Overall, this project has been very successful. I have been able to adapt my project quickly due to a major change of circumstances, and produce a range of images that make the viewer feel slightly uncomfortable and uneasy, as well as feel empathy for others as what they are feeling is what others may feel.
The reason I created this project was to raise empathy in and help to acknowledge the distress that can be caused by the most unlikely phenomena and deserves recognition.
I came across challenges within this project, first being the global pandemic which none of us could have predicted and was something that myself and other members of my cohort would have struggled with greatly. Secondly, due to the pandemic I was not able to photograph my usual subjects, so I had to find someone else. The only person that I was able to find in a short space of time and that would be the safest thing to do during the ongoing pandemic, was to photograph myself. This was not something I would normally do, or even consider doing as I have never felt comfortable being in front of a camera, but it was the only thing I could do to continue to work on the new project. The excitement and the meaning behind it made me feel more comfortable with the idea of the images as being self-portraits, I felt as though to make the images more important and emotional to me, was to add one of my fears in each one. Although it is not a big fear, it is just something I cannot normally bring myself to do.
If I were to continue this project, I would create a short film in the style of Maya Deren. The film would be in black and white and only contain music that I would hope to create myself – almost like a gaming soundtrack, the music would match and build the suspense as well as add narrative. The film would feature one person encountering a range of fears, and like Maya Deren’s ‘Meshes of the Afternoon’ it would be almost like the ‘dreamlike’ state that occurs throughout the film, but instead of it being dreamlike that spills into reality, I’d like to create a film that is featured the person fighting and facing their fears within their mind – this would also spill out into reality, as the fear will be encountered in real life, and show the person fighting it off within their mind. However, this would not be obvious to the viewer, I would like the viewer to have to think about what is happening throughout.
My favourite image that I created in this project is ‘Agora’ (photoshoot 3) I like how the empty space instantly draws your attention to the eye in the centre of the image. I also like the expression in the eye – you can see the fear, as well as this, I was able to make the blind curve around the eye by using wire. This was a difficult task, but it worked very well, and it allowed enough space for the eye to stare through, but not enough space to expose more of the face.
However, I am very happy with how the project turned out, despite having to change it very suddenly. I feel as though the images sit well with one another and the black and white adds suspense and gives it quite an ‘Alfred Hitchcock’ feel and look, which is what I wanted to achieve within my images.
For my next steps for this project, I hope to create the short film, and perhaps even open up a small exhibition space in Bath along with a close friend of mine. I would like to feature my images as well as the short film. I would have the images be presented in a dark room, mostly illuminated by the film playing on repeat, this would be to distort the images slightly and make them more unsettling and make the viewer experience more feelings/emotions and make them feel more empathetic to those who suffer with the phobias.