WORK STATEMENT
My Representation Part 2 project is a continuation of the idea of self discovery and finding the place where one can simply just be within self portraiture. I have been heavily inspired by Vivian Maier’s extremely intriguing angles and use of reflection, Francesca Woodman’s use of surrealism and dimensions, also Sam Taylor-Woods cinematic approach to photography and her use of simplistic yet affective composition.
The content of my work tells a story through reflection as a key tool to translate my concept. The images visually explain a conversation which is taking place between myself and myself on the other side of the glass/mirror. By using different props within the image I allow the audience to speculate what is happening and why. In my final image you can see the strong sense of relationship between the two reflections and by using the fore and background are able to understand.
The context within my project stems from my early teenage years where I had little self worth and my reflection was a big issue for me to the point where some days I wouldn’t go to school as I didn’t have the confidence. I have over come this over the years with help from friends and family, but it is something that will always be personal to me. So within this project I wanted to revisit my reflection to explore the relationship I have now and show conversation between myself now and the young me and the journey we’ve been on.
The concept of my project is about trying to find that place in the reflection where you are content and can just be. The series by Sam Taylor-Wood called Suspended has had a big effect on my work as the main concept of her work is to find a place where you can get away from all the stress of modern life to just float and be in a hyper-reality world. My work suggests this but more with appearance and how you deal with yourself.
There have been many different outcomes of my work, one of them being it a way of self therapy as it allowed me to revisit this personal subject now I’ve over come it and exploring the reasons why it was such a big issue for me and photograph it. Also I wanted to audience, my online followers, too see that it’s a subject that you can over come and my images could help them understand.