Extensions of Skin - More Influences

IGNE GROGNARD AND RONALD STOOPS traced lines and wrinkles of aged skin with silver thread. This is similar to what I did in my Silver Lines post with hands. I love this - it celebrates the lines rather than hides them and that is soon becoming the essence of my project.

DAMIEN BLOTTIERE manipulates images to create a collage effect, but what I really find important about his work is how he uses skin to interact with itself. It reminds me of the type of edits that I want to give my images for the book, showing two sides of a personality or a collision of traits.

These images by HAMANSUTRA are reminiscent of the work that Lucy McRae and Bart Hess did for Vogue, which manipulated body shape using balloons and sheer tights. Its really intreguing to see what else can be used to manipulate this and I find the images with the hands (see below) really striking.

SKIN IMPRESSIONS are a natural way of skin manipulation. Its compelling to me because it shows just a moment before it fades. The above pictures are various images of skin impressions found online. The bottom right is very refreshing to me because its an artistic way of showing an impression of a human interaction.

Skin Tests IN STUDIO

In a previous post I tested the effect of MAC Mixing Medium used to create beads of sweat and skin textures, and although I liked the tests of this I needed to see how it would look on camera, on a real model with lights and the suitable photography equipment. Will it be visible from afar as a head shot? Can you see it from a full body shot? Will it even show up in the lights? Will the jelly-like product reflect off the lights oddly? These types of tests will carry me through to industry, reminding me to be thorough and prepared in the knowledge of how my products will react in certain scenarios.

I completed three different tests to be thorough. The first (pictured below) tested small round shapes with the mixture. These were my favorite in initial tests but I was worried they wouldn't show on camera. The results are below:

Editing determined how much the "sweat" creations show up. For example, the first has a higher saturation and the small bumps on the forehead are a lot more visible. The second image is cooler, with a higher exposure and this makes the bumps disappear. I don't think they would be distinct enough to use on film in a head shot position. 

Next I wanted to make the bumps a bit bigger, so I dragged the mixture in a downwards motion to create a dew-drop shape which resembled sweat more than the first textures:

Again editing determines how visible the mixture is. Although, even in the first photo with a higher exposure, the drops are more visible than in the first set of tests. I think that excess is going to be the key with this, to get the most use out of it on camera. 

If this is true then for my next test I wanted to add a lot more, and add some texture to the gel by striking through it with the tail end of a pin-tail comb, to see if maybe added texture would catch the light better. I'm not fond of this technique but I need to see if it looks good on camera. Results are below:

This actually seemed to have the reverse effect. Thank goodness for testing! Once again, I edited them in two different ways to see if that made a difference in how the gel is picked up but I don't think that it makes a big enough difference to warrant using a technique that I'm not as fond of as the first or second tests.

ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION

The second test seemed to work the best on camera and I think that I can work with this technique on film. I still really like the idea of the first texture but in order for this to work on film it will need to be used for close up shots only, because it doesn't show up enough for anything other than that. I've come to the conclusion that this technique will have to be used mainly for close ups, which I believe can work on film. 

Doing these tests paid off positively because I now know how this new product and technique works on camera. This is important because makeup almost always looks different to the naked eye than it does on film. I like the idea of this gel being an extension of the skin. My next step will be to test it up close on film to double check that it works. 

NOTE

I usually have trouble getting that dewy glow on a models cheeks to work effectively on camera but I feel like it was really effective on this shoot. This came from mixing MAC creme highlighter with a Vaseline-like mixing medium, proving that experimenting with products can sometimes be more beneficial than sticking to just one. I'm thinking of using this in an intense way to create hyper-sweaty looks for the project, maybe fitting into the stress theme. However, it has recently occurred to me that the dewey skin could be reflecting light through the sweat beads from behind and therefore causing them to not show as much.

Cracks, Growth and Silver Linings. TESTS.

