ARTIST STATEMENT

Bristol.

Martha Cooper

Inspiration.

Martha Cooper, a photographer who documented the New York graffiti scene of the 1970's & 80', she photographed the tagging scene back when there were just a handfull of people out there doing it. This was the absolute beginning of what you call street art today & martha recorded it tirelessly. She would sit for hours waiting for one train to pass after getting a call from a writer letting her know it was coming. There would be only one shot for a photo since it was most likely to be buffed out the following day. Martha did this out of curiousness, pure interest and love. She thought this was a movement of the minute. She had no idea that her lens was capturing the very beginning of one the greatest art movements of our time. The writers, the subway, the underground gatherings for writers, & the local urban culture

which was so large in New York, during the birth of Graffiti, Rap & the Community of kids, teens & art which brought them together. Martha Cooper was warmly welcomed into the underground world of

New York where she documented what many people seemed to miss. She documented what wasn't yet known to the world. Through her photographs, over the years she has been my main inspiration.

dreaming.

kings way cover.

searching for an inspiration. Martha Cooper, Ari Marcopoulos.

photocopied photographs. ari marcopoulos. "Poison" Series.

Ari Marcopoulos.

martha cooper.

these photographs make me feel fuzzy.

kind of like love.

black is a colour.

what am i doing. i've found myself writing & dreaming more than shooting.
i've got some stuff tucked under my sleeve.. i think it's time to take off my jumper perhaps..
unravel that sh!t.
black & white. grain. paris. london. homeboy. 1600. personal. real personal. body. ari marcopoulous. little paris book. photocopied photographs. i've been doing that for a while.. might as well put it to use with this old thing.
i go for months draining myself, my mind, & then i wake up.. on this big road, the gravel grazing my knees as i get up & see everything i need to. i take my jumper off.. & here it all is.

nudes

i've began reading the dictionary of symbols. and what certain symbols i can include in my nudes, to say a whole lot more than they do just as they are. certain colours, could be applied with filters, can create a certain emotion within the image, and tell a story. for example as i've read, the colour red is fire, represents life, as red is the womb. or certain objects can be added to the photograph, beside me.

i've also found some more inspiriational nudes, by Man Ray. Black & white, abstract, surreal like.

Also found a couple nudes by Nan Goldin, but her portrayal of nudes, or images in general were in regards to the life that was present, her's and her friends, aquaintences etc.

My aim for my images is portrayal of feelings, emotions and experiences. All I need to do is learn how to portray these life like elements in my images, by body language, posture, tone, etc.

Lighting is key. Deep, dark, sharp lighting. I'd love to experiment with being nude in public, such as in front of buildings, parks etc. That would take a bit of guts, and not sure if it's legal.

For example, the dictionary of symbols said that a bed, is associated with life and death.

and life is typically created on a bed, and often, people die in their beds. I'd like to set up a shoot of myself, on a bed, nude, relating to life and death, and how inside, where you grow and grow, you experience and deal with so many emotions, given by life, feeling like death. i need to research this thouroughly, to back up my intention and the outcome. Man Ray's nude's are a great inspiration so far. Nan Goldin also by far. Looking at her photographs with nude people, give you a feeling of a disturbed life, experience, traumatic stress, physical and emotional. i should photograph myself nude, on those days which are so dark, and deep below the surface, where you can actually see the physically effects on my body, at that point in time, keeping in mind the lighting, and what i'm truly trying to portray. my goal will be to work with digital, as i'm not as familiar with digital as i am with film. this will start soon.

pictured: black & white, Man Ray. Colour: Nan Goldin

back for the first time.

it's been a while. as a photography student, i am ashamed to say that.

my body is here, but my mind is somewhere else. i feel it's all truly over, all aspects of my life.

the stale smell of cigarettes stain my morning robe, my head aches from thoughts of my past.

its almost june, and i am still stuck in square one, stuck in may 2008. 2009 is non existent.

i've failed, disappointed myself, negelected my cameras. they are taped up in a box.

they shouldn't be there, but they are, and the only words i've managed to speak are, i'm aware, but i'm gone. it's kind of like hell inside my body, and on the outside is soft skin, worn eyes and fingernails bitten to a pulp. i'm nude, honest and immensely confused. the sunshine strikes through my window, it blinds me. i wish it was dark, like the darkest night ever.

i can't continue to breathe like this. so last night, with my own hands, i picked up my weak body, set up some lights, a camera, and began to shoot. i felt effortless, the photographs look tired, my body looks tired. i am tired, but i was able to lift myself up. the images don't make sense to me, the focus is my breasts, my skin, the lighting covering only certain parts of my body. a cover is always good, but it's not always honest. but this is as honest as i could be at this point in time. now what? i have no idea.