Project description

In this project the different types of strength that people have found during the Covid-19 pandemic are looked at. The project is broken up into three parts, the first part contains dancers and gymnasts while the other two parts contain the artist. All three parts are linked to our current time period and situation by the use of masks in all three parts.

Dancers and gymnasts are used to represent physical strength as the two sports require a lot of strength that is often overlooked because of the beauty and grace that they also require. They are also shot in public places to hint at how physical strength is the one that is most obvious to outsiders.

The self-portraits are there to represent mental strength. They do this with what is within the photographs around the artist. Mental strength is much more personal as it is different for every person. This is why these photographs are self-portraits taken in a private outside space.

A gymnast in a elegant pose on a cobble stone street expand
Reaching Out, 2021
A gymnast in a handstand on hand blocks expand
Holding On, 2020

The moves and shapes that gymnasts and dancers make aren't ones that everyone can do, they take a lot of strength and training. To make sure that these photographs stay routed in the reality that they are in the backgrounds are slightly disjointed to take away from the perfection. They also play with the idea of contact, something that used to be a part of everyday life but now has more fears behind it. As you go through the photographs the models have less and less contact with the ground, first with hands and feet, just feet, hands on block and finally with no contact with the ground. These photos could have been taken at any time if it wasn't for the masks, this piece not only connects them to now but also provides the context.

A gymnast jumping in a side street expand
No Contact, 2021
Self portrait, wearing a face mask in a stone area surrounded by garden statue of an owl, dragon, toad and rabbit. expand
Wonderland, 2021
Self portrait, wearing a face mask in a stone area surrounded by garden statue of an owl, dragon, toad and rabbit. expand
Glaukopis, 2021
Self portrait, wearing a face mask in a stone area surrounded by garden statue of an owl, dragon, toad and rabbit. expand
Akhekh, 2021
Self portrait, wearing a face mask in a stone area surrounded by garden statue of an owl, dragon, toad and rabbit. expand
Tea Party, 2021

The garden ornaments show an in between state, they are physical things but they are there to represent the mental. Each animal can change the context of the photograph depending on a person's upbringing. To me the rabbit and the toad are linked to Alice in Wonderland, a story about a girl who goes to a magical land through a rabbit hole. The toad also reminds me of witches as in medieval times they were known as their familiars, and in modern times they are one of animals that witches and wizards could take to Hogwarts. Owls are connected to the Greek gods, specifically Athena as they are one of her symbols. The myths that these gods appear in talk of grand adventures and abilities far beyond our own. The dragon is the only animal in these photographs that is fictional, but even so they appear in some form or another in the majority of ancient myths, from China to Egypt to England. The one most well known to me is St George slaying the dragon to save the princess. 

Wonderland and Tea Party got their names from Alice in Wonderland, Akhekh is a type of dragon from Egyptian myth that was meant to reside in the Nile valley and Glaukopis is part of the name for Athena when she is in her owl form.

 

 

 

As the fairies are both a fictional creation and are digitally placed within the photograph they represent the mental state. Mental strength is the less obvious kind strength, but it is often the strength that is needed to most, especially in a pandemic where many have been isolated from friends and family. As a way to show the year of the pandemic so far I decided to have a photograph for each month, and each photograph has been named for its respective month. The fairy in each one is also from that season, primrose for spring, scabious for summer, crab-apple for autumn and burdock for winter. Each fairy is small so that in print they are harder to see, linking to how you can't always see someone's mental strength.

Self portrait, wearing a face mask in a garden with a digitally added flower fairy. expand
Spring, 2021
Self portrait, wearing a face mask in a garden with a digitally added flower fairy. expand
Autumn, 2021
Self portrait, wearing a face mask in a garden with a digitally added flower fairy. expand
Summer, 2021
Self portrait, wearing a face mask in a garden with a digitally added flower fairy. expand
Winter, 2021