Overall I am happy with the way I decided to portray mental illness throughout my photobook. When I started this project I knew I wanted to tackle the subject of mental health, but it took me a while to figure out the best way to go forward with it. Originally i though of using landscapes as a way to convey emotion, however eventually decided to turn the camera on myself for a set of self-portraits. I feel as though this decision really helped me open up and put as much personal experience into the book as possible. After the original self-portrait shoot, i wanted to continue with creating a really unique and personal narrative in which i can show both my own emotions and feelings that i have been through, but leave parts of it ambiguous enough to be interpreted by other people in their own way.
I then decided to focus on my personnel experience surrounding prescription anti-depressant drugs, or more specifically SSRIs ( Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ) which are used when, for whatever reason, there is a lack of serotonin being produced, with it’s aim to boost serotonin levels in the brain. This element was quite difficult to capture, as most of the time you don’t notice anything different, which is why i decided to use a gradual build in saturation inside the book to show the slow but steady changes, however I did want to make sure to capture aspects of medication not working, and the task of changing medications and gradually building back up until it works. I represented this component in my book by showing the rise in dosage levels in text at the bottom of the page.
Dosage changes from 100mg – 250mg
The contrast between emotions felt and the way medication can affect these emotions is shown using different colors, but ultimately ending with more desaturated images to show that there is never a definitive end to some of the ways that mental illness can affect someones life. I wanted to show how medication can make the world seem better at the time, but ultimately cant completely change your outlook on how you feel. To do this i used brightly coloured backgrounds combined with the bright colours of the pills themselves, which also had the effect of contrasting some of the much darker images I had already made from previous shoots.
Over the course of the 3 studio photoshoots and various smaller shoots done around nature, people and extreme close ups of my hands, arms face, etc. I decided to use colour and brightness in order to show emotions in the narrative, with images being brighter and more highly saturated when showing the effects of the medication, and then darker images with low key lighting to show the change in mood
1 full A3 print, 1 cropped A3 print, 2 A5 prints, 1 A4 printSingle A5 print mounted on black card
Prints Evaluation:
Overall I am happy with the way my final prints turned out as I feel they create a similar atmosphere and emotion to my book, tackling the same issues in a smaller and more condensed package. Rather than put pictures together to create a specific a specific story, I wanted my print work on the foam board to be up for interpretation, and for people to assign their own emotions and feelings to it. In contrast to this, I had a very specific idea around having one of my self-portraits on a lone piece of black card, to show the isolation and loneliness that comes along with mental illness; showing not only isolation, but feeling surrounded by darkness with no clear way out.
How can something that doesn’t physically exist be represented through
photography?
“…the images are only so many springboards for
the mind of the listener” (A. Breton, Manifesto
of Surrealism, 1924).
The area I will be exploring revolves around personal experiences of mental
health. However this poses an intriguing question: How can something that
doesn’t physically exist be represented through photography? I will be
investigating different aspects of how photography can represent psychological
intangibilities, most notably emotions. Showing an emotion in a photograph is on
the surface simple enough; somebody crying or looking sad. However, this does
not imply a sense of authenticity as photography is mute and facial expressions
can be staged. In addition, it does not reveal the complexity of human
experiences, and it gets much more complicated when you start trying to show
those simple emotions without a necessarily obvious subject.
Take for example the work of Leif Sandberg; many of his images are
self-portraits, which communicates the idea of self-reflection, and despite the
fact he is part of many of his images, they are never intended for him to be
‘the subject’. The way he frames and manipulates his images make the subject
something more obscure, something that doesn’t exist on a physical level. Ideas
such as loss, aging, life, panic attacks and death are all explored through
various images made by Sandberg, with him even saying “The Ending project is
not from the outside, but from inside myself.”[i]
Sandberg not only uses photography as an art form, but also as a method of
therapy to help him cope with his feelings, as it gives him a way to express
his emotions in a healthy way. This goes to show that in order to create
emotions through photography of something that doesn’t exist, personal
experience can help out with understanding how to show these emotions.
I will be exploring these concepts using a diverse range of camera
techniques like multiple exposures, slow shutter speeds, the use of a remote
trigger, as well as exploring different lighting setups and techniques.
This subject of mental health and photographing invisible subjects links
very nicely into the previously studied Occupation vs Liberation topic, as it
explores ideas of isolation and being trapped somewhere with no way to get out.
