Day: 22 December 2020

I am planning to create a piece of work showing the different “chapters” of a person’s journey through self-hatred, suffering and self-harm into self-love and recovery, specifically relating to an eating disorder, but also with links to general mental health issues and childhood. I will be using myself as the subject of the film, as I have only used other people in my photography in the past and I want to push myself beyond my usual boundaries. I know it will be a difficult subject to explore, considering a lot will be based on my own experience and I’ll be drawing on personal parts of my life, but I think it will also help me and maybe others on the path to recovery. Currently I am planning on having the final outcome be a film, made up of moving images, as I know I can incorporate the different elements of sound and images together in a film. I am also planning to include a voiceover of a text, written by myself, to make the film more personal and emotional. The voiceover will relate to the three “chapters” as they progress, and may also correspond directly with some of the images.

How does this link to the theme of love+rebellion? It explores the idea of self-love and self-acceptance and a journey of rebellion against societal pressure/norms, others’ opinions, as well as rebellion against the self. I am interpreting it in a way that develops a person’s own course to self-love, linking it to the sub-themes of mental health, ED, and personal/psychological recovery.

I have researched in depth three different artists, taken inspiration from their work in different ways, and am planning to incorporate them all into my personal study:

Sophie Calle: black and white, perspective, cinematic framing of the image/video
Francesca Woodman: perception of self, self-portrait, body image, absurd/surreal
Laia Abril: subject of eating disorders and recovery