After producing the image of me looking like I was trapped and frozen I decided to recreate it with flowers. I wanted to compare the two – comparing self portraiture with nature, and when presenting these images would pair them together.
Linking back to the title of the work ‘We are merely here’, I wanted to look at the how this idea of being frozen and trapped effects both humans and nature differently. In the self portrait image it looks as if the ‘ice’ effect is what is damaging me, and gives the impression of being trapped and unable to escape. However contrasting this with the flowers in the ice block I look at it a different way. Cracks are beginning to form across the ice, giving the impression of it breaking out. Yet more importantly the parts of the flowers that are trapped within the ice are not dying, but in fact are being kept alive by this imprisonment.
I initially think the portrait photos of the flowers work best, especially when contrasting it with the self portrait as they are both then similar in composition. However, I want to produce a book for the end of project and actually feel pairing a horizontal and portrait photo together will add interest to the book. The horizontal images of the flowers now work best for me as they show the best detail – the parts that are alive and the parts that are dying, as well as the detail within the ice.
Final Major Project Kirsty Powell 