This image by Leif Sandberg is part of a series of images in one of
Sandberg’s books called Beyond the Mirror. Sandberg has stated in the
past that his inspiration for starting photography was due to a cancer scare,
which had several lasting effects on his mental health. Many of his images in
this series revolve around anxiety, panic attacks, depression and the omnipresent
nature of death. The image I have chosen represents not only Sandberg’s style,
but also the conceptual themes and ideas mentioned previously which are common
throughout his catalogue of many images. The image uses several photographic
techniques, combining multiple exposures and a slow shutter speed to create a
ghost like appearance. This is also a way to help show the intangible nature of
emotion and this image definitely shows all of the emotions that Sandberg says
he wants to portray. Sandberg’s use of shadows and shading helps to make the
subject more anonymous (which was most likely an intentional decision by
Sandberg), and not only opens it up for interpretation to the reader, but also
adds to the idea of aging and the thoughts that surround it, making the subject
look decayed and rotting. This can be linked directly to the Vanitas still-life
paintings of the 17th century, especially in the way it tackles the somewhat
taboo subject of death. Sandberg’s images feature heavy elements of Surrealism
(which is connected to the forward thinking avant-garde modernism movement and
was originally founded in Paris in 1924), as they try to explore ideas around
the mind and emotions which cannot be traditionally photographed, but rather
must be represented in other ways such as through objects, concepts and other
associations. Surrealism was originally founded by Andre Breton, and continued
the exploration of everything irrational and subversive which started with
Dadaism in Europe during WWI.
Above: Harman Steenwyck, Still Life: An Allegory of the Vanities of
Human Life, 1640.
This Vanitas still-life painting from the 1640s shares elements of and
themes similar to that in Sandberg’s work, “which emphasises the transience of
life”[ii].
This is also evident in Sandberg’s image, as it could be interpreted as a
representation of death itself, and how his cancer scare made him come
“face to face” with it. Vanitas paintings and what they represent
have clearly influenced Sandberg’s work, however Sandberg takes a very
different approach to the stylistic choices made by Steenwyck and other Vanitas
painters of the time. Instead of using a strictly still-life approach of
placing several smaller objects with various meanings on a table and creating
an image of it, he uses himself to represent the different themes he has both
felt, and also wants the viewer to feel. Sandberg’s images also lean quite
heavily into the concept of Surrealism, often times more so than many of the
Vanitas paintings which share the same topics and ideas. Some examples of this
include concepts of mortality; usually represented by a skull or bones, As well
as including ideas behind time, and is often shown by using clocks or
hourglasses.
This image is taken from Sandberg’s first book “Ending”
which focuses more on the emotions surrounding life before death, instead of
the more abstract concepts which feature in his second book “Beyond the
Mirror“. This means that his images from this series are much more
grounded in reality. Despite this, Sandberg still creates emotions and feelings
which cannot be traditionally photographed. This photo contrasts the previous
image as it is much more personal than the first picture as it focuses on
Sandberg’s own mental state, rather than exploring concepts in a specifically
abstract way.
This image feels more personal than the previous photos, as you can clearly
identify the man in the photo as Sandberg, whereas the other image is more open
for interpretation and encourages people to think and question themselves,
rather than view the images as Sandberg’s personal experience. Location also
grounds this photo in reality, as opposed to the indeterminable blackness of
the first image. This helps create a sense of realism which is missing from the
other photo, and which can be described as completely surrealist, however
despite having surrealist elements, it is clear to see how this image is meant
to be a retelling of events from Sandberg’s life, or perhaps more accurately,
feelings from his life.
When making my responses to Sandberg’s work, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t
just creating images based on his work, but rather use some of his techniques
to show emotions that I have personally felt in the past, just as Sandberg did
with his emotions. I wanted to show the duality that can sometimes be seen
within people suffering from mental health issues, both in the literal aspects
of not being able to physically see what is going on inside people’s heads,
despite what they’re feeling, as well as how people try to hide their emotions
in order to seem stronger.
