This photo shoot was inspired by the narrative positive to negative and turning a negative film into a positive image and the photographer Francesca Woodman. I wanted to have more full length images due to most of my work being portraits and not incorporating the human form. I wanted to explore this idea of body image due to my relationship with my own not being the most healthy. Baggy clothes hid lumps and curves; I didn’t want to give people the opportunity to judge my figure, only for my critique. Alongside a lack of self respect baggy clothes became my comfort zone and a way to hide the troubles no one knew of. A realisation of these habits is when it came to events in which I would wear a dress. I would list everything wrong I see which was usually anything in sight head to toe. An improvement then began and started breaking comfortable habits and turned to new ones. Not just clothing but self respect building, still in the process, just learning to accept that no matter what I’m stuck with this vessel whether I like it or not. I am the person I spend the most tine with so if I don’t like myself, how are others supposed to enjoy their time with me. This project is an aid and insight into how my identity functions and how easily someone can return back to bad habits.
Inspired by Francesca Woodman, who produced universally commanding and profound images from the age of thirteen. Born into a family of artists, ‘art’ was her first language. She experienced early exposure to a plethora of exemplary creative people along with countless potential historical, literary, and theoretical influences. Woodman worked with traditional photographic techniques but was consistently performative and experimental in her practice. Many of her works are multi-media, including drawings, selected objects, and sculptures within her photographs. Settings may vary from confined interiors to the expansive outdoors, but Woodman herself is always there. Typically the sole subject, and often naked, she can be found caught entwined within a landscape or edging out of the photographic frame. Interested in the limits of representation, the artist’s body is habitually cropped, endlessly concealed, and never wholly captured. Woodman was acutely aware of the evanescent nature of life and of living close to death. She positions the self as too limitless to be contained, and thus reveals singular identity as an elusive and fragmentary notion.
Side by Side
My interpretation of her hair pulling image above is more of a close up portrait due to me wanting to focus more on my features i dislike the most: large nose and cankle neck.
My interpretation of the image above was more focused on the idea of me being in dress; i never really express my feminine side so when I do I like to celebrate it. I don’t know why I don’t like the more femme things in life but it’s me breaking out of my girly controlled fashion in my childhood, and breaking into my own sense of self and style.
This image I interpreted as trying to break free from yourself but you’re limited to your own skin and energy.