viewer as it has a very personal feel.

I had a stubble working out how to print the images well onto the paper. I initially used a transfer techniques in which i covered the paper in white acrylic  paint and placed onto the hand made paper, once it had dried I used the smallest amount of water to rub off the top layer of paper leaving the image of the home mead paper underneath.

This technique worked well and I loved how personal it was but it took away the quality of the images leaving prints that i was 100% happy with.

I chose to use an inkjet printer to prig directly onto to the images, giving the images a much finer and clearer quality in conjunction with the long exposures and free lensing techniques.

I had also considered printing onto Acetate or teaching paper, to really enhance the fluidity but i realised as the mobile i was building was so delicate and spindley the images might feel a bit insignificant and lost amongst all the other work so i chose to use a paper of higher density.

Camera Techniques and Equipment

Camera techniques 

I shot mainly using a technique called free lensing, It was where the lens is used independently of the camera creating images with a shallow depth of filed and distortion. The techniques worked really well to create images the are not 100 precent clear, the viewer will have to stop and look and come to an understanding of what the are viewing rather than it being instantly clear. It also meant that when I was shooting as a photographer I was mirroring the dancer and taking part in the experience of the dance, this method of photography creates empathy between the dancer and the viewer translating well to the viewer. 

I found long exposures worked really well to create images that were very engaging as they created a sense of time and a del sense of the speed and pace of the dance, creating another platform of engagement for the viewer. 

camera equipment 

I shot all the images on a 50mm lens as it works very well for the free lensing technique but it is also known for bing the lens the is most similar to how we see with the human eye, this worked really well as a point of engagement and interaction. 

Sound

This body of work is all about the intercession the experience with the intention of creating a personal and immersive experience. 

I have decided to not ply use images and an installation but the use of sound to enhance the experience. 

I have recorded the sounds of the dancer but kept the sound of the camera in the background as the interaction between the photographer and the dancer was such a vital part of this project. 

Woolaton Hall

Wollaton Hall 

The Prospects room at wollaton hall is such a beautiful space, I really enjoyed shooting there. It was however a struggle organising to shoot there as they could never guarantee I could use the space until i turned up on the day, making it difficult organising dancers and equipment leading to many unsuccessful trips and having to shoot in just 20 minute slots. The  time I could spend there was  however invaluable as it was such a beautiful space and worked well in creating an environment for the dancer to engager with, becoming part of the dance and the experience. 

Having only 20 minute slots to shoot in was a struggle but made me think really carefully before shooting about what I was aiming to achieve in each shoot, and really focused me while I was there. It felt similar to shooting on film and only having 24 shots. I had to be very decisive as to what I was shooting and when I was happy with my images and moving on to the next shot. 

After my first shoot I realised I was going to have to initially shoot with the dancer and focus really technically on how I was going to use the camera and the techiniques I wanted to use to convey the dance and fine-tune it allowing me to then shoot focusing on the dancer, ensuring I captured the images when she was the the height of the jump and when her toes were pointed to ensure the dance images were not technically good from a photography point of view but also from a dance point of view. 

The Models Clothing

The Models clothing 

I had to think trolly carefully about how The dancer was dressed as fashion says a lot on an image and people will read into. I wanted to keep my images very neutral to encourage people to engage on a personal level, I didn’t want the dance to have too much personality as the viewer would read it as the dancers experience rather then projecting their own feelings and emotions onto the images and reading it as their own experience. 

I initially shot the images withe the dance only wearing black leggings Tshirt but I felt this almost said more and made the image feel as if it was not quite complete, as if I had neglected to consider such a major part of the image. 

I decided to keep the outfit all black but instead of leggings used a floaty skirt, It added a to of movement and fluidity to the image and gave the dance a more complete feel with out adding too much personality of fashion influence. 

Final Dance Shoot

Final dance shoot

I came to this shoot after having many practices in the space, with the dance and the best way to shoot to create a real sense of dance and moment and a plat form in which the viewer could really engage using the techniques of free lensing and long exposures. 

In this shoot I was focusing on the dancers technique as I had really explored the camera technique and worked out the best way to shoot and was really comfortable with it. 

I wanted to ensure when shooting I have the dancer at her best, when she was at the height of the jump or leap, her toes were pointed and she was at full reach or stretch. I really enjoy the challenge of this and working with the dancer to realise my goal. 

Final space shoot

Final Space shoot 

The aim for this shoot was to photograph the space in a way to evoke feelings of dancing with in it. 

I wanted to have a variety of shots some more focused with more clarity in the subject so the viewer would have a key point of engagement  while other images were a lot more abstract, to connote the emotions of dance and the speed, movement and time frame. The variety in the way the images were shot also connotes both the freedom and joy in dance but also the skill and understanding. 

I wanted to shoot these images in a more abstract manner to encourage the viewer to stop and engage with the image, rather then having them clear and large in front of them in a style similar to that of Thomas Ruff where it is quick to engage and understand and just as fast to move on to other images. I want the viewer to really explore them and personally engage and interact. 

Scale Floor Plan

We have divided ourselves into teams to ensure the exhibition is well organised, being a one of the curators we measured the space and decided it between the two groups and the number of people exhibiting, taking into considereation the sort of work people were making and how it would work together to create and engaging exhibition. we considered visually how the work would fit tog there along with the concept and the colour scheme to make it both conceptually and visually engaging.

Artist Statement

This body of work is an exploration of the interaction between the photographer, the dancer and the space and how this translates to the viewer and the experience of viewing and exiting the work.
The work is made with the intention of creating a journey and a platform to interact and explore on a personal level. I have chosen to shoot these images in an way that will reflect the movement of the dance furthering the opportunity to engage with the work and enhancing the exploration needed as they are not instantly recognises able. It encourages the viewer to stop and look creating  an opportunity to fully engage and understand.
The use if the sound and instillation is to create a more than visual experience, the intention is to create a holistic experience to further the interaction and emotional investment with the work.