Present tests have caused me to slightly rethink the emphasis that I want my project to have. The more I test the more my project celebrates differences in skin, rather than focussing on that emotional connection. Nonetheless, there is still a huge natural emotional connection between the two.

I started looking at my own hands and thinking of ways that I could use makeup to trace the cracks and lines of the skin there, emphasising it in a beautiful way.

I used a silver Illamasqua Liquid Metal to do this and the effect was really sucessful. Its delicate, fine and ethereal, giving a crisp contrast to how we would normally perceive rough textured hands. This is  a lovely balance. I moved on to see the other ways that makeup could enhance the lines of the skin. I brushed fine paint onto my knuckles and flexed them, which created a contrast between the skin and the paint which worked effectively in creating lovely patterns in the creases of the surface. 

I then had the idea of building on this effect - what if out of those lines and wrinkles that you don't like about your skin, grew something beautiful?

I attempted to create something like this with materials I had at home (see above) but it was ineffective - it looks amateurish and child-like and no where near industry an standard.. It may be that I need to find a different way of portraying that idea but further tests will challenge that. This could be a really good practical concept for the "cracks and growth" portion of the film as it represents not only the textures of the skin but also the idea that something beautiful can grow from it.

WHAT NEXT

Next I will have to continue tests of this concept. I would also like to try the silver lines effect on camera, and on different skin tones. It would be interesting to try this on different parts of the body but I would have to see what parts would be relevant to the concept with this. I will also test this cracks and growth concept using fullers earth instead of white paint to give a deeper texture and therefore a stronger backbone to the concept.

THE HAIR CAGE - Hair Tests, Photographer and Model Tests.

I'm really intrigued in using this sort of cage hairstyle to emphasise the state of emotion being entirely conjured inside of an individuals own head, using the hair as an extension of the skin.  She is trapped by her own body. The style was based off of this drawing that I produced:

 The first time that I tried this hairstyle it was very messy and almost unrecognisable as a hairstyle:

Obviously this is not an aesthetically polished hairstyle but as a first attempt it shows that the hairstyle is doable and gives me an idea as to how it will appear on camera. I also learnt from doing it the first time that it was important to use gel or wax on the connecting strands, and to take hair from further back on the head. It is imperative to test this style out on a real hair model rather than the fake head, as working with real hair is a lot different to the synthetic hair of the heads. 

Secondary tests incorporating the above factors produced the following images:

Although they are unedited images, they were very successful.  It really made a difference working on real hair that was long enough for me to hide pins and bands. I used gel to neaten up those connecting stands and it looks a lot more professional. Its not quite industry ready but its a lot more aesthetically pleasing than the first attempt. The shoots show different angles of the hair (one side had  a connecting stand to the rest of the hairstyle and the other didn't, so that I could see if this was necessary - it was not) Im happy with the way that it looks from different angles and I think that will work from this frame as well as for the odd close up shot when considering final production. I'm really pleased with my progression in this, especially as hair is not my strongest area of work.

Aesthetically, it looks high fashion and akin to something you may see in industry in popular hair magazines or websites. This can also serve the purpose of increasing my audience to hair stylists or hair enthusiasts. 

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

The shoot was also an opportunity to test with a new photographer, Heather Smith and a new model, Meg McDaniel. This is important because if anything were to happen that would cause Susann to drop out or miss a shoot, I will need to have a back up. Ive worked with Heather before and I can see that she's growing as a photographer and I'd be happy to have her involved in the project if needed.

Meg is a competent model with previous modelling experience so I'd like to have her involved in the project now that I've seen her modelling abilities on camera.

WHAT DIDNT WORK AND WHY

The hairstyle needs securing better if the model is going to be mobile in the video or while changing poses when shooting. After a few shots in different positions, the hairstyle fell:

It is imperative that this doesn't happen on camera on the day of filming, so my next step is to find a better way of securing this hairstyle  and/or hiding the bands that keep it together.

