Above are my final chosen and edited images. When beginning this project, my idea was to work with the idea of Marine Pollution. Marine pollution is a combination of chemicals and trash, most of which comes from land sources and is washed or blown into the ocean. This pollution results in damage to the environment, to the health of all organisms, and to economic structures worldwide. Instead of stating the obvious in my photographs, I wanted to create a metaphor within them. As stated in my action plan in a previous blog, I wanted to ask the question, ‘What if it was me?’ and most importantly, ‘What if it was you?’. The waste that was placed in these photographs does just represent the waste in the ocean, however, as you can see they are placed in different places around a home- and this represents the ocean, home to more, both discovered and undiscovered creatures, that live here with us on land. Our apathy towards waste and the ocean is leading not only invasion of their lives but also destruction. Not only do these photographs portray that metaphor, they also symbolise the circle of life. The bed represents sleep and rest. The plate represents nourishment, eating to stay alive and the bathtub represents health and hygiene. These are the 3 basic necessities of life. Another thing we are taking away.

Image 1 ‘Falsely Comfortable’

Image one is of my own bed at home- as also stated in an earlier post, it is one of my safe places that brings me comfort and relaxation. In the photograph, the duvet is pulled back, exposing a large amount of waste. This contradicts the idea of comfort. Not only that, it represents the fact that people ‘keep the cover on’- the majority of the population don’t think twice about the subject of ocean pollution. Even if they do, ‘making the bed’ take the thought back to the back of their head. Its time to pull the duvet back for good.

It was also stated by somebody that my image had similarities to an artwork called My Bed by Tracey Emin.

‘Still filthy, still repulsive, and still one of the most moving works of contemporary art, Tracey Emin’s My Bed, 1998 gave us a delicious glimpse into the lifestyle of a despairing 35-year old artist. The crumpled bed sheets still seemingly ooze with her bodily secretions, the blood stain from her period clearly visible to all onlookers’. She decided on this piece after a breakup, spending a week in bed. This particular display was very personal to her but at the same time was also very empowering- it shows the imperfection as well as means of mental health and how some experience it. Although a lot more graphic than my photograph, it is a messy bed, filled and surrounded by waste as is mine. It also represents a side that people do not often think about- for her this would mean depression, for my photograph it means marine pollution.

Image 2 ‘When’s Dessert?’

Image 2 at first glance is a dinner plate with plastic waste and a can on it, along with a metal knife and fork. This represents contamination of the ocean and the destruction of the food chain. Due to the pollution in the ocean, both chemical and plastic, many animals and fish are dying out. This alters the food chain, creating less food for some. The way the cutlery is placed on the plate symbolises that the person has finished eating- however the plate is still full and therefore they didn’t eat anything.

Image 3 ‘Self-care Routine’

The final photograph, Image 3 is a bathtub, only a few inches filled with waste floating around. The small amount of water represents the ocean and how many of us care about it. The amount of waste is large for the small amount of water which represents how big of an impact we are all making- and not in a positive way. Along with the other images it also symbolises one of the necessities of the circle of life- hygiene, water and health.

As for the colour choice, this was briefly mentioned but although it was partly for the aesthetic side, it shows the unatural side of polluting our oceans- its just something that should not be happening.

Using photoshop, I tested different ways in which I could present my images and at the same time figuring out which colour combinations worked best.

• 

• 

• 

• 

In example 1, I tried putting together the images with different hues. I didn’t particularly like this outcome- although the images were supposed to be messy it seemed like they were too messy and didn’t go well together. The image in the middle was too dim and overall it didn’t work. Example 2 did look better; the images were symmetrically lined up and the colour scheme matched although it felt too simple to me. When making example 3, I really liked the composition, it felt easier to look at all the images, and finally what came to mind is which of these holds the most importance? They are all important of course but some slightly more than the other. So I decided on the plate being the largest image, the bed being the middle and the bathtub being the smallest- overall I liked the final composition and presentation.

Photographer Comparison:

Brett Stanley:

Brett’s photographs are about how we blindly pollute the ocean on a daily basis as you can see in the image above. In my work, the concept is slightly different because in my photographs it is right in front of you, you aren’t doing it blindly, you just don’t care.

Jeremy Carroll:

The message conveyed through Jeremy Carroll’s work and mine is almost the same. Through their work they asked the question, what if it was you? My photographs did the same thing. This photographers work took more of a graphic, painful point of view- showing exactly what creatures of the ocean feel through the use of human models where as my message was portrayed in a calmer manor, where people are made to think about it some more. They way in which the photos were taken are very different, these here are portraits in a studio where as mine are more objects set in place using natural lighting.