V&A Visit
Below is a photoshoot from a day recently whereby I visited the V&A Museum to take a look at some of the exhibitions. This first set is the pictures that I took outside of the museum, almost like a derive.
Then this set below is now all of the pictures from inside the museum which have interested me and helped me gain some clarity on what I want my investigation to be about.
How does this all link?
Good question. After these visits, I took some time in order to collect my own thoughts about how I want to proceed. I will admit that I left part 1 of my personal investigation on a cliffhanger however it will become relevant here soon enough. Now that we are seeing the likes of AI and machine learning make fast and furious developments, it is something I want to explore in the photography space and the general art space in general. The impacts, how it changes the future, what has happened already? So on, so on.
It might be a stretch, but I think that these museums have provided me an insight onto what kinds of documentation methods we have nowadays, and it would be nice to investigate and check out some of these methods and instigate, and maybe show off a certain uncertainty within what we see. The relevance, the integrity, the reliability of what we see and what is presented to us in exhibitions and shows, what does it mean?
It might be a stretch, but I think that these museums have provided me an insight onto what kinds of documentation methods we have nowadays, and it would be nice to investigate and check out some of these methods and instigate, and maybe show off a certain uncertainty within what we see. The relevance, the integrity, the reliability of what we see and what is presented to us in exhibitions and shows, what does it mean?
On a side note, I had another visit to Lithuania, spending most of my time in the capital of Vilnius, where one of my relatives is located. This made me think about the differences of media and representation of facts and news between a country like my home country and like England. However, what caught my interest was the municipality building - there is a big sign exclaiming "PUTIN - THE HAGUE IS WAITING FOR YOU". I love myself a bit of politics and geopolitics and exploring the ways that this changes how the media portray a country, like the "switched-off" nation of North Korea, compared to an area filled with controversy pending future updates on the special military operation being performed by Russia (est. 2022).
I thought that these pictures were worth noting down on my investigation page.
I thought that these pictures were worth noting down on my investigation page.
Back to London
Back to London, after a nice trip to Lithuania, I decided to take on the same kind of style of photography that I did in Lithuania in Vilnius and I went on another derive with two of my classmates to see how we could inspire ourselves and to see if I can notice similarities OR differences between in my country and London, two capital cities but two very different capital cities. I also went to the Soho Gallery as I saw there was an exhibition going on for Evelyn Hofer, a photographer that I am interested in as well.
Back to work I go... I wanted to do something with my pictures, and the first thing I wanted to do was try to challenge myself into making different types of diptychs and triptychs with my Lithuania photos. The results are below, including what I realised I could make into an arrow. I was planning to make a zine or some kind of flipbook but I never got around to it due to printing issues, maybe for the better. But I like where my project is heading now, it's just the fact that I need to focus more of my research into the... AI Dilemma ...
I have my favourite diptych and triptych above:
I also attempted to do some of the same with my London photos, however I feel this is getting a bit off-track from my project and what I want to focus on, however it is good to practice these things and experiment with what goes with what, etc etc. Although, my results are below.
By this point, my whole essay has been structured down the the topic of "Documentary Uncertainty".
- The diptych, I believe, perfectly shows the vibrant colours of Vilnius's architecture. It achieves a sort of calming, bright harmony of contrasting colours, creating some depth with all of the different designs that have been fit onto the building and door. I just think they work very well together especially as there is a sign on the door itself prohibiting access to the inside and maybe having the graffiti show a way to get through in a way. It just captures the nature of the city's personality through colour, as well as maybe the emotions too.
- Conversely, I have made the triptych form into the theme of tunnels and underpasses in across, again, the city of Vilnius. This concept to me conveys a journey and passage, almost like you have a choice when looking at the triptych that you can go through any of the underpasses. The continuity between the three images acts as a form of guide, I guess, especially comparing it to my diptych above in which it has a nice bright theme, you can see how my triptych invites contemplation on the intersection of architecture, each passage leading on to somewhere different.
I also attempted to do some of the same with my London photos, however I feel this is getting a bit off-track from my project and what I want to focus on, however it is good to practice these things and experiment with what goes with what, etc etc. Although, my results are below.
