large format trial

I just tried to get familiar with 4x5 camera before I actually use it in the studio. I spent some time using it to take pictures of my objects with different angle and arrangement. It was really a good experience. I like the format and viewfinder especially.

Special thanks to Patricia and William for your kind help!!!
Thank you guys very much!!!




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those christmas trees

I took several pictures of christmas trees after the Christmas and new year holidays. There were lots of them spreading on the streets in different neighbourhoods. I didn't think too much about my intention. It was very intuitive as always. I guessed it was because I hardly saw the real Christmas tree in my country and now they were just everywhere. However, it also made me feel sad at the same time. Discard always makes me sad.

I almost finish developing and scanning all these photographs and try to see how it goes.



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play around

before the start of final semester
i had a great dinner with Tomoko and her flatmates
after the meal it was the time to play around

onions / carrots / parsnip / broccolis

cup / pot / glasses / utensils / peeler
banana / apple / pear / chrysanthemums



played with objects and medium format camera
just for fun


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group tutorial 1

I had my group tutorial on 23.Jan. I am in a new group with Frank, Rima and Keith this semester.

I felt so nervous before the tutorial not only because of the new group but also I was afraid that I couldn't make enough contribution to my peers. It started with my works. We didn't talk about my object project to much. We mainly talked about my owl project and they gave me several direction and comments which were useful. Beyond my imagination, they like the theme of owls' invasion more than the one of group and individual. I always had the idea that the group-and-individual one was more dramatic and interesting to look at but somehow the narrative was too obvious to let the audience generate imagination. Comparing with this, the owls' invasion was more open and mysterious at the same time. They also provided me with different thought and direction such as trying different scales, colours or shapes of owls.  Also, I also could try another composition to reveal more surroundings if I had already got many close-up photos and people would automatically recognise them although they might be very small in the photos. The most important thing was to create a flow and movement between each image. We also discussed the technical aspect such as using pinpoint flash to light up those owls and still got the darkness around and the feeling of night. Another difficulty for me was the title. I am always bad at naming.

Besides the feedback for me, it was even more interesting for me to see other's works. Rima talked about her idea for project space. Keith and Frank spent some time explaining their concepts and the process of their projects. Their works are very conceptual in a way but still involve with lots of photography skills like studio lighting and enlarging which I lack. It was very inspiring!

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feedback tutorial

I had the feedback tutorial with my tutor Susanne on 16 January.

Supposedly I had two projects on going this semester: the owl and object arrangement project. Comparing with the owl project, the object one is more developed. The feedback of object arrangement based on improvement of techniques for instance the image saturation and the density of shadows cast by thick objects. The most important thing is using large format camera and trying to print large scale images which I didn't achieve in the first semester.

The main discussion was about the owl project which I did in the first year. I didn't have any new work of  this project so I only submitted the series of my object arrangement. That was another failure in semester one. Through the discussion with Susanne, I decided to use digital camera to do with this project due to the issue of time and some difficulties I got when using the film. Another issue which need to be considered carefully is the format and size of prints. I would like to do a book format like some storytelling or fairytale book. I think the most important but tough thing is to find a coherent way to connect all the images. The idea could be simple just like 'invasion' of owl. I always think if the theme is only about owls within spaces would be boring. That's the reason why I did these scenes about individual with group. However I ran out of idea for this topic(I just viewed previous blog post and I talked about the same problem already months ago! How sad that I didn't figure out what to do through these 3 or 4 months).

Here are some initial photographs of owls. Maybe I can get something new from them, HOPEFULLY.

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Elizabeth Blackadder

During the Christmas and new year holidays, I went to National Gallery to see the exhibition of Scottish painter Elizabeth Blackadder. Honestly, I wasn't very interested in this show at first because of the first impression of the poster. I assumed the painting were only about traditional flower or still life pictures. However I was totally wrong and I was so glad I saw her show. Undoubtedly, she are interested in flowers, plants and animals. Beyond this, she is also attracted by objects like ornaments, souvenirs and commodities.

I am especially fond of her recent works about the things she collects. The composition and the use of colour are attractive to me. The way she composed those objects remind of my way of arranging stuff. Also, the viewing angles and perspectives respond to Cubism to me. Her works are really really interesting to look at. In the exhibition, there were two short films of interview with the artists. The films showed more about her interests, hobbies, working process and her attitude toward art. I enjoyed the show a lot!!!

Here are some paintings and two videos of interview.

P.S

I chatted with a friend who works in National Gallery and talked about this exhibition. She had the same thought that the image on the poster was actually not that interesting and attractive. Haha!

semester 1 submission

I printed 5 slightly larger images(but actually still quite small) to put on the wall this time in order to see the effect. In this particular one photograph, I used a small tin box as a plate and put tiny objects on it. That one became more interesting to me when the printed size got enlarged. The small objects like bottle lid or pin transformed into another somehow strange things. It encouraged me to go bigger for sure.

Besides the 2D photographs, I also made an installation for the submission. In order to do my project more conveniently, I brought almost all my objects from home to my studio. At first, they all scattered on my table and locker. When I started to clean up my space for the submission, I thought maybe it was a good idea to place them as a part of my submission(Then I wouldn't be bothered to take them home). Hence I used the drawer I picked up on the street as a container to assemble my objects and tried to respond to my photographs. The height I placed it echoed to the bird's-eye view in my essay as well.

Here are some pictures of my submission.

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about possession

What is Compulsive Hoarding?

It is very natural for humans to give objects special importance, however, when this tendency gets out of hand complications can begin.  Hoarding behavior should be seen on a spectrum, ranging from mild to severe. 

Compulsive Hoarding, can be defined as:

1. The acquisition of, and failure to discard a large number of possessions that appear to be useless or of limited value.

2. Living spaces sufficiently cluttered so as to preclude activities for which those spaces were designed.

3. Significant distress of impairment in functioning caused by the hoarding.

http://www.possessed.me.uk/

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