This is my project Naked Forms that I will be working on throughout my MA. I consider myself to be a human body admirer. I love the fragility, peculiarity and symmetry of the form. It is my mission as a photographer to portray these features in their natural beauty. In this project I would like to explore five different ways of how to perceive the human body.
1. Distortion:
My goal is to use distortion and perspective to present the body from unusual angles and in untraditional ways; For the viewer to absorb its extraordinary beauty and peculiarity. I will achieve it by using a variety of props such as decorations, lighting, camera techniques like long exposure, and positioning of the body or camera to change the shape and proportions of the body.
2. Patterns and Body:
My aim is to show similar patterns between the human body (or its parts) and objects in the world around us; be that man-made or natural. In this way I would like to represent humans as part of their surroundings. I will accomplish it by combining the body with those objects, comparing the visual similarities that connect them.
3. Body Details:
My ambition is to capture the peculiarity of each body part. I hope to create an abstract body of work for the viewer to be manipulated by the ambiguity of form. I will position the body into a variety of postures to create curves, skin crease or change of shape. Then I will closely observe it from different perspectives and angles to find the right elements worth capturing as close up shots.
4. Nature and Environment:
In this set of photographs I would like to portray humans as a fragile entity and show the delicacy and vulnerability of the naked body in contrast or complimentary to the environment. I will achieve it in a variety of places; beautiful and rough landscapes, deep forests or urban suburbs, pretty city parks and hopefully city centres.
5. Body and Identity:
My aim is to show what different emotions and atmosphere photographs can evoke by showing the subject’s face; For the viewer to observe the difference between photographs focused just on the body and on subject’s identity. I will achieve it by taking two sets of photographs in a similar setting but with a different approach. In the first set I will focus on the body and its relation to the environment. In the second set I will concentrate on bringing out the subject’s personality.
It is likely that some of the photos from these themes will overlap as there are very similar elements that connect them. I am also open to take on new themes if something else sparks my interest as the project is developing. There is also a possibility I might get rid of some of these themes mentioned above if I do not see any way how they could progress.