PLANS FOR NEXT TIME

Use see-through hair ties and maybe use more hair from the back of the head so that the actual plaited section is longer, and therefore easier to tuck and hide behind the front section. This section needs to be secured better, using back combing to give the pins something to grip to better.

Wax on, Wax off

I have been so inspired by Bart Hess recently, especially his work with wax. The wax garments that he constructed shout concepts like constriction, limitation and restraint. The breaking of the wax is almost like an incredibly important moment of freedom - breaking out. The wax clings to the skin but only as long as the skin will let it, breaking and cracking the moment the model moves. This is really compelling for my project.

I tested this on a much smaller scale by melting a candle in some hot water on the hob (see below). I poured the wax into a cup of cold water and submerged my fingers into it, continuing to pour the wax. The water ensures that you don't burn yourself on the wax and also lets the wax create wonderful frilled patterns while it sets. See results below.

I absolutely love the aesthetic effect that this process creates. However there are a few issues:

Practicalities:

I had to heat this up at home, which was messy and time consuming. I wouldn't be able to melt this wax at uni in the studios because there are no heat sources, and if I do it at home the wax will set before I can get to the studios to apply it. Potentially, I could apply the wax to the model at home but the set wax was very delicate and I think that it would crack or crumble on the journey to the studio. The fact that I can't do this on a large scale (not having a tank of water big enough to hold anything larger than a few fingers) means that visual focus would have to be ON those few fingers or it won't be effective.

UPDATE

After a discussion about this in a tutorial, my tutor has suggested using the microwaves at uni. I will need to test this to ensure the wax is suitable for microwaving.

Creating Skin Textiles

Looking at artists that work closely with the body and skin has inspired me to start looking at how we can make a different textile from the skin using makeup and other products. This changes that way that makeup is perceived, changes its use and primary function and thus does the same to the skin. I started with the basics and looked at how skin could be morphed and / or manipulated through textile. To further enhance this process I have had a look at textiles on WGSN, to see how viable it is to link my skin textiles with textures within fashion and styling. The below pictures are screenshots from the "graceful" trend of WGSN. I chose these o include because the soft textiles were reminiscent of skin to me, the bottom middle even looks like a fingerprint. 

The above photo shows my three initial methods of skin aesthetic manipulation. The top photo shows a scarification technique using nose and scar wax, which is then smoothed over using baby oil. The second shows MAC mixing medium applied in dots and manually shaped drips. This is similar to the effect that Andew Gallimore used at Teatum Jones SS15 to create beads of sweat on the faces of his models (see below). I'm really intrigued by the dotted shapes that I made in testing though - they're translucent so they look like an extension of the skin, they look almost like a futuristic scale so this is definitely something that I'm going to keep in mind. Sweat is one of the body's natural responses to a range of emotions, so I'm really liking that I'm getting the chance to play with how this can not only be created and manipulated, but also percieved.

The final picture shows the effect of wax dripped directly onto the skin but I'm really not happy with the aesthetic outcomes. There would also be a health and safety issue with dropping hot wax onto a model and we would have to be careful not to burn or harm them. Overall, I don't think that hot wax is a good idea. I do like the idea of it though so I will keep testing to see if this is something that could be portrayed using different medium.

In the mean time I need to continue to test this idea of scarification and extensions of the skin through ideas like mixing medium and other transparent materials.

SCARIFICATION

I wanted to go back to the idea of scarification and see if there was something I could do to enhance the creativity and art base of it. To do this I had to go back to basics and ask myself what I am REALLY trying to do with showing scars. I'm trying to show, through that emotional process, that they can be beautiful. Personally, I've come to accept my own scars and I want the way that I feel about them to come through in this project. I had a few ideas to create a deep scar but fill it with metallics and / or pigment to show that beauty is more than just the surface of scar.

Although they are just rough initial tests to get ideas I do like the concept of what I've done above. The next thing that I need to do is to build on this to find a way to enhance this even further. How will this be shown on film? Will it come from a scratch? Will it pour out of the model or will it gradually grow? These are things that I need to further test in test shoots next week.

