I went out for a walk one night and took some more photographs of lights, but I wasn’t out long as it was raining so, I decided to use the materials I had indoors. I began to play around with ink and water in a bowl; the images I got turned out alright, but watching the ink dance in the water was a lot more satisfying than capturing the experience, although I tried.
I plan to paint from these close ups in my sketchbook using ink, as I enjoy this medium even though it can be hard to control. From taking these photographs, I thought about Wolfgang Tillman’s work that I had looked at prior to my dissertation. The image underneath by Tillman’s is called ‘Ostgut Freischwimmer’ (2004) which was made without a camera; using light sensitive paper. They are very beautiful images that Tillman’s has created and I am in the process of developing my own camera less images, to show another way of conveying a negative trace.
Below is another photograph of ink and water I took that night which I think was the most successful, that reminded me of Henry Moore’s sculpture ‘Recumbent Figure’ (1938) on the right. The light shining onto the tinted water reflects a very similar reclining figure to Moore’s piece; this happened by chance.
Leading on from this discovery, I then found a work by artist Bruce Nauman, in a book called Light years Conceptual art and the photograph 1964 – 1977 by Matthew S. Witkovsky, called ‘Light Trap for Henry Moore’ No. 1 (1967) This ties in with my light photography, as it carries similar properties as well as my work above regarding Moore. Seeing this Nauman piece, I have revisited my own light work and edited them to enhance there colour.
A few of my images after reflecting back on them:
Having taken some time to properly reflect on my work, I have come to the realisation that it is this:
Lights are used to make things easier to find or search for something, like a path but as life proves, things are not straightforward. There is no guiding light but multiple directions; you will end up at a crossroad at some point not knowing where to go, like Alice in Wonderland or Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. My light photographs show this idea with street lamps and shop signs (they are there to guide you) all muddled up and criss-crossing in a space of uncertainty.
Personally I feel lost, I have no idea what I am going to do after university, I have no plan but I am forever being asked “So what are you going to do then? What do you want to do?” My answer is always “I don’t know” with a blank expression and I sense the worry for me, from other people when I respond to these questions. I have as much clue as to what I am going to do next, as I know whether it’s going to rain this day in five years’ time. This makes me feel very anxious as it would anyone and I am in the process of trying to figure it out, I see this as just small steps into my ongoing journey. Going back to the photographs, the lights have a certain fluidity for an object that is usually static, and shows that things such as plans are ever changing and there are lots of opportunities to be taken so nothing is set in stone whether you do have a plan.
It’s this fear of not knowing what is going to happen and not being in control, which makes me produce the work that I am currently making. It is a sense of having control over something which is mine and no one can tell me different because it is subjective.
I took this photograph of cotton that I had thrown in the bin and then I have inverted the image. It is one of my favourite pieces and the strands represent different paths; fleeting moments that have been stopped in time to show reflection of all matter of possibilities and choices.