Continuing the theme of duality and exploring both sides is the medication
aspect, and ideas behind how something that is supposed to make you feel better
can actually make your mental stated worse. I wanted to show the contrast
between the intended effects of the medication versus the actual impact it can
have; and whether it’s a positive or negative change. I decided to shoot the
pills on coloured backgrounds in order to show how the media perceives
anti-depressants as a happy cure-all to fix everything in your life, when in
reality it is only a step in the right direction, but can still potentially
make things much worse. In terms of narrative, I wanted it to be personal, but
still accessible or relatable to other people who have experienced similar
emotions and experiences as well as making it easy to follow for anyone who
sees it. However I also want people to be able to be able to interpret the
images in their own way, so from that point of view, the story can mean
different things to each reader. Whilst the image can represent different
things to each person who views the book, I wanted to make sure there was a
clear progression of character.
I also want to compare one of my images to Sandberg’s to show some of the
elements that inspired aspects of my photoshoots. For instance, this image
originally influenced me into using multiple exposures for my shoot as you can
see here:
You can also see from this comparison the difference between mine and
Sandberg’s work. I decided to contrast Sandberg’s messy, anxiety-fuelled image
with a cleaner and more defined multiple exposure. I did this to create a more
dream-like image which is not grounded in reality such as Sandburg’s. This was
done to create the idea of being inside one’s head, as there is no correlation
to the real world in my image, as opposed to Sandberg being in front of some
shrubbery. This key difference creates totally different atmospheres in both of
our images; however, it is clear to see the elements of Sandberg’s work which
has inspired many parts of my own. This example of my work could also be
compared to Man Ray’s Kiki De Montparnasse, which experiments with multiple
exposures in a similar way; using multiple images of one subject in a
surrealist way in order to create a new meaning. The parallels of manipulating
the human face reinforces the surrealist concepts I have explored in my own
work.
In conclusion, the use of photography to represent concepts that don’t
physically exist is a difficult thing to capture. This is mainly due to
different people’s experiences with different emotions, and how they define
them in their own heads. It is easy to take a picture of somebody crying to
make the audience see that the person is sad, however the difficult part is
delving deeper, and understanding how to show the actual emotion using
surrealist representations of different subjects. This means that the way a
photograph is taken, as well as the subject are incredibly important in helping
the audience understand the emotions you are trying to get across. Only by
finding a way to represent a certain emotion can you begin to explore different
ways of depicting it, and this is what I have tried to do for my project
For my third and final shoot I wanted to make sure to capture both a brighter and more clinical feel to my images. I originally intended to for this shoot to show the more clinical side of mental health, but found images turned out best when focusing on the bright and attractive colours that are used within medicine in general. Therefore many of my final outcomes use bright colours and high contrast to show the visual appeal of medication. I also wanted a lot of these images from this shoot to contrast many of my other images taken in previous shoots. By using high key lighting, bright colours and over-saturation, I found that this contrast in images definitely befitted my final product of the photobook.
This image by Leif Sandberg is part of a series of images in one of Sandberg’s books called “Beyond The Mirror“. Sandberg has stated in the past that his inspiration for starting photography was due to a cancer scare, which had several lasting effects on his mental health. Many of his images in this series revolve around anxiety, panic attacks, depression and the omnipresent nature of death. The Image I have chosen represents not only Sandberg’s style, but also the conceptual themes and ideas mentioned previously which are common throughout his catalog of many images. The image uses several photographic techniques, combining multiple exposures and a slow shutter speed to create a ghost like appearance.
This is also a way to help show show the intangible nature of emotion and this image definitely shows all of the emotions that Sandberg says he wants to portray. Sandberg’s use of shadows and shading helps to make the subject more anonymous (which was most likely an intentional decision by Sandberg), and not only opens it up for interpretation to the reader, but also adds to the idea of aging and the thoughts that surround it, making the subject look decayed and rotting. This can be linked directly to the Vanitas still-life paintings of the 17th century, especially in the way it tackles the somewhat taboo topic of death.
Sandberg’s images feature heavy elements of surrealism (which is connected to the forward thinking avant-garde movement), as they try to explore ideas around the mind and emotions which cannot be traditionally photographed, but rather must be represented in other ways such as through objects and concepts. Sandberg’s image could be interpreted as a representation of death itself, and how his cancer scare made him come “face to face” with it.
Image 2
This image is taken from Sandberg’s first book “Ending” which focuses more on the emotions surrounding life before death, instead of the more abstract concepts which feature in his second book “Beyond The Mirror“. This means that his images from this series are much more grounded in reality. Despite this, Sandberg still creates emotions and feelings which cannot be traditionally photographed. This photo contrasts the previous image as it is much more personal than the first picture as it focuses on Sandberg’s own mental state, rather than exploring concepts in a specifically abstract way.
