Final Development:

I am going to present my final photographs by putting ink photos on medicine bottles and placing them on two shelves. I am then going to print 3 large photographs - each representing a different mental illness - Anorexia, OCD and Schizophrenia. On the rest of the board, I am going to put light writing photographs which represent the negative sides of each mental illness with words such as 'crazy,' 'skinny' and 'rejected.' 

For each of my shoots I used various poses and lighting to create different effects, I also experimented with using a long exposure. I was influenced by Francesca Woodman when using long exposure as she creates a blur in lots of her work. Her work is different to mine as it is in black and white however I think the blur creates a similar effect, that each model's individual identity in lost. Woodman's work explored issues of gender and self, looking at the representation of the body in relation to its surroundings. Most of her photographs are self portraits however this is unclear through her use of long exposure, this underlying vulnerability is further emphasised by the small, intimate format of her photos. She used objects within her photographs to symbolise catastrophic events, similarly I have used objects to symbolise mental illnesses e.g. measuring tapes. She combined performance, play and self exposure to create images of extreme and often disturbing psychological states and then took her own life when she was only 22.

The different poses allowed me to explore my ideas and think in depth about the disorders that I am visually portraying. I also experimented in the editing with different filters and lighting effects which helped me decide how I wanted my final photos to look. This also allows me to think about the three main photographs as a set and how the editing of each photo was key to them working as a set. 

Anorexia:

The final position is my favourite because it makes the model look like a puppet suggesting that she is being controlled by her eating disorder, this is also shown through the excessive amount of measuring tapes surrounding her, suggesting that she cannot escape from her anorexia. The editing in the first photograph is effective because a cooling filter has been added to stop the model looking too orange however unlike the final photo, she doesn't look too blue either. 

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder:

The long exposure in these photographs is effective as it creates a blur, of the model's hand in the first photo and of the paper in the last two. The blurred paper is effective as it shows the lack of control a sufferer of OCD has, it also shows the extreme compulsions they may have as a way of reducing anxiety due to their obsessive thoughts. However, I think the blur in the first photograph, simply of the model's hand is most effective as it shows how subtle obsessive compulsive disorder can be.

Schizophrenia:

These photographs are effective as the blur of the people in the background can be inferred as different symptoms of schizophrenia such as delusions and hallucinations. The different positions of the main model also show the distress that someone with schizophrenia experiences, this is effective as it portrays the seriousness of Schizophrenia and how dangerous it can be for a sufferer.

Light writing:

Each of these photos shows either an emotion or a word used to describe mental disorder, I chose to use all negative words/emotions to show the negative stigma attached to mental illnesses. I also thought that the messiness of the handwriting was effective as it creates a childlike sensation which may be inferred in two ways, that those who still create stigma around mental illnesses are childish or that some of the symptoms of mental illnesses can be childish e.g. some sufferers of depression have childlike temper tantrums.

Ink:

I felt the photographs of ink in water were effective as portraying the uncontrolled emotions someone with a mental illness experiences. The effect of these photographs is increased when they are stuck onto medicine bottles. This is because the photographs look similar to neural transmissions that happen in our brains and antidepressants increase/decrease the levels of some neurotransmitters. For example SSRI''s inhibit serotonin from breaking down therefore allowing it to pass into synapses.

Mock up: 

My final mockup is a photoshopped version of how my work will look in the exhibition space. I believe that the work will be effective in this layout as the messiness of the light writing photos contrasts with the order of the bottles. This creates a sense of confusion within the viewer. I also think that the work will make the viewer reflect of themselves and how they speak about those with mental illnesses. I hope to break down barriers and stigma surrounding mental health issues.