Bart Hess - SKIN TEXTILE

Bart Hess previously worked with Lucy McRae and is very similar in the way that he perceives and manipulates the human body, playing with skin, textures and creating new mediums that are manipulated into "skin hybrids."

His work is really important in understanding skin as a medium in itself. To me, his work shows an extension of skin and the materials that he uses are a type of makeup for the body rather than costume. He is going to be really beneficial when looking at materials, touch and constriction. Constriction is the main feeling that I get from his images, which connects to the audience on the sort of emotional level that I am aiming to achive. I am going to do some tests with wax and water, to get a feel for engulfing the skin in foreign materials.

Bill Viola - Creating Emotion in the Audience

This project will create an emotional response within the audience. That is why I am using film to capture part of it, so that I can hit more than one sense at a time to create more emotion than I could do with purely just a book. This idea sprang from my recent visit to the World Trade Centre Museum, where all your senses were hit at the same time, images of what happend, accompanied by voice recordings of the event, which made an already emotional situation almost overwhelming.

Video artist Bill Viola is hugely influential to my project. Although he doesn't necessarily concentrate on skin, his videos and installations create a profound emotional surge in the audience, using extreme imagery, camera techniques and very clever use of sound to put his audience exactly in the emotional state that he wants them in.

The above video shows Viola's work in more detail. His work has got me thinking of the different techniques that I can employ to make my audience feel emotionally connected to the project when they first view it. I have already tested front-of-camera techniques like having cling film stretched over the models face and I'm starting to develop this as an idea of how to portray the stress and frustration of the first concept - I think it will instill a feeling of frustration in the audience knowing that they can't see the models face clearly or there is something blocking the camera. This idea will of course have to be built upon and developed  but Violas work as got me thinking about how I'm going to project the emotional responses out to my audience.

Introducing Susann - TESTING AND TEAM SOURCING

THE GOOD

I recently did a test shoot  and a test video with model Annemiek Den Boer and photographer Susann T Daljord to see how they both worked and how each turned out on camera and on video. It went really well, Susann is a flawless retoucher and Annemiek looks great on camera, and is also really good at moving and manipulating her body.

I played with baby oil on pigment and needed to see if the shine from the oil would pay off on camera without looking too shiny or creating a glare. I also wanted to see how stretching cling film across the models face would manipulate the photo and weather or not this would actually work. This was important to do because I really want to have as much creative control of the outcome of the shoots as possible so it was imperative to see if my ideas actually worked on camera.

My concept for this shoot was the connection between identity and the skin, and how our inner identity meshes with out outer identity. The test shoots are below.

I am in love with the techniques that have been created and Susann played a huge role in making this work with her photography and retouching skills. She has agreed to take on the main role as head photographer and videographer for this project and I'll be working very closely with her though out the shoots. I have also called back Annemiek to be part of the project as I'm really happy with how she portrays herself on screen. 

THE BAD AND THE UGLY

I wanted to test using a flashlight to create an aurora of light around the models head. Using a slow shutter speed and a torch waved behind the model we tried different ways to get this technique but it just did not want to work. Here are the unedited images of this:

The lighting had to be turned down to pick up the light from the torch so the lighting is too dark. The torch didn't have the desired effect (I wanted a sort of flare of light behind her) but instead it was a harsh stream of light that was impossible to line up, and because we had to work with the shutter speed being so low, Annemiek had trouble staying perfectly still for long enough while we took the picture and you can see my arm in the photo as I crouch behind her to attempt to flare the light source!

Its for this reason that I am so glad that we tested camera techniques. This lighting technique isn't something that is essential in my project and therefore I've decided to scrap it and focus on the ones that did work. 

WHAT NEXT

My next tests will to be to test some hair and makeup ideas with the two other backup photographers that I have just in case something happens and Susann has to back out. I want to make sure that I have all options covered as well as plan B's to ensure that everything runs as smooth as possible if we encounter any problems. 

