Week 15: Theme Based Project Submission

10.11.2013
Wan Mohamad Danial (0316570),
Intro2Photography
Theme Project: Lego

When you're down on your luck and your mood is low, you'll start go to things that made you happy in the past. Rummaging through the storage room I found these Legos and decided to incorporate them into my project.

About this photograph:

The first thing in the mind of a person seeing Legos would be something that is quite childish in nature. As they interpret these blocks as toys that children play around with. However, this series tries to capture portrayals of serious matters whilst being veiled with a more cartoonish look. Some of the photographs were taken with a black background to enhance that dark mood and tone. Using Legos also allows me to put them in a quite surreal position. Having this juxtaposition between the serious and strange gives the series a distinctive feel to it.

The photograph of a skeleton balancing itself on a handrail scrutinizes the fact that people feel that they need to be perfect to be able to achieve something prodigious and rewarding. The skeleton, expressively symbolizing an imperfect human body is able to support itself even without an abundance of muscles. This photograph was taken from a lower angle to be able to achieve a unique angle and also a small sense of verticality. One light is shined from the top and a white base is used as a reflector.

There is a glowy light area surrounding the point of interest in the second paragraph. Representing the people that place themselves in the spotlight, risking their anonymity and even their lives at one moment or another for the sake of popularity. Taken at a lower angle, and using A3 paper as a fill light, the details of the shirt can be clearly seen.

Death is certainly inevitable but some are even enslaved by death. The photograph captures the fear of death. How some people are too afraid to die, only making things more worse for themselves. As people who have an intense fear of dying would lead them to live an unhappy and stressful life.

Eaten by a shark has more of a comedic tone to it but the message here is quite similar to the previous photo, which is the inevitability of death. The calmness of the lego man at the left conflicting with the situation on the right shows how one’s life can be taken away in a matter of seconds.

The chef holding the metal detector if perceived from afar, it looks as if he’s on the ground. However, looking closer at the photograph and you’ll see that it’s actually a fruitcake. Just to show how different objects are to be perceived from close and afar. Symbolising how people see each other, as people who are close to each other judge themselves differently compared to strangers.