It has been a while since this project started now, and I believe it would be helpful to see how the idea and visuals have progressed.
I first started by looking at fantasy portrait photographers that I already knew about and had admired and followed for years including Kirsty Mitchell and Linda Blacker. I think, while my work has diverged, these two photographers were key to inspiring me to make the work to begin with. My early research such as Breaking the Angelic Image by Edith Lazaros Honig and my investigation into the history of women's self-portraits have helped me understand the need for fantasy more, and therefore made me realise my own need for it. Since this realisation of my need for escapism, the project began to take shape.
The first image was very Alice in Wonderland -esque and while I find it beautiful, and it certainly comes from my acknowledgement of the need for fantasy, it didn't tell a story. Or rather, it told a story but I as the artist wasn't sure what it was. Perhaps to some this would not be an issue, however I like certainty even if others are unsure of it.
I continued my research into fantasy, and read about Freud's theory of unconscious fantasies that come out in our everyday lives; phantasies. This still makes me think a lot about why I take these images, a journey that is ongoing.
After a bit more research into various artists, and a lot of thinking while taking my thoughts, my passions, what draws me and why I take self-portraits into consideration I settled on creating self-portraits as Greek Goddesses. Having this as my basis was certainly a turning point. I have been interested in Greek mythology since I was a child due to Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson Heroes of Olympus series. It also offers a sense of escapism for me, and the viewer can identify the themes, the titles and the names used. Mainly, it allows me to base my images off pre-existing stories, and as the project has evolved, paintings of these goddesses. I narrowed my scope a bit as there are thousands of Greek goddesses. Greek Goddesses that have some relation to astronomical forces allow me to have a greater sense of escapism as they would not only affect people and their feelings but the entire world and possibly beyond. They power they hold is incredibly great, they have a huge sense of importance. This perhaps suggests a need to escape from reality and beyond what we know humanity to be.
I first started exploring Selene, the Goddess of the Moon, and Asteria, the Titaness of the Fallen Stars. I thought they were very appropriate to the theme, and upon my research I found they had fascinating stories. My research definitely helped me understand their personalities and temperaments for when the time came to take images of myself as such characters. The paintings of these Goddesses have been perhaps one of the critical parts to my research as they act as heavy inspiration for my photographs. At first, this was not the case and I began to interpret these goddesses in my own way but I found that they didn't feel authentic. I was also struggling with creativity in terms of angles, poses and stories, and so upon discussion with my supervisor, I decided to use these paintings as the basis for my imagery, only twisting it to be more modern by having certain elements hinting at reality, such as distant houses in the background, or the material and embellishments on a dress. The result ended up with images that sat in between reality and myth - a place I need to understand more in the future.
Since then, I have been continuing to research both Goddesses and about the consciousness, the importance of literature - especially fantasy literature, and the mind and reality. Eos and Nyx are two goddesses I am working on with shoot plans, one being the Goddess of the night, and the other the light. I will then have the light, the darkness, the moon and the dreams, and I think that they work harmoniously with each other conceptually. I also have been thinking a lot about my relationship with the work, and what it was influenced by. I came to the conclusion that this kind of work was almost inevitable for me, as somebody who has had the need to escape through literature since a small child. I was reading my mother's 500-page books in a few hours by the time I was 8 because I could not get enough of being in these various worlds. When I discovered Harry Potter it was as if I had found myself and a world where I longed to be more than anything else. The Percy Jackson series echoed this, a series that was centered around mythology. And thus, since a young age, I was engrossed in this world of fantasy. My research on the mind helps me understand this, and taught me that people have been needing escape literature for centuries, that we want to make things better even temporarily, but also those who are happy with the world still wish to experience escape, which can take form in many different ways. For me, it's been art and literature.
To go forwards, I will continue planning shoots, researching goddesses that I feel would fit well with the theme I am exploring, and try to understand more about the way in which I am taking the images and using other art as references, as well as learning more about why greek mythology came about and the origins of these goddesses. I will look at the style of my work and research influences and periods that come through within that style. I will broaden my knowledge on painting, and find photographic artists whos work mine could be similar to or later inspired by.