I have also sourced three other models (one male) and a MUA assistant to help out. Multiple models will keep the interest of the audience and attract a wider target. So far I'm really happy, I will keep testing and confirm the team within the next few weeks. 

Getting Technical - Video Editing for Beginners

TESTS

I got my photographer to record a quick 30 second clip so that I could practise editing movies, because this is something that I'm not experienced in and although my photographer will be editing the videos herself, I feel as though I need to have at least a basic understanding of how to edit so that I know what my limitations are when having creative control of the outcome of the videos. This will also be beneficial incase anything goes wrong and I have to re-edit something. The below clip is the result of my very first experience with iMovie, editing what we shot. Although it's no where near the quality of the final film, I'm really happy that I've made some progress with editing and adding sound.

My next step will be to attend our IT tutorial and get the technician to show me some more effects that I might like to include, like split pictures, mirroring, colour changing and transitions.

Juuke Schoorl - Skin Manipulation

Juke Schoorl is a photographer who has worked with skin, manipulating and shaping it without photoshop, using near invisible materials like fishing wire and tape to change the way that skin usually looks. The series, called Rek, almost mirrors scarification  in some ways and has, in my opinion, tribal influences in others.

With 'Rek' (stretch in Dutch) I explore the aesthetic possibilities of the human skin through a mixture of image capturing techniques. By manipulating this curious stretchable material with various low budget materials like nylon fishing rope and cello tape I am able to temporarily shape it into surprising textures and shapes. Highlighting not only it’s flexibility and adaptability but also it’s function as our own biological upholstery that aside from it’s protective capabilities could also serve as a medium for aesthetic expression, possibly in the form of a dress less fashion.

 -(Juuke Schoorl, online, 2014)

 The majority of the photographs from this series do not show the models face which I find interesting, and I believe that this is so as not to distract from the idea of skin itself. This is very beneficial in showing the issue of skin and identity - each photo has a strong statement of identity even though you can't see the face of the subject. As a makeup designer, this may not be beneficial to include in my own work, however it could be interesting to include shots of solo body parts interspersed with my models to create a similar feeling that the main emphasis is on the identity of the skin itself and not necessarily the identity of the face, which is how we usually perceive people.

Depiction In Other Medias

NOWNESS

As part of their Define Beauty series, Nowness.com released the following video that shows Shaun Ross talking about his journey and the challenges he faces as an Albino African American. The video, by Jonus Akerund shows a strong emotional connection between the Ross and his identity.

This is influential to my project as it is not only directly related to skin, but how skin differences iare perceived in the fashion and beauty world, with emotional context and strong striking images that incorporate this idea of fashion linking to skin and identity (see the head piece by Maiko Takeda)

THOMAS MAILAENDER

Thomas Mailaender's book ILLUSTRATED PEOPLE used performance photography to capture negative photographs taken from the Archives of Modern Conflict, which were sunburnt into peoples skin and photographed before they could fade.

The work references the fragile hold that memory has to images. It is an important influence to my project because it reveals a relationship between skin and a human condition, depicting memory through sun burn and damage of the skin. I find it really interesting that Mailaender has used diverse "every day" models and almost poleroid-esque photography. I like this - it shows an artistic expression to regular every day people rather than a fashion focussed imitation which, in my opinion, is what makes the photos so extraordinary.

LUCY MCRAE

Lucy McRae is a body architect who explores the relationship between technology and the body. She works very closely to the human skin, making her hugely influential to my project. 

"I became obsessed with this idea of blurring the perimeter of the body so you couldn't see where the skin ended and the new environment started."

She has created things like swallowable perfume which releases the odour through the pores of the skin when a person sweats, or a vacuum packed environment that prepares the body for life in space, but puts pressure on the skin and amplifies the sences of the people inside.

