Digital Imaging - 'First Week'

'First Week'

My digital collage still maintains the same theme and message of chaos expressed through my manual collage. The digital collage now shows these ideas through a more logical process, similar to how a human brain would organise all the new experiences.

The image can be simply broken down to the character in the foregrounds thoughts of the week being downloaded to a computer, which is located in a massive computer hub with screens on the wall showing images of the week. These images and data are being organised into dates and graphs assembling the information into a logical form. 

I tried to keep the feeling of a three dimension work in a two dimensional form by creating depth through the use of a foreground mid ground and background. I decided that the colour red was a fundamental part of my image as it represented stress and gave a feeling of chaos.

I created a character, which represented my self as I wanted to incorporate how a human brain and a computer system sort of operate the same way in storing memorial in a logical form.

The main reason I choose to reflect on my week at university this way was because I wanted to create an image that was personal to show what it was like to adjust to a new experience. I found that my first week was a bit chaotic and I wanted to relate how the human brain can operate in a similar way to a computer system. I wanted to replicate how my image matched my thoughts.

I haven’t taken anything away from my manual collage as such in my digital version. I have just managed to compose the image to make it more aesthetically pleasing. All the core ideas were retained in the digital image, with the links between the neurological system and thoughts, feelings and memories. But were …….

There were several trial and errors before I managed to produce an image that I was happy with. It started with taking a photo of the manual collage and importing it into photoshop and de-cluttering the image and keeping the main visual elements like the keyboard keys and Utas symbol. I made attempts to create electrical wires in photoshop using opacities and glow effects but my main concern was that I wasn’t representing my week in quite the way I envisaged.  

This sparked two more attempts to create two more images with a typography approach which I first used in the manual collage. This however I did not find the most exciting visually stimulating piece of work.  It was creating with the intent that my thoughts and feelings were all linked together through the neuro networks of the brain and almost had a feeling that these thoughts could just escalate forever.

Challenges – the main challenges I faced was trying to create a sense of perspective without the viewer realising that infact there eye was following the picture from right to left. I wanted the viewer to try deceiver the information that my brain had to take in that week, rather than the viewer just seeing it as a flat image. 

Digital Imaging - Slave for Addiction

Intent: The intent of this project was to create a narrative using three or more images to illustrate how the coffee trade can be related to the illicit drug trade. I also wanted to try educate consumers that when they purchase a cheaper product in supermarkets to try and think where this product has come from because their is usually a reason why it is cheaper than others on the shelf.

Producing the final images- Five of the eight photographs were all my images that have staged with props and manipulated in photoshop. The images that i have uses from sourced sites and manipulated were 'Dealers', 'Silenced' and 'Slave Fields'.

Artist Statement-

Materials: Installation, Photography and Print

'Slave for Addiction' uses eight separate images to illustrate the parody between the coffee trade and the illicit drug trade. Together these images convey how mass marketing and consumption of cheap consumer products such as coffee may have a positive effect on consumers. Although this also has a horrific impact on the slave workers who are forced to work for these companies to produce a cheap alternative.

The set of images can be either viewed from left to right horizontally, though the narrative can be viewed starting from any image in the set. This is because each of the sections of the set inter weave and relate to each other through various points. An example of this is the slaves make the products, the consumers purchase them and them become dependant and addicted, this then becomes a never-ending cycle.

'The Lab'

This image is a take off of a backyard Meth lab in someones bathroom. 'The Lab' shows as consumers we don't know the actual origin of these products, what ingredients are put in them and if the label is displaying the correct information.

'Labyrinth'

(Same principal as the Lab from a different angle)

'Dependency'

'Dependency' illustrates societies absorption of mass marketing and product branding, it also discusses our dependency of repetition of daily activities such as drinking coffee every morning.

'Addiction'

'Addiction' discusses how some people have become heavily reliant on their daily fix of coffee just to even start there daily routine. This I believe starts from the marketing of caffeinated related products such as coffee to give us our quick fix of energy when we feel deflated. This is similar to the need drug addicts have to get there next hit, which is symbolised in the image by the girl shooting coffee directly into her veins.

'Cartel'

The image 'Cartel' illustrates the mass production and consumption of coffee through major supermarket chains and global enterprises across the world. As consumers we are able to buy coffee at cheaper prices then ever before. However amongst all the glamour and sleek advertising the background information of where these products have actually come from are forgotten. The companies who produce these products at low prices forget to mention the slaves who work in horrific conditions in third world countries to deliver us cheaper competitive prices. These supermarket giants in a way are like the local cartel like the illicit drug trade.

'Dealers'

'Dealers' is an altered image of a coffee chain giant Starbucks, referred here as Starfucks Coffee. This image relates to coffee shops as the dealers of coffee beans just like the dealers of the drug world. Coffee shops rely on consumers becoming addicted and dependant on there products so they purchase them on a daily basis.

'Silenced'

'Silenced' shows a young boy, like him many other children are forced to work in horrific conditions, just like the slave workers harvesting opium and cocaine. In this image he has his lips sewn together representing that he has no choice or no say over his entire life. This boy is forced to grow up into a world where consumers expect competitive prices and this is how supermarket giants achieve these figures.

'Slave Fields'

'Slave Fields' depicts a scene from everyday life which slave workers have to undergo just to stay alive. These people are forced to work at gun point just to produce coffee at competitive prices for retailer giants.

Other concepts and Ideas

My first concept for my narrative task was to create five images showing the effects of climate change over a 500 year period in tasmania. These two images were tests of possible layouts of the images, this idea was abandoned early as it became very time consuming the scale that i wanted these images to be.

