Explosions in the Sky

A tribute to Hans Namuth & Jackson Pollock

This project was for Studio Lighting: The Body. As a lover of abstract expressionism, I found a photograph of Jackson Pollock by Hans Namuth. The split lighting was purely natural. I wanted to replicate this split lighting in the studio. However, I sought not only to use this form of lighting but also to transmit this undiluted emotion, freedom, action and individual expression to the medium of photography. My model moved freely in the space of the studio. In presenting the work, the display was not to be a perfect, undifferentiated layout, instead mimicking the gestural nature of abstract expressionist paintings, alongside the lack of visual hierarchies.

The World According to the West

The World According to the West. My major project for Cultural Research, this project was a process of a whole semester. Engaging with the outside world I wanted to create a piece with political undertones, predominantly influence by Guy Debord and 'Society of the Spectacle'. For me the role of the mass media in our everyday lives has become omnipotent. They dictate our perceptions of the world, politics, economies and cultural sensibilities to the point where we no longer have the ability to process the information and make a conscious decision as to whether or not we choose to accept this as true. I took hundreds of screen shots of news reports from CNN's website. Creating one whole image: a pure spectacle of news. However, the print alone was not enough. I wanted to create an installation to further this overwhelming influence in our lives. The installation featured a tv that played static, conveying the idea that at a certain point these images dissolve into nothingness, pure static. The sound piece that accompanied the work was an overwhelming collection of news reports overlapped with one another in an attempt to not only make the audience aware of their lack of active engagement with the media but to also challenge their political predispositions.

Mass Production. Capitalism. Mass Consumption.

Project one for Studio Lighting Semester 2: Objects. Using the ratio of 2:1, I shot the jar filled with jean buttons with a black background. In this project I wanted to create a clean, crisp aesthetic exploring ideas of mass production, capitalism and society's love of mass consumption. This process of consumption in a capitalist society is a never ending process, leading people to want more and more. Gone are the days of satisfaction and pure happiness. The never-ending process of buying and wanting leads to a severe lack of individualism and freedom of expression in a world where appearances and superficiality are the basis for fame and everyday living.