Imbalance
The inspiration for
this project came about in many of the classes I have been taking for my major,
brain and cognitive science. I have always been drawn to the concept of mental
disorders because of the vast uncertainty there is around them and how
inconsistent treatment is. In my intro neuroscience class and psychology
classes, we had been talking about mental disorders, what causes them, and how
to treat them.
In the images, three
neurotransmitters were painted on the chests of three different affected
individuals and an imbalance was demonstrated with the expression of how the
imbalance controls them.
Norepinephrine:
Lack of=
mass amounts of random confusion, depression, overall distress.
Excess= an
uncomfortable level of arousal, distraction, chronically can lead to ADHD
Dopamine:
Lack of=
severe depression, lack of motivation and awareness
Excess=
heightened brain activity that leads to schizophrenia
Serotonin:
Lack of=
forgetfulness, depression, lower levels of responsiveness and drive
Excess= a
manic state that leads to overly exaggerated confidence, can even lead to
Serotonin Syndrome and hospitalization
The images on the
left all have broken text to represent the lack of the neurotransmitter. The
ones on the right are highlighted in red to represent the excessive amount of
the neurotransmitter. Lastly, the ones in the middle show the balanced state
that everyone is either in or can reach through treatment.
Despite the
distressing symptoms that some of these diseases cause, there are thousands of
people all over the world who live with it, and most of the time, you can
barely tell when a person has it. I wanted to create something that would both
show how someone suffering from a mental disorder might feel on the inside, despite
the cool and controlled front they present to the world.
Lastly, I want to
take this opportunity to say that mental illness is something that nobody
should ever feel ashamed of or afraid to talk about. Its real, its present, and
it is okay. Never be afraid to ask for help. By bringing awareness to the
causes and the treatments, we can work together to eradicate the stigma that
comes attached with the words “mental disorder” and improve overall mental
health around the world.
National Suicide
Hotline: 1-800-273-8255
References and Inspirations:
My Space
As freshmen, we are
all given one identical desk in our identical rooms. It is up to us to
transform our own private space into something that speaks to our character and
personality. One can truly tell a lot about a person by looking at the contents
of their desk whether it be pictures, food, makeup, schoolwork, or even nothing
at all. These 16 desks tell the stories of 16 individuals during the crazy adjustment period they call freshman year.
Journey to Sight
Narratives within series can be both formulated or spontaneous. For me, the story showed itself only after a struggle to put the pieces together. I had to chop up my contact sheet, and move the pieces of the puzzle around until this formation drew my attention. I chose my images not because I had a conceptual idea, but because of the compositional aspects of each one. As a photographer, I've always been extremely attracted to converging lines within images. So, when the three vertical images fell into this diagonal formation, I knew I had to work with this set up. I then selected a few of my most rich horizontal images and played with the way they fit into these two slots.
The story came only after our critique, with the help of my classmates.
This series can be a visual and symbolic representation of our stages of wisdom throughout life. The top left image represents youthful ignorance and naivety since all he sees is a flower- a symbol for beauty and purity. The tunnel in the middle can show how through the journey we encounter many different people and obstacles, represented by the writing on the walls. In counterpart, the glasses paired with the gravestone tell how as we get older, we are given the ability to learn more and earn sight, or wisdom. Lastly, although the naivety fades with age, the flower by the grave says that bliss comes full circle, and with wisdom, comes the ability to see the beauty and the purity of this single life we get.
Beauty?
What is beauty? Is it something physical? Is it emotional? Who defines it? And what is the baseline?
My first impulse for photogram ideas was to work with semi-transparent items such as the comb on the bottom composition. From there, the rest of the items came as an improvisation on my original idea. The work's purpose is to question the stereotypical idea of physical beauty and all the endless tools that are thought to create it. I divided the compositions into the three aspects that contribute to the social ideas of beauty; makeup, jewelry, and hair. The middle composition really ties the series together because of the use of the word "pretty" itself, which makes it apparent what the work's purpose was.
Technique wise, I tried to create compositions that did not have that much negative space, and had some sense of movement. The presence of my hair in the bottom composition was added entirely on the spot when I noticed my long hair draping on the photo paper. All of the exposure times were relatively straightforward and didn't need a large amount of experimentation.
My first impulse for photogram ideas was to work with semi-transparent items such as the comb on the bottom composition. From there, the rest of the items came as an improvisation on my original idea. The work's purpose is to question the stereotypical idea of physical beauty and all the endless tools that are thought to create it. I divided the compositions into the three aspects that contribute to the social ideas of beauty; makeup, jewelry, and hair. The middle composition really ties the series together because of the use of the word "pretty" itself, which makes it apparent what the work's purpose was.
Technique wise, I tried to create compositions that did not have that much negative space, and had some sense of movement. The presence of my hair in the bottom composition was added entirely on the spot when I noticed my long hair draping on the photo paper. All of the exposure times were relatively straightforward and didn't need a large amount of experimentation.
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