As far as the mind can see

‘As far as the mind can see’ responds to the commonly shared pervasive sense of dread that characterise life in our era. Evoking anxiety that permeates the contemporary consciousness.

Taking inspiration from the effects of globalisation, more specifically ‘risk’ that is permeating a sense of anxiety and dread due to politics, global affairs, and economic crisis. Causing people to disconnect from traditional societal values like family, nation and work. Because of this, people have become more individualistic and are taking their own paths, disorientating people on which path to take in life. Creating a sense of dread for who we are and who we want to become. These attributes of society create a broadly shared sense of pervasive tension.

These emotions of anxiety and looming dread are what I express in my imagery, referencing psychology and psychoanalysis to better understand how our subconscious reacts when shown certain cinematic techniques.

‘As far as the mind can see’ takes a heavy influence from cinema, drawing upon lighting, location scouting, and the implication of narrative. The influence of film on the work extends into its presentation with the use of light boxes, which align with the lighting used and give emphasis to the  
cinematic strategies. Each image is a composite of roughly seven to fifteen images allowing acute attention to detail when crafting each image. Making each scene have a non-specific narrative that establishes a pregnant moment. Acting as a trigger that generates a sense of tension and uncertainty rather than a prescribed narrative.

Combining theory and cinematic techniques to achieve my goal of evoking a sense of uneasiness that serves as a metaphor for a broader understanding of anxiety that pervades the contemporary consciousness.