The above imagery are stills from the opening scenes of David Lean's Great Expectations (1946). The imagery is not cinematic, as in not official stills or photographed from a projection on a screen. They are televisual or at least a DVD recording, not video. The nature of the image is important.
Firstly, why did I choose this film and these scenes. The imagery presents us with an atmosphere of menace. The sight of a tree, seen through the eyes of the young Pip metamophoses into a threatening force. Such stylisation is very subtle.
There is something interesting and Romantic about the representation of nature as a malevolent force. I must add an entry about the grandeur of nature and deal with some of these difficult issues.
However the above image is photographed from nature. I did whole sequence of photographs of trees changing the aperture and shutter speed in search of the right effects for my project. I am particularly interested in the way nature or objects are mediated: 'direct images' of nature are overlap screen based imagery.
The above sequences of images are stills from Robert Wise’s The Haunting. The classic horror film uses subtlety to imply menace. The metamorphosis of a wallpaper pattern into a monstrous figure is produced by a slight manipulation of the camera and lighting.
These representations are surrealist and recall the grattage works of figures emerging from wallpaper or wood grain.
The influence of Ernst and my own memories of night terrors as a child led me examine Ernst’s “Irritated gaze” and the relationship between illness and the visual.
The above image interests me because of its ethereal nature. I am fascinated by gestures and blurred figures. This resembles Gerhard Richter’s photo-realist paintings.
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