Object Unit Initial Ideas

For our first section of ‘The Object and The Body’ unit, we must produce a still life which portrays an issue or topic that interests us and that we are passionate about. 

My initial idea in response to the brief is to do with the issues surrounding littering as well as the excess wastage us as humans create through unnecessary packaging, food waste and not recycling causing landfills to overfill. This was recently highlighted to me through the amount of litter I saw when wondering round Chatham, and also when taking gardening waste to the tip I noticed piles of items such as sofas and bikes that looked practically brand new. I have become intrigued by this idea of mass throw away, the repetition of similar objects, unwanted and discarded of different conditions. I feel that one person could look at objects that have become rusty, dirty, scratched and torn and be repelled however I look at these items and see beauty- I can picture them at their prime and even find them beautiful in the way that they have tarnished and eroded.  

My first idea is to create a homely environment- a living room type set up filled with furniture eg. sofas, tables shot against a blank background to hint at this feeling of a clean slate which begins to highlight an out-of-placeness to the objects. This then begins to make the viewer look more closely at what is really being portrayed in the image; detail would start to pop out such as dirt, tears in the fabric, scratches on surfaces which forces them to confront the sometimes uncomfortable subject matter of waste caused by the viewer themselves. The scene would represent the idea that many objects being thrown away every day should not necessarily be thrown away; as I found when moving house we ended up throwing away a lot of stuff as we did not need the anymore but could someone else have used it?

My second idea is to use this idea of mass waste of one subject such as a bicycle to exaggerate the point I am trying to depict. I would collect a certain object from different locations where they have been discarded, such as off the streets, in nature, out of tips and garages; and set them up in the studio creating a busy scene of lines and textures. I would then take the photograph as a close up shot to highlight the beauty and detail in these discarded objects, focussing on the vibrant colours more in the rust rather than of the original subject. I want the audience to first be unaware of the subject matter and have to look more closely to realise what it is such as the frame work of bikes overlapping each other; and then become intrigued at the meaning of the image.       

From the initial briefing the artist that stood out for me was Keith Arnatt with his images, ‘Pictures from a Rubbish Tip, 1988-1989’, he creates this beautifully positioned and set up scene of rubbish which he got from tips. His work really portrays a similar issue to that which I am extremely interested in; many of his images are set up as traditional still lifes with rotting food set on tarpaulin rather than fabric which tricks the audience. The lighting is very soft and warm which creates a contrast with the topic but also lets the texture of the items stand out without becoming unnatural. 

The second artist I have discovered through initial research is Andy Hughes, his images are naturally set on beaches in the foreground sits a piece of litter which at first we see as beautiful due to the setting and lighting but then are disgusted by the subject matter. A quote by him highlights exactly what I wish to show: "Many of the plastic items begin their lives serving humankind; they fulfil a multitude of purposes, sometimes carrying out their function in a most beautiful manner. But usually after a short time and after being thrown away they disgust us. This sweet and sour relationship is explored in my photographic work." His use of dramatic natural lighting perfectly highlights the objects from behind while an artificial light picks out the contours and textures of the subject. 

These are few other photographers I am interested in looking into further at a later date by researching on the internet and borrowing some books from the library:

I visited a few London galleries on Friday researching for the object, body and environment units which I will put up on my blog soon including the print rooms at the V&A museum and Steve Pyke’s work at the Flowers gallery.