Ideas from the Brief
- A series of photographs that are not by me (not spoken in my 'voice')
- Confusion with the conscious or biological self
- Freedom of the arts, less tied to realities
- fiction/ documentary
- All subjectivities
- fabricating our narrators
- Veracity of the series
Initial Action
Creating my 'narrator'
- Different gender
- Age
- Lifestyle
- Values
Shoot
Work on text and presentation
Focus on a way to define the context of the work
Character/ Persona
Late twenties business man, living alone in London. Mechanical, isolated, dysfunctional and inhuman. Successful and comfortable in his high-power job, a sharp contrast to every other aspect of his life. Sparse, unremarkable, claustrophobic, unchanging, untidy and absolute unorganised chaos. A harsh reality with a level of unenthused pessimism and apathy that bleeds into the psyche.
Reviewing my content
Creating Context for the Viewer
I want the work to feel complex without anyone having to know what it is about. I drew a lot of inspiration for creating this false identity from real encounters and experiences I had. I decided to give the reader an understanding of who this persona I created was and how they would be seen from a third party perspective. I took messages I still had and translated them into a voice that I felt fit with the character, the set and the situation I had created. I'm hoping that the decision the bring in the characters own voice, his mothers and the idea of them interacting with a third party will create an interesting narrative for the viewer then also being let in to this intimate and fictional dynamic.
Ideas to take forward
- Personas
- Alter Ego
- Cindy Sherman
- Superficiality
- fake, bleeding into the real
- stitched together
- Character
- Performance
- Product of Environment
- Multiplicity
- Gregory Creudson
- Trapped inside of the confines we create
- Separation from oneself
- Editing and altering
- Erwin Olaf
- Natural vs the nurtured
- Subjectivity
- Jell Wall
Context
Jorge Luis Borge's "Borges and I" and William Butler Yeats' "Crazy Jane" Poems
Yeats also used heroes (historic and mythological) that bore a resemblance to the people in his personal life (something for me to consider in terms of my inspiration and how I piece together this story).
I want to create a narrative voice to the work that is as different to my own as possible, which I think with help in constructing this false persona and what that should look like.
An Unreliable Narrator
Research
"An untrustworthy storyteller, most often used in narratives with a first-person point of view. The unreliable narrator is either deliberately deceptive or unintentionally misguided, forcing the reader to question their credibility as a storyteller."
Authors often employ this as ad literary device to create plot twists and conflicted characters. The unreliable narrator—a storyteller who withholds information, lies to, or misleads the reader, creating doubt surrounding the narrative. This is often used to engage readers on a deeper level, forcing them to come to their own conclusions when the narrator’s point of view isn't complete or can’t be trusted.
For example-
-Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca- -Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl- -Winston Groom, Forrest Gump- -Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club-
Try-
"Keep your reader in the dark. Viewers are used to having more information than the characters. Try flipping that scenario". People are inherently unreliable when telling a story since their point of view is filtered through their experience and beliefs. Hint at any qualities that might compromise them and their story early on". "Let other characters be a sounding board. Picture a story with 15 first-person narrators. Every character’s interpretation of events is filtered through their own lens. While you don’t need this many perspectives in your story, use other characters to reflect inconsistencies in your narrator’s story". "Experiment with just a pinch of unreliability. Even if your main character is well-intentioned, give them unreliable moments to make them slightly flawed—and thus, more believable".
Working Towards
The goal is to produce a complex body of work, as well as to command and reward the viewers attention.
Can use factual, scientific, diaristic or fictional strategies. Why not combine ways of working to create this false narrative that I'm working towards? (Distort truth and a sense of self with fantasy and take this on as my own).
Selecting images
12
17a
30
39
42
49
50
58
91
141
190a
After refining and reviewing some of the images from the shoot, I've found that I find the less personal photos more dynamic and on theme with the story I'm trying to portray. I originally planned on producing around five images to express my ideas however after experimenting; I found myself much more drawn to the tree largest images together. These photos are documentary and mundane, just like the rest but I think this selection displays a strange sense of uneasiness as a result of the odd angles, lighting and subject matter.
Review of Task
The display I choose- could have been tied together better with the theme. Perhaps uniform and structured, influenced by the character that I created.
Selection of images- I feel as though the three I choose work well together, although the middle image appeals to me the most. This is because I find the way the mirror interacts with the natural and artificial light interesting dynamic and a juxtaposition that I would like to explore more.
I really liked exploring the idea of creating a non-existent sense of self. I could possibly push this into structuring many characters around assumptions and stereotypes that create these delusions or false ideas of what someone is.
The aspect of performativity was a fascinating experience, constructing and piecing together a puzzle of a person. However I'm unsatisfied with the levels of imagery and hidden clues within the image to help tell the image. So next time I want to ensure that I have a focus on the symbolism I include in order to develop my understanding of the relationship between the viewer and the images I produce. As a result of this, I hope to navigate the possibilities of manipulating my work to alter how it might be perceived in the future.
Summary
- Performance
- Creation
- Character