Test Image Two

Test Image One

Core Studies: 'The Hidden Truth'

Development of Ideas and Rationale

‘The Hidden Truth’ is a stencil installation piece, which uses light to hide and reveal the truth; just the way the government can pull a sheet over the eyes of the public to hide the truth within the media. These three stencil works are part of a series of sections showing how the Howard government presented false information to the Australian public throughout their 10 years in government.

The false information that was told to the public is represented in black spray paint on the canvas and can only be seen when the lights are turned on in the room (Canvas Lights On). Once the lights are turned off the truth is then revealed to the public with text that glows in the dark, which is painted on using phosphorescent spray paint, commonly known as ‘glow in the dark’ paint. The phosphorescent spray paint represents that if you look hard enough or question information everything isn’t as transparent as politicians lead to believe (Canvas Lights Off).   

Phosphorescent paint works by charging up under UV light over a period of time and once charged can glow in the dark for hours. ‘The Hidden Truth’, was created on canvas and I used stencils to create the lettering with black matte spray paint and phosphorescent spray paint.

The other two canvases have images on them showing the picture that was released to the public and the images that were hidden from the public. These images were printed on the computer and then sprayed with phosphorescent paint so the truth was visible. There are three images per section in the installation piece and each section has a light turning on and off on a ten second timer. This allows the phosphorescent paint to maintain charged and the truth is constantly revealed. As well as the lighting timer each section will also have audio from newscasts of politicians relating to each section these will be played on a loop.

 

Canvas Lights On: When the lights are turned you can only see the lies of the government.

Canvas Lights Off: When the lights are turned off the canvas discards the lies and deceit and the truth is revealed in a hidden message in phosphorescent paint.

Lies & Deceit: This canvas shows the image that was released to the media by the government in the children overboard scandal in 2001. This photograph was doctored by government officials to make it seem as if children were thrown overboard from the SIEV 4 when in fact this was not the case.  This image was made by printing a copy of the black and white photo onto the canvas then I stenciled letters onto it as well using black matte spray paint.  

The Truth: This canvas reveals two photos of what actually happened, these photos were taken by a navy officer and show that the SIEV 4 was in fact sinking and that’s why people were jumping into the water. This image was made the same way but I sprayed the photos with phosphorescent paint to make them glow in the dark as well as the letters.

Background Information

Section One – Children Overboard 2001

Section one consists of three paintings relating to the children overboard issue in 2001 where the government released two close up photographs to the media saying that asylum seekers were threatening the Australian Navy, by throwing children off their boat into the sea because they were not allowed into Australian waters. This in fact was not the case, a women was actually holding up her child in hope that the Navy would cease fire their warning shots as their were children onboard the ship. Their ship was then turned around and sent out of Australian waters. Their boat then began to sink and under international maritime law the Navy had to rescue the Asylum Seekers. The photographs released to the media by the government did not show or mention anything about their sinking boat as the photos were cropped to tell a different story to the public.

The picture in black and white was the cropped photograph that was released to the public in 2001. The other two photographs in phosphorescent ink on canvas three were a series of images taken by a naval officer at the time of the incident and these images were never released to the public at the time.

The real information was not supplied to the public at the time of the incident as it was during Prime Minister Howard’s 2001 election Campaign. This was because Asylum seekers and border security was one of his main election priorities.

In Senator Faulkner’s speech in the Maritime Inquiry Investigation of the children overboard scandal he said "The response to boat people or asylum seekers was the main focus of the Howard Government in the lead up to the last federal election. The Government's strategy was based on politicising the asylum seeker issue for electoral advantage. It wasn't just the Tampa episode, or the bald faced lies about children being thrown overboard, it was a systematic campaign to engender public fear about asylum seekers and the need to protect our borders against them at all costs."

Other Sections in Exhibition

Section One- Children Overboard Part I

In 2001 the government released two close-up photos of children in the sea

The photos were actually doctored to hide the sinking ship in the background from the public.

It was said that these photos were taken after children were thrown overboard from the SIEV 4

 

Section Two- Children Overboard Part II

Defence Minister, Peter Reith told the media there was a video of the incident.

            But the video does not indicate that children were thrown into the water

            His response “Well, we’d better not see the video”.

 

Other Sections will touch on issues such as:

Section Three- Introduction of GST Part I

Section Four- Introduction of GST Part II

Section Five- Work place reform Part I

Section Six- Workplace Reform Part II

Section Seven- Terrorism Part I

Section Eight- Terrorism Part II

 

Conceptual Sketches

  Image Above: Conceptual image of how the exhibition may potentially be arranged.

 

Video: This is a simulation of how the audience will view the exhibition along with audio from newscasts. 

Image Above:  This is how the canvas was planned to be laid out will be laid out. The black text symbolizes the lies which the government has told the public, and the squiggly lines symbolize the truth, which is hidden between the lies.

Evaluation

After completing section one of ‘The Hidden Truth’ the initial feedback was that the work formally explored a unique approach by using light to hide and reveal the truth. The Hidden Truth has many successful elements in the piece and conveys a strong message that is easily interpreted by everyone. Formally I found it was very successful the text was clear with the lights on and once they were turned off everyone could clearly see the ‘Truth’ in the hidden message.  

Another successful element of ‘The Hidden Truth’, was that people were shocked that were actually misled and they wanted to find out what actually happened. This reiterated that an exhibition of these works would be really effective in captivating an audience’s attention. I found that there were no real weaknesses in “The Hidden Truth’ if I was to continue onto other canvases I might however change the background colour to conceal the phosphorescent text a bit more. Overall I found this project very effective in portraying my message to the audience with light as my medium to hide and reveal the truth.