This image feels more personal than the previous photos, as you can fairly clearly identify the man in the photo as Sandberg, where as the other image is up for more interpretation and encourages people to think and question themselves, rather than view the images as Sandberg’s personal experience. Location also grounds this photo in reality, as opposed to the indeterminable blackness of the first image. This helps create a sense realism which is missing from the other photo, and which can be described as completely surrealist, however despite having surrealist elements, it is clear to see how this image is meant to be a retelling of events from Sandberg’s life, or perhaps more accurately, feelings from his life.
For my second photoshoot I wanted to bring to light the more clinical side of mental illness, focusing on the impact medication has on personality and the tedious nature of check-ups and hospital appointments.
To show the impact of medication, I decided to overlay both full and partially empty packets of pills over photos of me which I found in older family albums. This effect worked especially well where there is a translucent, empty pill packet over my face, which slightly distorts my face, with some doing this more than others; representing the effect that different medication can have.
I also wanted to include as many doctor’s notes and reports as possible as I think it highlights the sometimes overwhelming feeling that opening up can have. This also ties in with the older album pictures of me, as it shows the transition from a child with no worries to someone so consumed by mental illness that the only recognizable feature is their name on a piece of paper. Not only do these images help break up the more low-key lit images from the previous shoot, they also give context to the situation surrounding the subject and the story.
I am also intending to feature images with the old album photos early on in the book, then progressively have them feature less and less as it goes on, so the only images left will be ones featuring only the letters and pill packets to show the decent into a deteriorating condition.
Book in hand: how does it feel? Smell, sniff the paper.
Cardboard on front cover – makes the book thicker, more sturdy . Some pages thicker than others – makes book feel like it is changing as you read – reader engagement
Paper and ink: use of different paper/ textures/ colour or B&W or both.
Different colours of paper. Glossy and matte paper, all black and white on white paper with black ink
Format, size and orientation: portraiture/ landscape/ square/ A5, A4, A3 / number of pages.
Black soft cover with hard cover pasted over the top – Hard cover features printed image. Soft spine slightly embossed.
Title: literal or poetic / relevant or intriguing.
Poetic, Intriguing
Narrative: what is the story/ subject-matter. How is it told?
Story told through images of large geological structures in nature contrasted with images of smaller chunks of chalk taken in studio which have been Sculpted by man vs the larger structures being sculptured by nature.
Structure and architecture: how design/ repeating motifs/ or specific features develops a concept or construct a narrative.
lines sculpted into rocks to follow lines of pedestal they are displayed on.
Design and layout: image size on pages/ single page, double-spread/ images/ grid, fold- outs/ inserts.
Variety of different image layouts – single page (full-bleed), multiple images per page, several sizes of image, loose inserts for text
Editing and sequencing: selection of images/ juxtaposition of photographs/ editing process.
nice contrast between studio and landscape images. Juxtaposition between locations per page. Includes both low and high key lighting.
Images and text: are they linked? Introduction/ essay/ statement by artists or others. Use of captions (if any.)
Opening text links to the rest of the images and story
For the first shoot in my personal study I decided to use low-key lighting to create the sense of being lost, as there is no clear mise-en-scene. I used a 24-105mm lens, but kept the focal length at 105mm for most of the photos as I liked the ‘flat’ look that it gave the images which a wider focal length would not have captured as well. I also used the widest aperture which was f/4 so I could play around with focus more in some of my images. Shutter speed was between 1/100 – 1/160 sec for most of my multiple exposures, and 8 seconds for the slow shutter speed images. In some ways this shoot was inspired by the work of Lief Sandberg, however I intend to make more of a response to his work in my 2nd photoshoot. However, I decided to use multiple exposures and slow shutter speeds in this shoot to create a slightly surrealist impression, and the low key, 1 point lighting only adds to the atmospheric feel that I was aiming to create. On top of this, it accurately represents the emotions that I wanted to get across in my original brief; that of depression, confusion and anger. This not only recreates the personal emotions and feelings that poor mental health can induce. Personally this shoot represents the stage of mental illness before getting help, when all of the emotions you feel start to boil over, and the pressure of not wanting to show “Weakness”.
