For the first project I feel I may have over-thought the complexity of my idea and tried something slightly overambitious. For Creatures I want to do something much simpler, but hopefully equally effective.

I started to think a lot about what exactly characterises something as a ‘creature,’ so what things make something look alive as opposed to an inanimate object, and the first thing that came to mind was the eyes. This gave me many ideas about what I could photograph, however my basic idea was to humanise everyday objects by giving them a set of eyes, so I started to look more into this type of humanisation within photography.

After looking around I first found a website called Eyebombing. As explained within the websites ‘about’ section, Eyebombing is the art of sticking “googly eyes” onto an inanimate object in the public sphere, in a way that cleverly lends the object the appearance of a living creature. The purpose of doing such is to bring joy and happiness to people passing in the street, and to make them smile. It is not at all for the artist to gain recognition, it is for the benefit of the public, which I find very interesting. I see it as more of a movement searching for the involvement of other individuals and aiming to please the community as opposed to one or two artist’s trying to become popular and gain money. BBC News covered a story on Eyebombing, which explains the process in more detail, and includes some public responses to the act:

Not only do I find this practice intriguing, but the concepts and reasoning behind it really appeal to me. I like to spread happiness and joy so this work really connects with me.

The only difference between what I hope to do, and the act of Eyebombing, is that my work will be studio based, however I think this allows for more creativity and various technical choices to be made instead. This also means that I can not approach everyday items in public, I will have to acquire my own objects to take into the studio which led me to develop a few ideas.

I feel that fortunate people have household objects that they take for granted, primarily electronics: phones, phone chargers, laptops/computers and the internet (represented by a router), but also everyday items that we actually need, such as water, clothes and even plants and trees. I will need to select items specifically, however applying googly eyes to items like these, which are rarely appreciated unless broken or lost, will personify them, giving them an identity. I think this is important as all creatures, both animals and humans are appreciated much more because of their personalities and sense of life, so hopefully humanising these everyday objects will make people who view my images appreciate their personal good fortune and luck, and consider treating their belongings with more respect and care.

PREPARING FOR PRODUCTION

Unlike the previous project, I have (thankfully) planned to only spend 1 or 2 pounds, and this will be on the googly eyes alone, as all of the objects I will be photographing will be my own personal belongings. The objects I will be photographing in the studio I have listed below, in a similar fashion to my preparation for the first project:

1. Apple MacBook
Googly eyes will be located above the Apple logo, implying it is the mouth
The case on my laptop is a bit dirty, so this will show misuse/lack of care

2. Television remote
I have a really grimy remote that I have had for years, that will be perfect to represent a lack of care
Googly eyes will be positioned on either the top or bottom (if upside down) of the remote
Batteries and back piece will be used as either arms or legs

3. Flower
Either a flower from a supermarket or from my back garden
Soil and dirt over the flower
Wilting due to lack of water
Stem will be cut and used as arms and legs

ALL googly eyes will be positioned in a way to make the objects look sad/concerned.

For this project I want to focus so much more on my lighting, as it was terrible in the previous project. I have made sure I have booked the appropriate equipment, and also as this project doesn’t require as much preparation, I will have so much more time to experiment and play around with the lights, which will allow me to create the correct mood with my images. I want to use the flashes, and understand them a bit more, as it will benefit my future projects if I can comprehend how the lighting is used to set a certain mood.

FINAL IMAGES