I feel more clear today. I feel I should continue to work with the combination of text and images.

I am in a situation where I feel that I can’t decide that towards which direction I should go. This is normal for me at this point of a project. It is the time to start to make final decisions about the visuals. I feel really behind with them, but I don’t feel hopeless. Once the solution comes and I know it will, things will get a bit easier…maybe. But I do feel a bit pressured now to really get on with things, or its too late to complete the project as well as I would like to.

thinking visuals…

I am still also thinking of this types of images as an option. I mean these ones are no good, the ladscapes behind are not special etc… But as in what comes to the basic idea it could be interesting…or not… I would just need to do some travelling, though I could take some images in London too..Still feeling confused!

I saw something amazing, something really inspirational visually…This is what I need now!Inspiration.I need to go and see the Decode at the V&A.If I can I will go today…Again, I wish wish wish I would know how to make videos&animations!!!

working with new visuals

This one below is just a detail of the one above. I quite like the terrible quality, the pixels and all the colors.

I have been trying to experiment now with something new, something that might take my visuals closer to my subject. It is quite difficult for me to try several things because of one reason, I am a visual perfectionist. Even how well would an image work related to the subject etc…I can’t use it if I am not pleased with the aesthetics of the image. This is of course also my personal opinion, someone else might like different things. I guess everyone tries to make perfect images according to their own aesthitics, but I am very very strict with this and my visual eye is very sensitive. Keeping the background white in these images, I can live with them and these are drafts anyway, so they don’t have to be perfect yet. What I think works with these is that the subject definetly comes through better and also the ‘feeeling’ of social networking…several things happening, browsing, clicking etc and also the digital nature of it through all the pixels etc. I think the pixels might work to a certain extend at certain places. I need to do a lot of thinking about my images and a lot of action as well, keep on trying…but I am still unsure that what exactly do I want to say though my images cause I feel a bit confused about what I think. I am not sure my self what to think about social networking really. But maybe the confusion could come through the images, the ‘conflict’ I feel about the whole subject, about all the things I have covered. Do I have to have the final say? Can I be confused about the subject still in the end and show it through my work? I think I can remembering what Jonathan&Andy where talking about before Christmas break…

I am currently trying out some ideas with graphic images, text and photographs. I am not sure about using the phrases below but couple ideas from them. The text I am thinking now is just very few works mainly taken from Facebook. I would like some of the images be very ‘busy’, as a person going quickly through many profiles etc…some of the images again I would like to be very still, ‘quiet’ moments, when nothing is happening, or when something has stopped the person for a while…I sort of wish I would know how to make videos, or I would have started to learn that from the start…but I think now its too late with the time I have. So I think I have to solve my problems with still images and make them work.

I feel that either I am very lost, or that I am finding something!

Using text

These phrases are what I have come up with. The other option is finding the texts from actual profiles, from what people have written. I will need to think about this one…

Phrases

I have been a bit behind things for this week, as other things in life have taken absolutely all my time. But I am hoping to have bit more time this week…

I have been thinking about the option of using text. I am not sure about it, but at least I think the way I will start to work now is that I will try to make an image for each phrase I have written and after that see that if the images work better with text of without…I think that with text is the possible answer, as it allows me more with the images, to make interesting combinations. Because of the text I do not have to worry if the meaning of the images and the relation to social networking would come through at all.

There has been lots of discussion about the final show and worries about the space. I am still open to change my medium if something comes up, as I have said, but if I stick with photographs with text or without I just have to make compromises with the sizes of the images. It is not a problem for me, I can live with the fact that I need to make pretty small prints.

Here are examples of the kind of phrases I have been thinking about. These are all just a starting point. I will put an explanation of the meaning and why I have chosen it, after each phrase.

1. I feel lonely (despite having 150 friends).

This I think is pretty easy to understand and sort of relates to the idea that the amount of friends you have on-line is not necessarily related to how lonely you still may feel…how much or little connection you have…and also it is questioning that if the way of communication is really satisfying, or does it leave some people empty, alone…that it is not a substitute for more traditional ways of communication.This is linked with phrase 7, that I might leave out.

2. I envy the ones who left.

This how I feel at times;-).

3. You would look good on my friends list.

The idea behind is that people often invite others to be their ‘friends’ even though they may not like the person really etc…But just because the person would make them look ‘better’, add status for them, or just to increase the amount of friends they have.

4. You are pretty…online.

This relates to how everyone can look good online, everyone can look great in a photograph…This is ok, but when it is used for wrong reasons and to get extra attention, it is not. This is also related to the idea that many people give a slightly better idea about themselves online in many ways…and also to the shallow nature of things…This could also maybe be ‘ I look pretty…online, then the meaning would slightly shift of course…

5. You write about yourself too much/You post too many pictures of yourself or something similar…

This relates to what I have been discussing about the narcissistic aspects of the communication.

6. Your profile destroyed my memories.

Some people should stay in the past, in memories and it would be better I think. Well, not very seriously, but I like the phrase because it questions the need to find everyone from the past… the phrase could also be turned around to something like ‘Now I can’t forget you anymore’. Some people find people from their past, previous girl/boyfriends and get attracted to them again because everyone looks good online…and they start to think about the past too much…and it may not always be the best thing…

(7. I used to write to you

The idea behind this is that I don’t always think that Facebook is connecting much. There are few friends I used to, not often, but every now and then, write long e-mails with. Since Facebook it has about stopped. Ok, life goes on and everyone is busy now…but I also think that because you can ’see’ them there, or they can see me, and you sort of know whereabouts in the world they are, some that update their profile often, you might know a lot about their life….People tend not to write as much mails anymore because of this, or they just send a quick Facebook message that is one sentence long. The sad thing is that you loose the personal connection with the person and also you won’t know how they really are doing…)

8. I am happy to have found you, just to know that you are there…

My only reason for staying in Facebook. To finish off with something positive;-)

I have had Facebook in mind when thinking about these. But again, these go with many other social networking sites too…Though I think I will keep my concentration on Facebook, because it is the most popular one now. Some of these phrases may be what I feel, but not all.

As you can maybe see, I have moved a bit away from the all female concentration, back to a more general view of the communication. I feel better like this. I don’t know if this approach means that I am back to a too general/wide subject area. But I feel that it could work.I am questioning the medium, exposing thoughts/feelings people may have, but are not said aloud. And I would like to include into my work something positive, even just one images or text, but something….the reason why I am there even though I do at times ‘envy the ones who left’ etc, maybe the feeling of knowing that some people/or a person is there, is greater, to know that they are alive might just sometimes be enough.

Text

I have been currently thinking about using text in my work. I have wrote quite a few phrases that might work if adjusted a little of course. I will need to go through them still before posting any here, but I think that using text might work. I have been struggling to make a real connection with my images and the subject, so that it would be somehow a bit more understandable and work better. Text could solve this. So maybe text and images combined?

I feel that with some of the phrases I have written I can actually say what I want with my work…Images that I make tend to take me into a more narrow direction or so…or even slightly out of the point. Having the text as the starting point could help with the images to become as I would like them to for this project…or then I figure out something else…I am open at this point.

images

I took these quick images last weekend. These were just to get me going, the first images after Christmas.