Seung-Hwan Oh:

Seung-Hwan Oh is a South Korean photographer who makes use of microbial growth to create a surreal and interesting effect to the film photographs "as a means to explore the impermanence of matter as well as the material limitations of photography." The photographs are simple portraits yet the bacteria growth creates a deep sense of emotion, especially confusion. 

I think the photographs can be inferred to show a sense of mental health as the bacteria is random and messy, it also surrounds the model suggesting they have a lack of control over their emotions. Oh uses bacteria on his film which can take years to develop therefore when I recreate the photos, I will use ink to create a similar effect.

My Response:

I developed film photographs and added ink to the developer to create a similar effect to the bacteria Oh grew on his photographs. I think this was effective as it is poured over their faces, loosing their personality, this can be seen as a metaphor for mental health problems as sufferers often have a lack of control over their minds and bodies. However I do not think my response is as effective as Oh's photographs as the ink is not as opaque as the bacteria. If I were to redo these photos, I would experiment using different mediums such as paint and material. 

I was not happy with the effect of these photos just using ink in the dark room therefore I decided to use brusho paint to create a brighter, more similar to Oh's work, response. I think the brusho was effective as the different colours spread and blended together, similarly to how the different types of bacteria in Oh's photos spread together to create an image. The brusho was better and creating a sense of mental health as it goes off in different directions which could be a metaphor for the lack of control many mental illness sufferers experience.

I think this photo is effective as the blending of the colours could infer synaptic transmissions, which is a key part of someone's mental health. The brusho surrounds the model which suggests that sufferers of mental illnesses are trapped within their illness, this is visible in many mental illnesses. 

I also think this photo is effective as the brusho is over the model's face, making her loose her identity, this allows the viewer to imagine this to be someone they know or themselves, breaking down the barriers of stigma.