Week 7: photographer research

John Clang

The photography module on canvas had provided students with many artists and photographers and while looking over them for research I came across the photographer John Clang. In particular I was very moved by his series of images titled- Fear of Losing the Existence created in 2002.

Clang briefly talks about his images mentioning:

My parents and parents-in-law are getting older and weaker by each passing day. We are separated by thousands of miles and I only get to see them once a year. With each visit, they look different. Their faces change with more wrinkles, their hair has grown thinner and they have become more fragile – the sure signs of aging. Sometimes when I miss them really badly, I realize I have difficulty picturing their faces accurately in my mind. I’m very afraid that one day I will not be able to remember their faces anymore and we become total strangers.

The effects of ageing is something that I am not particularly focused on, however i was immediately drawn to these images as initially they were quite shocking. The subjects have no facial features whatsoever which leaves no emotions for the audience to interpret. The images are blurred and out of focus and in some cases they are over exposed. This creates quite a hazy effect, almost dreamlike. This mimics a sense of forgetfulness as the images are not detailed enough to understand what is going on in the composition. The audience are not able to grasp a sense of attachment to the subjects and therefore we are left looking at the subjects like total strangers- exactly as how Clang describes his worries. The audience are left feeling disconnected from the images in one sense, but utterly in awe of the elements of beauty and confusion that are taking place simultaneously in the scene.

Some elements of Clang's work have subtle similarities to my project theme. Although i am not focusing on family or age, i am focusing on our identities within ourselves and how we want to be perceived vs how we perceive ourselves. Clangs images almost adopt a different view of the world and the subjects are positioned as if they are looking at the world for the first time-despite not holding any facial features. The subjects look lost and alone. When linking this to the effects of social media, it can suggest that our obsession over how we want to be perceived can cause us to lose sight of ourselves and our acceptance with who we are. We become addicted to altering and upgrading our virtual identity over and over again, we forget to care for our physical selves. Our digital self is a complete contrast to who we naturally are and in a sense we become strangers to ourselves.

Although I am not planning to adopt this style of photography, i am particularly interested to keep in mind Clang's interpretation of his images throughout my project. Maybe it would be useful to look into blank expression and how this is used to create meaning in images?