                                     

Her work is so interesting to me as the creator of this project because again she has used another way to express the connection between the skin and the human condition, linking it not only to technology but to how our skin can actually work and be manipulated. She redefines the roll of skin and this is incredibly valuable when looking at the medium of skin in itself. Skin is more than just a canvas, it is a technology in itself.

Getting Technical - QR Codes and Scanning

The book of stills that I will create will have a QR code on each chapter. Scanning this code with a smart phone will take the user to the video of the corresponding video. I think this will be a really nice way to link everything together and ensure the book and videos are connected. It will also give me another platform to celebrate skin on, creating a wider audience.

Seeing as I am in no way an expert in technology like this I had to do a little research to see A) how I

would go about getting these QR codes and B) to see how feasible it was and if it would be possible to include in the project.

I discovered that websites like QRStuff.com will create QR codes free and ready to download, simply by putting in the URL of the desired location you wish to link to code to. You can then scan it using an app like RedLaser and it will take you directly to that link. This is a really prominent method of promotion through all aspects of the fashion and beauty industry and so it will ensure that my project is relevant and keeps up with modern processes. 

TESTING

I tested this out using the URL from my blog to see if it worked both digitally and in print. And it worked! (see below) the only thing I think that I will have to be careful with is to make sure the links are all printed correctly when the book goes to the printers.

This is also really convienient for my costing because its absolutly free. Some other sites require payment for codes and barcodes so it was smart and cost efficient to look around.

It's Emotional: Skin and the Human Condition

Initial Chapter Ideas

Jealousy

I want to explore the concept of jealousy because I think its fascinating how its in your head as an emotional response. How can it be transferred to an outward expression? I will avoid cliche responses like green makeup and attempt to tackle this in a much more fashion forward, though provoking way, like using hair as an extension of the body and skin.

Cracks and Growth

Everybody has cracks in their personality and everybody grows from them. How can I show this through makeup and the skin?  The duality of these points really interest me and I think it could make for some really interesting photography. There is another side to this concept that celebrates the textural differences in the skin. In my opinion there is not enough work in the beauty industry that does this - yes, race and skin colour diversity has been celebrated and continues to be, but how about birth marks? Wrinkles? Scars? As someone with scars and textures all over my skin I really want to have a project that celebrates this. How can all of these factors relate to, or be perceived in the fashion industry?

Identity

This comes from the idea that the skin is the first thing about a person that we see, and how we decide their identity at face value. I'm really interested to see how this can be achieved and portrayed through skin and think it could be quite a poignant statement on identity. Our skin is seen by so many as our main identity. How can we manipulate this and can, by changing things on the outside, we change whats on the inside? Testing this connection will be a huge component in looking at human condition.

Stress

The body reacts in many ways to stress. Hair can fall out, faces can turn red. For me, my eczema flairs up. The connection between inner thought patters (e.g. the stress) and the outer responses is really interesting to me and is why I want to include this into my project.

INTRO TO SKIN

FOCUS

This project will show how human experiences effect and relate to the skin. It will be a visual exploration into the concept of skin, its depiction of our identity and how it reacts to certain emotional situations and experiences. First and foremost, this will be a celebration of the skin.The concept will be depicted through skin, makeup and hair to place an artistic emphasis on what I want to portray. 

METHOD OF CAPTURE

I will create a short fashion film for each emotion along with a book of stills that show each look. The book will be interactive, so that at the end of each chapter the viewer can scan the content and will be taken to the corresponding video with ease.

WHY

Someone once wrote that your body and your skin is all that you project. While I'm not sure that I entirely agree with this statement, it is really interesting to me that your skin is an outward projection of your physical being. This projection is perceived differently to every person. It encounters the environment, it is pulled, stretched, manipulated. It interacts with your surroundings and reacts to both physical and mental states. How is it that your skin will sweat when when you're physically hot but will do the same if you work yourself into a purely mentally panicked state? Skin is a boarder between our minds and our environment and I want to explore this emotional connection through visuals to share awareness of this relationship.