Shake The Clouds
Words are hard, and I often find it difficult to use the correct words and have difficulty understanding the words other people use. That is because my mind is normally absent of language, it is something I must consciously acknowledge, or else language does not form. This experience is not empty, but better described as a void or space with a cloudy atmosphere that is populated by colors and sounds which intertwined. Out of this space comes the idea for the photographs, the images, which becomes a visual language. These images then begin to act as a guide translating my inner self to the world, once realized as an image, a visual form of language, the photographs and the thoughts behind them are opened for discussion, interpretation and description, a self-examination in a way.
In these photographs I strive to create the suggestion of narrative. Historically, narrative and meaning are intertwined, people either use narrative to convey a meaning or attach meaning to a narrative. At the time of creation, I do not know what my narratives mean, they part of the process of interpreting what is happening inside the void, or mindscape.
The process starts out as the idea of the image, it comes from the void in my mind, and I am not certain how to talk about this stage adequately. Next is the creation, where the image is made, transposed from the mindscape to a form of communication that can be shared with the world. At this point it transitions into the stage of reflection. A stage consisting of an examination of inner self and an inquiry as to why. Once the reflection stage for an image is initiated, it runs parallel to the cycle of the process, so when the next image is being created, the reflection is informing how it is being created. Because the photographs stem from the reflection and represent an inner me they are self-portraits of who I was and what I was going through at the moment they were taken.
As a side note of things I have been thinking about that inform my practice:
I am also curious about the roll / involvement of the viewer, I am interested in what the audience brings to the image, how they interpret the image and allow for the image to impact and possibly give some sort of meaning to their life.
In most of these photographs I strive to create the suggestion of narrative. Historically, narrative and meaning are intertwined, and my photographs have a personal meaning to me and my life. Because of this I want to make my images as open as possible to allow the viewer to create their narrative to give meaning to their life.
Because of the process and the nature of the photograph, each photograph becomes a type of self-portrait.
I create the photographs to make life interesting or to create enough interest to participate in life.
I am defining life as a conscious act, therefore making life a performance.
The staged photographs are a reflection of my performance of life.
They create a way, for me, to explain my perception, as well as inform the description.
My process for taking photographs comes in what I am going to call stages:
1. The Inspiration – where the photographed is conceived
2. The Creation – the image is made
3. The Reflection – the discussion or interaction with the image