I first started by looking at fantasy portrait photographers that I already knew about and had admired and followed for years including Kirsty Mitchell and Linda Blacker. I think, while my work has diverged, these two photographers were key to inspiring me to make the work to begin with. My early research such as Breaking the Angelic Image by Edith Lazaros Honig and my investigation into the history of women's self-portraits have helped me understand the need for fantasy more, and therefore made me realise my own need for it. Since this realisation of my need for escapism, the project began to take shape.
The first image was very Alice in Wonderland -esque and while I find it beautiful, and it certainly comes from my acknowledgement of the need for fantasy, it didn't tell a story. Or rather, it told a story but I as the artist wasn't sure what it was. Perhaps to some this would not be an issue, however I like certainty even if others are unsure of it.
I continued my research into fantasy, and read about Freud's theory of unconscious fantasies that come out in our everyday lives; phantasies. This still makes me think a lot about why I take these images, a journey that is ongoing.
After a bit more research into various artists, and a lot of thinking while taking my thoughts, my passions, what draws me and why I take self-portraits into consideration I settled on creating self-portraits as Greek Goddesses. Having this as my basis was certainly a turning point. I have been interested in Greek mythology since I was a child due to Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson Heroes of Olympus series. It also offers a sense of escapism for me, and the viewer can identify the themes, the titles and the names used. Mainly, it allows me to base my images off pre-existing stories, and as the project has evolved, paintings of these goddesses. I narrowed my scope a bit as there are thousands of Greek goddesses. Greek Goddesses that have some relation to astronomical forces allow me to have a greater sense of escapism as they would not only affect people and their feelings but the entire world and possibly beyond. They power they hold is incredibly great, they have a huge sense of importance. This perhaps suggests a need to escape from reality and beyond what we know humanity to be.
I first started exploring Selene, the Goddess of the Moon, and Asteria, the Titaness of the Fallen Stars. I thought they were very appropriate to the theme, and upon my research I found they had fascinating stories. My research definitely helped me understand their personalities and temperaments for when the time came to take images of myself as such characters. The paintings of these Goddesses have been perhaps one of the critical parts to my research as they act as heavy inspiration for my photographs. At first, this was not the case and I began to interpret these goddesses in my own way but I found that they didn't feel authentic. I was also struggling with creativity in terms of angles, poses and stories, and so upon discussion with my supervisor, I decided to use these paintings as the basis for my imagery, only twisting it to be more modern by having certain elements hinting at reality, such as distant houses in the background, or the material and embellishments on a dress. The result ended up with images that sat in between reality and myth - a place I need to understand more in the future.
Since then, I have been continuing to research both Goddesses and about the consciousness, the importance of literature - especially fantasy literature, and the mind and reality. Eos and Nyx are two goddesses I am working on with shoot plans, one being the Goddess of the night, and the other the light. I will then have the light, the darkness, the moon and the dreams, and I think that they work harmoniously with each other conceptually. I also have been thinking a lot about my relationship with the work, and what it was influenced by. I came to the conclusion that this kind of work was almost inevitable for me, as somebody who has had the need to escape through literature since a small child. I was reading my mother's 500-page books in a few hours by the time I was 8 because I could not get enough of being in these various worlds. When I discovered Harry Potter it was as if I had found myself and a world where I longed to be more than anything else. The Percy Jackson series echoed this, a series that was centered around mythology. And thus, since a young age, I was engrossed in this world of fantasy. My research on the mind helps me understand this, and taught me that people have been needing escape literature for centuries, that we want to make things better even temporarily, but also those who are happy with the world still wish to experience escape, which can take form in many different ways. For me, it's been art and literature.
To go forwards, I will continue planning shoots, researching goddesses that I feel would fit well with the theme I am exploring, and try to understand more about the way in which I am taking the images and using other art as references, as well as learning more about why greek mythology came about and the origins of these goddesses. I will look at the style of my work and research influences and periods that come through within that style. I will broaden my knowledge on painting, and find photographic artists whos work mine could be similar to or later inspired by.
Current Progress
![Current Progress]()
Reviewed by BethCorbett
on
May 02, 2020
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