The work that went into my 2015 year 13 photography folio.

Diana Simumpande

 

 

Information about my work: 'The Hollow Men'
Ideas / Concepts / Themes

Conceptually my ideas were sparked by the visual Poem; The Thinker of Tender Thoughts by Shel Silverstein. The poem explores the struggle to stay true to oneself when faced with the pressure to conform. I found this concept fascinating and wanted to explore it further through photography. I drew influences from photomontage photographers like Jerry Uelsmann and Tommy Ingberg, as well as surrealist artists like Rene Magritte and Salvador Dali, who were instrumental in the shift from simpler images to the more complicated and elaborate composite images. With their work as reference, I was able to build on my theme and communicate conformity through surrealist images. However, thematically I was influenced by Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman and Ken Kesey's novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which explored the ideas of conformity through suburban and institutional settings, and contributed to the direction of them. The more surreal images show a manifestation of the man's inner fears and uncertainties, these were also communicated through reception, tone and colour.

 

Techniques / Processes / Materials

Photoshop played a large role in the execution of the images. Although this was very time-consuming, it was a good way of learning how to extend and develop ideas as well as improving my own Photoshop skills, and in the end, it proved to be quite a therapeutic process. Colour was also very significant; beforehand I had already selected a colour palette of blues and greys, as well as black and white to stick to. I created contrast by placing low saturated colours next to an intense black. Using muted and sterile colours helped convey the theme and reflected the inner conflict within the model without having to use an explicit narrative. I used a variety of different shots, experimented with focus and framing shots and learned to think methodically when planning certain images. Continuity was also imperative, as well as revising old ideas.

 

Highs and lows that arose during the production of my work:

It was gratifying to see how I grew as the year matured and I found that I could do the things that I really didn't think I could at the beginning of the year. A high point was going out on a whim and just trying something to see if I could do it and then actually seeing it come to life and work! A low point was definitely figuring out how to arrange the images in a way that made sense and finding the right balance between simple and more complicated images. There was a point where I really couldn't see the end and didn't think I'd ever be able to come up with enough strong ideas and execute them in a way that I personally deemed acceptable. However, this just made the finished product more rewarding, because I managed to produce something that I was proud of and I could honestly say I did my best.