Colour photography up until the 1970's was highly associated with advertising and commercial purposes only, purely seen as a way of selling something it gained a uninspiring reputation, leaving no other creative aspects to be considered. Over the years many photographers have adopted colour to evoke emotion, tone and temperature to images, something which could not be pursued in black and white. It has opened up the medium of photographic practice, allowing more imaginative opportunities to be explored.
After absorbing the information of the project brief, my very first reaction was to instigate how colour has been used to maximise photography. Eggleston and Shore, the most renowned pioneers of colour documentary are equally inspiring of course, however they didn't fully help me come up with a coherent idea of what I wanted to create, therefore I looked at alternative examples. I find the emotive work of Rinko Kawauchi and unfocused images of Bill Jacobson most thought provoking.
I admire how Rinko views the world around her as a child would, there as hint of innocence and naivety within every one her images. The snapshot aesthetic that she applies is also another aspect that intrigues me, she has this reputation of capturing key moments in everyday life that are often ignored. I also get the sense that she is not trying not elaborate on major political issues, merely reinforcing the idea we live in a world that should be appreciated from birth all the way up to death. I am very drawn to this notion, as I myself am a mellow individual. I feel sometimes that art does not necessarily need to be thought of a way of expressing political bias. As a result I am tempted to base my work around the everyday situations that life brings, but reveal their extraordinary nature, reminding people that the world we live in is something to appreciate.
I find Jacobson's approach very appealing because he goes against the nature of the camera, by intentionally blurring the focus he creates dreamy images to depict the absence memory in the physical world. The streams colour with the images brings a certain nostalgic quality, which reminds me of the impressionistic paintings of Claude Monet. I am very interested in employing the aesthetics of impressionism in my work. The depiction of the world through marks and colour was a direct response to the industrial revolution. The impressionist wanted to create something the camera could not. In relation to this Jacobson seems to play with technology and create something anti convential. I also want to go against the grain, in order to recognise the essence of change and take control of my destiny through making choices. As we move through life, decisions become constant, doors open and paths are followed.
My final intentions are to give light to examples of human behaviour when we are all moving through life and things are changing. I want to portray a broad range of emotions felt in transient states. I invite the viewer to interpret my images how they wish. The simple message is that "moving on" or "passing through" is an inevitable occurrence that all generations can empathise with. I don't wish to evoke any specific feeling as this process is unique to the individual. Some people may be anxious about change, other excited and some may feel stuck in one place and unsure which path to take.
I aim to achieve a sense of movement and constant shifting, aesthetically by shooting in busy environments. I will set up my camera to a slow shutter speed so movement is blurred and ghostly shadows show the traces of human presence. I am not aiming to have any one particular focus as I am interested in collective consciousness but will welcome happy accidents. I wish to pay homage to the impressionist palate by manipulating the colours in photoshop post production. I will experiment with tools to evoke the sense of blurry dreamscape to my work.
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