CONCEPT::
I am planning to do two final projects.
- The first is a series, meant to be viewed together, of stacks upon stacks of folded sheets. The piles, some neat and organized some moving toward disarray and some a mess, hold lots of representative meaning. Photographed as a narrow, vertical pile each bundle contains one hundred pieces of fabric, each photo captures seven bundles – laundry, bedding, cleaning, order, work, quantity, simplicity, beauty, mending – viewers can see what they wish. My motivation is to discuss and depict emotional labor of women. The series is call Motherload.
- The second series will be shot within the confines of an old closet. This closet has one small window and one light and a series of old hooks hanging from the wall. I want to explore the many different messages that this room can send – a refuge, a place of containment, serviceable, useless, antiquated, perpetual. I am interested in the everyday and the small things that go unnoticed. This is one of those useful spaces that has a hidden beauty as well as a resilience and a flexibility that gives it emotional weight. It is timeless.
INPUT::
The shooting for both projects will be similar. My palette will be limited for both series. I will be using a tripod, low ISO, slow shutter speed and a fairly small aperture in order to get as much detail and texture as possible. I will have natural light for the piles and a combination of lighting for the closet.
OUTPUT::
Both of these projects will ultimately be printed. The piles series will be shown together 10-15 images printed on matte paper. At the very least they will be printed 24” x 48”. the closet photos will also be printed large as I think it will help to heighten the feeling of the small space. I have not yet determined what exact size they will be or what paper will serve them best.
Leslie
All I can say is Motherload is brilliant and it will be a labor of love…the thought of folding all that fabric is daunting to me and a great metaphor for the emotional labor of women (and the exhaustion and draining of our emotional resources!) .
I don’t have much to add but encouragement because I know you will execute the project with the precision and attention to detail that you do all your projects!
Looking forward to seeing the final piece!
Hi Leslie!
In the work we’ve seen from you this semester, you do a really wonderful job of taking everyday household items and styling them in such a way that the overall work comes across as very elegant and timeless. I look forward to seeing how you capture your subject of sheets and linens in a variety of ways. I’m sure the texture and design will be really strong.
In last week’s critique, I was drawn to the layout of the closet space that was featured in some of your images. Are all of the hooks the same? Are they vintage? Where did you get them? Did they come with the house? Why so many? I was so curious, and look forward to learning more. It will be exciting to see how you get creative with capturing a single environment.
Knowing your unique style and color palette, I’m sure these images will turn out beautifully and will play really nicely with each other.
Maggie
Hi Leslie,
I think your projects are really inspiring and powerful.
1 – I really like that you are leaving a lot of the interpretation to the viewer. The title works perfectly with what you are trying to convey. I think an idea you could consider is to use fabrics that have patterns representative of different cultures. It may add another layer to your work.
2 – I recently came across the work of Billie Mandle and I think you would be really interested in the way she shot her series ‘Reconciliation.’ Here is a link – https://www.billiemandle.com/reconciliation
So excited to see how this turns out and I hope that was helpful!
Raina