By this point, my whole essay has been structured down the the topic of "Documentary Uncertainty".
Exploring Photoshop: Creating Uncertainty
This is the first time I tried to use photoshop in order to experiment with changing around pictures and how they are perceived. I took this photo around Sunday evening so it was nice to make it look different as well as using different color grading options in Lightroom.
Aims set for the next 3-4 weeks:
- explore documentary uncertainty
- explore ways to show off my ideas (visual, physical)
- take relevant photos, or create relevant material
During research periods, I have been notified of this new article from Paula Gortazar, who interviews Gregory Eddi Jones about his project called '49/23', in which provides quite an astonishing comparison and contrast between the past and future of photography. With this, they also reveal the disruptive potential of AI in the artistic process and this interview did raise some questions about the appropriation of historical content for creative purposes, which is definitely an ethics issues, as well as the transformation of AI generated work into art. They also slightly dabbled into how the definition of authorship has changed in the digital age. I guess this comes as a case study to my work as I will need to explore more into how artists can maybe navigate the complex ethics problems involved in photography.
Now, it has come to the point where I need to start making mends and start hammering on towards my final project. I have decided to take an all online approach to this with my final idea being a lecture, but with a twist. I want this lecture to be full of bias, disinformation and as much talking with little sense as possible, whilst impersonating a photographer in the process. I came up with this idea because conventional exhibitions feel slightly less meaningful, to me, as opposed to getting on with something hands on, virtual and also grabbing.
I have made a script and will be making my own powerpoint for this lecture, as if it were a real TEDx lecture. It won't be long, more short and sweet with just enough in it to show that I can understand my ways around the thershold concepts whilst also portraying my theme of documentary uncertainty in a way that viewers can understand and get a laugh out of.
I have made a script and will be making my own powerpoint for this lecture, as if it were a real TEDx lecture. It won't be long, more short and sweet with just enough in it to show that I can understand my ways around the thershold concepts whilst also portraying my theme of documentary uncertainty in a way that viewers can understand and get a laugh out of.
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This is the powerpoint presentation I made for my lecture idea in the end, which I guess turned out well but obviously I could improve on it to make it look a bit more presentable. The idea came from a template I found online from a website and then I used some ChatGPT ideas to form up some waffle to add into the powerpoint as if it would actually be an actual TED presentation. I found on the TED website the logo generator, in which I did use in order to add some realism.
However, I did need to do a first attempt to see how it would all pan out, so I invited two of my colleagues to help me film and make sure all goes according to plan and in my facilities studio, I put on some lights and put up a projector and started filming my lecture for the first initial time. This did take a few attempts and had many bloopers. This is the final result, pretty successful from my view. |
It was after this that I realised I could still work on a lot of things, mostly which could have been done with post production editing, however I was content with the progress I have made to making a real lecture. It was recorded on my phone, an iPhone 14 Plus, and I think for what it was worth the lighting could have been a bit better to let my phone allow more light to produce a clearer image. I did edit this down slightly to test out Adobe After Effects, like changing the pitch of my voice for the first bit as well as adding some transitions, and it was generally a good start, with my colleagues feedback also coming positive, although understandably suspicious.
About a week later I had finally got the chance to do my second and final take of the lecture, this time in a better lit area being a spare room in my house, with a TV conveniently on the wall allowing me a good scene to try and make my proper TEDx lecture. The second attempt went very well compared to this one with better audio and image quality as well as smoother transitions and extra effects and background music. I have some pictures below from my editing process, this time using the free software of CapCut, for ease of use.
The final result is on my exhibition page.
About a week later I had finally got the chance to do my second and final take of the lecture, this time in a better lit area being a spare room in my house, with a TV conveniently on the wall allowing me a good scene to try and make my proper TEDx lecture. The second attempt went very well compared to this one with better audio and image quality as well as smoother transitions and extra effects and background music. I have some pictures below from my editing process, this time using the free software of CapCut, for ease of use.
The final result is on my exhibition page.