Project 5 - Process

PROJECT 5 PROCESS

I wanted to combine project 4 and 5 into the same project. After completing project 4 (the handmade book), I wanted to push the boundaries of what a book really is. At it's core, a book is a 2 dimensional (the pages and words) and 3 dimensional (the book's form itself) way of storytelling. 

What if I stripped away the 3 dimensional aspect of the book and told a story through only an image. But don't all images tell stories? Yes and no. Some images are just pretty to look at, but I wanted to tell a narrative through 1 image alone. 

In Project 4 I wanted to also convey the meaning of the passage of time. In Project 5 my goal is to freeze a specific moment in my character's life and tell the story of what's going on in their life through a series miniature photographs showcased in the window of the motel. The motel windows signify how we're only getting a glimpse of the moment (not the full picture, both literally and metaphorically) and because of it's small size it conveys a feeling of claustrophobia, like the character can't escape the situation they are in. 

The images themselves are significant memories the character remembers from that one specific moment. When keystone moments happen in someone's life, the brain tends to remember small details and how they felt. For example, when I started dating my boyfriend I remember the stereo light in my car, the pavement of the sidewalk, his ripped sweater sleeve, the apartment complex building, and other random details. I wanted to take this same idea and use images of small details like that in the windows of the motel.

The repetition of the rings represents the pages of a book, and because they are circular in nature they provide a visual contrast to the geometric shapes prominently seen in the image.

I chose a motel because it too signifies a short moment in life. You rent out a motel for a night, or even sometimes for a couple of hours. That moment you've stayed there is so short in comparison to the rest of your life. 

The eyes represent nostalgia and the thought process of looking back on that memory. The hands signify the action of "turning the page" in the character's life, since there is no physical page to turn.