Connections are the relationships which can link people or things. They can be made with patterns, internal systems and even from one station to another when traveling to different locations. On a personal level, I usually feel extremely disconnected from things, especially people, so I feel that this is a theme where I would really be able to photographically visualise both the connections and disconnections I feel in my own everyday life. Because connections is a broad topic, an idea I have is to maybe somehow place some of my focus on shapes such as circles and triangles, where lines ‘meet’ and ‘connect’ to each other.
Artist Research- Juana Gómez
Chilean artist Juana Gómez’s embroidered photographic canvases combine the realms of scientific exploration and ancestral tradition, by weaving complex anatomical and mythical patterns onto images of her and her daughters’ bodies. Her work places mankind within a broader context of interconnectivity; Positioning us as part of an ancient chain that goes back to the origin of life, (a combination of patterns, molecules and small organisms) instead of just individuals that are detached from one another and the world around us. In past works, Gómez has overstitched her photographs with networks of nervous systems, organs and bacteria, drawing our attention to the unseen elements that unite us intergenerationally- within families and wider civilisation.
Artist Research- Christina McFaul
Christina McFaul is a photographer based in San Diego, California, who specialises in portrait, newborn and maternity photography. In one of her projects- Sanctuary in the Wild- she photographs two young boys curiously interacting with the nature surrounding them. In the black and white images, she utilises plant and animal life to represent human body parts such as the spine and eyes, ‘completing’ the boys and further connecting them to nature they’re in.
Theme Development Potential
If I choose this theme, I might focus on things that actually have connective features, such as maps with roads, train tracks, rivers etc. to maybe combine these types of things into one photo. Another concept linking to connections could be evolution- like the work Juana Gómez produces. An extra focus could be how complete strangers can be connected in unique and unexpected ways (like the things we share and how similar our experiences can be). For this, I would shoot in a lot of busy public spaces, rather than in the studio. An idea I have would be to present my photos by printing them onto actual maps or artistically linking a number of different images together using mixed media. I feel material would be a good choice for this, although keeping it in the position I want without it moving too much could be difficult.
Connections Moodboard
Focusing on human connection is something I think would work well for this theme. Many people can be connected and disconnected to and from each other through relationships and all humans can be connected to nature in their own ways as well.