Photoshoot 2: Surrealism Physical Photomontage: Straight Images -

Photoshoot 2: Straight Images - 

Physical Photomontage:

(Lucas Simoes)

This image was inspired by the black and white burning portraits of Simoes who re-captured the images whilst the flame was still alight to provide a burst of colour to contrast to the black and white images. My interpretation was to burn away more of the identity and to attach the cultprit of the flame, the match, to the bottom of the image to evoke an idea of a sad scrapbook. This image may have been more effective if edited into black and white.

(Hannah Hoch)

The above photographic experimentation is in the style of Hannah Hoch and her collages. The disembodied heads are made to resemble planets with the other features linking to travel. I wanted to evoke an obscure meaning in an audience in the same way the Hoch's extreme surreal works did.

(Ernesto Artillo)

I personally did not find this experiment extremely engaging and aesthetically pleasing when comparing it to the work that it was designed to be a pastiche of. The colours and movements appear too forced opposed to the implied erratic nature and freedom. However, the connotations and meanings encoded within can be appreciated in that they challenge societal beauty norms.

(May Xiong)

This work was one inspired solely by the style of an artist and not of their meanings. The adaptions that I made from the inspirational images from Xiong involved change of colour, physical manipulation contrasted to graphic and the general aesthetic appearance. I was not pleased with this outcome due to the colours used. To recreate this shoot I would instead employ a white backdrop and then graphically edit the images using Photoshop. Although, as a physical experiment it has some elements that I do appreciate. the composition of the post-production manipulations are aesthetically pleasing and some are more subtle than others that take the eye on a journey through the work.

(Flora Borsi)

This image is much like the aforementioned photo manipulation in that it does not reach the same standard of aesthetic appeal as the images that inspired it. The colours were intended to match the colours in the image although I would have preferred to use softer colours with lighter hues to evoke a more emotional response in the audience as is evidenced in Borsi's work.

(Matthieu Bourel) 

The above physical manipulation is inspired by the work of Matthieu Bourel who often dissects the faces of famous. Examples of his work show duplication, change of scale, layering and collage. My interpretation above uses the face of a normal person with the loss of their identity through the removal of the layer which was home to the face of the subject. The skull beneath is cut from an anatomy book and was chosen for its surreal nature that also provided a meaning relating to how we are all the same underneath our skin regardless of race, gender, age, sexuality, class etc. 

(Lucas Simoes)

This image was inspired by Simoes' series entitled "Desretratos" where layers of photographs are woven between one another to form spiralling patterns that provide a reflective like distortion as though the images were on rippling water. As such I took this idea and extended it to achieve the above result; the idea of a distorted reflective surface inspired me to create the illusion of a broken mirror with reflection in incorrect places. The meaning behind the work was to interpret the ideas of beauty standards and societal attitudes shaping how individuals see themselves.