Exam Review

The themes that I am currently working on for the inside, outside and in-between exam topic is the everyday. I originally intended to do portraiture, however I felt that this was similar to previous work that I had done, and so I changed my idea to the everyday, as although it is a simplistic theme, it can be explored in many ways which is something that drew me to the idea. I think that my most successful experiment has been with distortion, which is something that I want to continue with and develop with for my exam. 

I think that this technique has worked particularly well for my experiments and to further my developments I could look at using different coloured inks as apposed to just water, and perhaps experiment with the 'colour splash' techniques so the background is in black and white and the ink is the only thing in colour, or the other way around. I plan to refine my ideas further by also experimenting with black and white film, and perhaps even colour film. An artist that I have researched in relation to this idea is Jorma Puranen, who is a photographer that inspired me as he has also used the technique that I have shown above. To recreate a piece to be more like his, I would use experiment with both cool tone and warm tone colours, and simpler surroundings/objects to focus on. What I love about his work is that he uses textures and distortion to make the photographs look like an oil painting:

In the two weeks before the exam, I want to really use my lesson time wisely by taking full advantage of dark room, and really experimenting with distortion for example, using scratched glass and creating handmade negatives by using cellophane, salt and washing up liquid to create interesting techniques. I also think that overlaying the cellophane can make the photograph appear fragmented where the ends of the cellophane meet. I also want to experiment more with using other materials to create photographic prints, for example, using liquid emulsion and also using different types of paper (for example, coloured paper, card, graph paper, textured paper). Also experimenting with building on top of my photographs, for example by using fabrics, paints, and more. Not only will this add to my collection of experimentations, but it will also help me to decide on how I want to present my final outcome - what do I want to do with the final negatives/photographs? For example, I might keep it simple and just pin the photographs onto card or foamboard, so that they stand out without a busy background taking attention away from the photographs themselves, or I could print the photographs onto fabric and create some sort of installment.