Creation Date
2016
Preview
Medium
digital print
Description
Dimensions: 20 x 36 inches
This work is part of the series entitled What the Eye Cannot See.
Rights
© Emma Elizabeth Hood, 2016.
Exhibit Images
Series Title: What the Eye Cannot See
Keywords
photography, digital photography, digital montage, composite, digital collage, contemporary landscape
Artist Statement
These composites are an attempt to represent the depth of what I see and to construct my version of reality. Using my own photographs, I manipulate images in post processing to create more complex representations of a landscape as I experience them. What would it look like to include the invisible or lost information in a 2 dimensional image? Overall, the series explores the concept that, as individuals, we can see the same thing differently.
Peoples’ interpretation of the world depends on information delivered through multiple senses. A photograph cuts out the context of a moment and supplies only the one sense. As a result, the viewer is forced to look subjectively on the limited subjects given to them. Because of this, I try to come up with alternate ways to represent a moment and my thought process within it. What was the sound in that environment? What was I reminded of? One thing is for certain, a photograph cannot capture a moment but only a fraction of one.
I ground myself in situations around me and begin to observe my environment, I’ll acknowledge what is adding to the scene that cannot be photographed, and later try to visually describe these influences. Essentially, I have attempted to recreate my point of view in a flat plane. The final product becomes an unrecognizable place that only I could have created.
The collage titled Traffic by The Empty Lot represents a white stucco wall fencing off the home beyond it. An empty lot is seen in the foreground and the local foothills peak out of the background. Blue sky, yellow leaves and the shadow’s cast are the few clues of that day. What cannot be seen was the line of cars behind me stopped at the traffic light, the eyes watching me take an interest in this house on the corner of an intersection and the sun’s heat on my face.
These photomontages are organized and chaotic, riddled with inconsistencies and duplicated information. In order to appreciate these nuances, the series has been printed and mounted in a large scale. The negative white space of the paper leaves the viewer aware they are missing information. That there is more to a photographic moment that cannot be expressed within a predetermined frame. Thus, pulling away from traditional photographs and demanding to be considered.