Throughout this year, I have tried to push my practice further. Whilst last year I was focused on the use of materials to achieve visual indeterminacy, this year, I have tried to focus on a specific topic. I have approached this by working particularly on still-life images. Interestingly, I started with an influence from abstract expressionism as this was focused on spontaneity; given this was something I wanted to achieve with my practice. This initial project made me reflect on agency and the possibility of the unexpected. At that moment, I started reading about chance and I thought this could be a great topic to explore further. Thanks to this, I learnt more about fluids theory and how to work with liquids to achieve droplets, splashes, and coronets. However, my intention was not to achieve these for the sake of showing a mastery of the technical aspects of photography but to embed this into visual imagery. When engaging in the practice, I realised that I was mainly focusing on methodical chance as I was taking multiple repetitions to achieve a specific outcome. However, even in those instances, sometimes there was accidental chance as well. In addition, the more repetitions the more mechanical the process turned out and the lower the chance. The mechanisation of the process is not achieved by repetition itself though but through the observation of the variables that may play a role in shaping the final outcome (i.e., reflective practice). Although some outcomes have been more successful than others, overall, I feel that I have continued progressing and have learnt a lot about other photographers, photographic theory, and new techniques.
For my final project, I would like to continue working on chance but trying to push again my practice. First, I want to ensure that the mood I achieve in the images is consistent across all of them. In my practice this year, I have managed to get some images with surreal aesthetics, whereas others have not achieved successfully achieved this. Second, I would like to continue exploring video. Specifically, I would like to test whether I can embed video in photographs as if it is a projection that can potentially complete the photograph. I think this can be particularly challenging but I want to experiment to see what possible results I can obtain. Finally, I would like to see whether I can work on a specific topic as I feel this would help to connect the images better. In regard to presentation methods, I want to learn more about this as I feel that the way I have displayed the work in the WIP exhibitions is okay but it is not particularly provoking for the beholder. Hence, I want to see how the display of my work can be more engaging. To that aim, I will look for more information about current exhibitions and display theory.
Alberto Gonzalez 