F E R N W E H
A crave for travel; being homesick for a place you've never been.
For each of my photos, I used my own images, 1 of my sister/cousin and 1 of place I've been. To create each image, I selected the area I wanted to cut out and then made it into a silhouette using the ‘mask’ tool. I then placed a ‘solid’ white layer behind the image, so it had a white background. I then layered one of my images and used the ‘screen’ tool, so it only showed in the shape of the person I cut out, I moved the image around until it was in the position I desired. I then used a variety of editing tools (contrast, levels, saturation, vibrancy, exposure, etc. ) to enhance the image and get the result I wanted. Each image required different types of editing, and I experimented with a variety of images before I finished the photo.
Each image is located in the centre of the photo, on a contrasting white background so that the image is the only point of focus.
Some of the photos have images containing leading lines, drawing the audience into the photo and proving a sense of depth and direction.
The colours of each photo are the natural colours of the image overlaid; this is so the image overlaid is realistic and remains connected to the place in which it was taken.
Each photo contains a profile image of a person, this is so the image overlaid sits within the head (brain) and chest (heart) of the subject which helps to create meaning. If the whole length of the subject were used the focus on these points would be lost.
I used the photos of my sister/cousin as they had not been to any of the places that the photos were taken, this contributes to the meaning behind my work.
M E A N I N G
The message for sale in the photographs I created is based on the German term “Fernweh” (of which there is no English equivalent) which means a crave for travel; being homesick for a place you've never been. It is essentially the opposite of homesickness (Heimweh).
Travelling, for many can be about challenging ourselves, learning, expanding our perspectives, finding oneself, appreciating life, adventure, relaxing, escaping and celebrating.
For many people the yearn for travel is strong that they experience fernweh, longing to be somewhere they’ve never been, to be in a distant and unknown land, see anything, anywhere and with anyone.
But how do we go about searching for a place we’ve never been? How do we alleviate a yearning, the source of which is unknown to us? Why do we ache for places we've never been?
Is it because of jealousy of others on social media, what we see on tv, in magazines, in movies or is it just a want for change and escape?
In the images I've created, I explore this idea of Fernweh by layering images of places over subjects to communicate and sell this message.
The photos contain profile images of the subjects, stopping mid chest as to encapsulate only to top half of the person. By doing this, the areas containing the heart and brain are layered with the image of a place. This represents the fact that the crave for travel comes from both the mind and soul of a person, this desire consumes a person's thoughts and feelings.
The images that are layered over the top of the subjects were carefully selected and are places that the subjects have never been to. Images I took without their presence but later showed to, both wishing they were there at the time. This in itself is the meaning of fernweh and provides the photos with deeper meaning.
The purpose of these photographs was to capture this feeling, this desire to travel to places we've never been.
