In the mirror
I felt that mirrors were a great way to add the effect of things that we don’t see in life but see in our heads. Mirrors show a true reflection of who we are on the outside and so I decided they would be an instrument to show a reflection of who we are on the inside, focusing on reflecting the scary truth.
Finding great interest in the issue of mental health and ways to portray the issue I decided to experiment with the use of a mirror technique. I took images of a female doing something that everyone considers to be very normal, I’m the images we see her brushing her teeth in the mirror. I positioned myself at an angle where we could see the main model (Hannah) and her reflection but the 'presence' of another being mirroring Hannah's actions also brushing their teeth, this other figure is there as a representation of a personality or voice that Hannah has in her head.
My favourite images were the ones here which I chose to put together creating one image. They were chosen as I really enjoyed looking at the second image as the main focus is on the personality or voice in Hannah's head and her eyes then lead you to Hannah and her reflection, this use of leading lines was one that I liked very much. I also noticed that the rule of thirds was apparent in this image using the shower line and its reflection with the personality in the far right corner box and Hannah in the centre/far lower right corner. I felt that black and white would be a great effect for these images.
When adding text to this piece I focused on representations of the mirror.
“It’s not always staring you in the face”
“It’s the quiet ones you need to watch”
“It’s always looking over your shoulder”
When taking the images I focused on the fact that it was so natural, that the main model does not even acknowledge this persona with her. This made me think about the persona as a friend or comfort for I decided to use the idea of an Imaginary friend. I also thought it would be very effective to have the text placed in the mirror in the form of “lipstick” text with wording that can be perceived to come from the persona of the main model.
“It’s not always staring you in the face”
“It’s the quiet ones you need to watch”
“It’s always looking over your shoulder”
When taking the images I focused on the fact that it was so natural, that the main model does not even acknowledge this persona with her. This made me think about the persona as a friend or comfort for I decided to use the idea of an Imaginary friend. I also thought it would be very effective to have the text placed in the mirror in the form of “lipstick” text with wording that can be perceived to come from the persona of the main model.