•The theme I am going to respond to is ‘Strange and Fantastical’. I am interested in exploring fairy tales and surrealism. This aspect of my theme fascinates me because I have read and watched a lot of fairy tales growing up and the extraordinary settings and characters always captivated me. I would like to use photography to explore this imaginative and fictional worlds that exist in fairy tales and I would like my photographs to capture this same sense of playfulness as it was a significant part of my childhood.

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•A quote that inspired me is : “O, to be sure, we laugh less and play less and wear uncomfortable disguises like adults, but beneath the costume is the child we always are, whose needs are simple, whose daily life is still best described by fairy tales.”― Leo Rosten. This quote is incentivizing because it perfectly describes how complicated and serious life can be in your adulthood but there will always be an inner child within you who views life in a simpler way and this innocence is immersed in fairytales as it lets your imagination run wild and helps you abandon this melancholy mindset and adapt a more light-hearted outlook on life and see the magnificence  in ordinary things.

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•In addition, I will also be responding to some of the problematic messages within fairytales because as a child I didn't feel represented by these fairy tales due to the lack of diversity present as well the narrow view of what was perceived as beautiful which seemed to evolve mostly around Eurocentric beauty standards. Furthermore, they also instilled ideas that a woman's worth is linked to how beautiful she is and conveyed messages about the need for a  man to save them. The ideas are disheartening for our modern society were equality is becoming increasingly important. Hence, I aim to use photography to create more modern and empowering pictures in which I intend to make women of colour, such as myself, the focal point in order to address issues like colourism and the lack of representation within fairytales. 

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•I am interested in developing my knowledge of colour and visual effects in Photography in order to create fantasy. This is why I have chosen to study the artists Magdiel Lopez, Alberto Seveso and Jessica Kobessi. All three of my artists use colours in different ways which presents the distinctiveness of fairy tales. Magdiel uses more saturated, vaporwave and pastel colours. Alberto Seveso uses rich, vibrant coloured paints in water. Jessica uses juxtaposing colours to make the subject stand out. 

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•I am going to develop my use of colour and visual effects in my own work and explore the theme of fairy tales by using Photoshop to digitally manipulate facial features or backgrounds like Magdiel Lopez to embody the whimsical nature of fairy tales. I will be using colour associated with fairy tales through costumes replicating Jessica Kobeissi's use of colour and contrast in outfits to create fashion character portraits hence capturing the ethereal aspects of fairy tales. In addition, I will also use paint in water like Alberto Seveso as the seamless movement of rich, vibrant paints fusing together creates a calming mood therefore displaying the peaceful ambience of the different worlds that exist in fairy tales.

 

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