Physical Experiments

This image features a before and after. I achieved this by placing the original image over the edited image. This links directly to my subject as it shows how much the media can manipulate the way in which the audience views things. On the left we see a sunny image with vibrant colours and on the right we see the total opposite. A desolate image which uses dull tones to evoke a feeling of sadness/loneliness.

Both of these images show two variations of ways to depict censorship within the media, another theme within the subject of hyperreality. The first image features someone with their mouth stapled shut. This implies that those who speak against something can be easily ignored by the media instead opting to let the voices be heard that fit in with what the media are attempting to communicate. The second image features similar themes however there is another implication. The eyes and mouth of the person on the left appear to be redacted. This process offers connotations to secrecy and secret information that is being controlled. There are two different portraits. The left is the original while the one on the right is one that has been digitally edited in order to remove flaws, creating a more media/magazine accurate representation of a person. The one on the left is being silenced while the one on the right is left untouched. This reflects the prominence of a fictional reality which takes the place of real people within the media.

This experiment is used to develop the shoot in which this image originates. I wanted to manipulate the audience into feeling a certain way about the image through photo manipulation. I have taken a more direct approach with the message behind the image by taking a key connotation and cutting it into the image. The rough cuts help give the sensation of the emotion. This develops the idea within hyperreality as the image is essentially telling the audience how to feel towards this image.

I have taken an image and began to replace details with pen. The result causes the image to appear almost like pop art. I did this as a physical reference to a previous shoot which I had completed (shoot 8) and the work of artist, Helmut Jacoby. The result attempts to present a standard image in a new way, causing the way the audience perceive the image to change.