'Scopophobia' Development

'SCOPOPHOBIA'

'I was invited to a model casting and thought it was for me to scout or do the makeup, but they wanted me to try because of my height. They put us in bikinis and instantly I felt very insecure and I was very noticeably bigger than the other models. They then made us walk on the top of a fence like a tight rope and people were in swimming pools either side throwing balls at us. I fell in and felt humiliated. Then they told me I was too fat to be a model and felt so stupid to believe I would ever be considered as a model.'

The experience of this dream was not particularly pleasant at all. The feeling of insecurity and paranoia continued for a couple of days, and as a result my wardrobe choices of baggy clothes were sported for a while. It has been suggested that being naked in a dream may suggest your image insecurities in real life. The fear Scopophobia is an extreme fear of being looked at or seen. In this case, I was terribly uncomfortable with everyone looking at me and my exposed body. In the dream I was completely out of my comfort zone.

I have chosen this dream as I would like to portray a vulnerable character and explore the potential emotions created by the dream. I feel that with photography angles and poses there is potential to create something quite powerful.

INSPIRATION:

As my project is based on dreams, I am aiming to maintain a surreal outcome. Photographer, Lara Zankoul and artist, Julischka Stengele both demonstrate unusual additions of silicone animal heads. Not only do these additions create an interesting image, but they generate an anonymous character. The use of animal heads creates a focus on the concept rather than the models in the image. Stengele sports a larger body shape whilst wearing a pig head and she poses in a proud stance that suggests her confidence and body satisfaction. This heavily contrasts the idea of my dream, and I really enjoy the idea of the pigs head as a potential representation of how I felt when I was exposed and confronted about my larger physique. Using this idea, I will experiment with the idea of a bare skinned model wearing a pigs head.

(Left) Lara Zankoul - The Unseen, 2013, Editions of  5
http://www.larazankoul.com/

(Right) Julischka Stengele 'Pig Up'
http://julischkastengele.tumblr.com/post/17402553874/pig-up-self-portrait-with-latex-pig-mask-the


The images of Elya Bulochka's work below demonstrates examples of beautiful body paint work. The body painting creates the illusion that the skin is not bare and almost looks clothed, but still shows the body's form. The colours she has used here is completely contrasting to any natural skin cover to exaggerate further that the skin has been covered. The iridescent finish highlights the body's undulations in the light and shows off the variations of colours. I will attempt to recreate something with a similar effect to create an artificial covering on the skin.

Elya Bulochka - Make-Up Artist


Gel lighting really helps exaggerate the texture of the skin and adds more colour depth to the images. Photographer, Jamie Nelson, has used contrasting colours with gel lighting to create the below effects. With the addition of this photography lighting to the body paint and glitter I believe that the images will look more dynamic and generate a dream-like outcome. Tactical use of lighting will reflect off the model to produce multiple moods within the image with various colours taking on a varied character of the model and the pig head.

Jamie Nelson - Fashion & Beauty Photographer

MOOD BOARD:

The general aesthetic of the recreation of this dream contains a mix of beautifully decorated skin with the contrast of the pig head and vulnerable model posing. The colour palette will include pinks, purples, blues and iridescent textures to show a contrasting texture to the pigs head. The dewy skin will also resemble sweat to recreate the idea of fear and severe discomfort experienced in the dream and also the part where I fell into the water and was left feeling ashamed.

HAIR & FACE CHART:

I managed to source a silicone pig head that is a very close resemblance to the one Julischka Stengele is wearing in her 'Pig Up' series. Its appearance is quite realistic rather than cartoon-like making it look very sinister. The design on the right shows shades of pink, purple and blue with added jewels and glitter on the body. The colours will be tactically applied to contour the body to create a striking outcome.

PRODUCT TESTING:

The test on the right was with shimmer based eyeshadows in pink and blue shades with vaseline to apply the glitter. The eyeshadow did not provide a dense enough finish to cover the skin and does not appear to be very effective. The test to the right shows use of the Supracolor palette by Kryolan which is a grease based product, in shades white, red and blue. This created a thicker coverage and allowed me to pat on the glitter without an additional product because of the sticky finish to the product. I felt that this achieved the best look out of the two and I will be using this technique in the test shooting.

MODEL & PHOTOGRAPHER:

Model: Georgia Morris

Photographer: Megan Love

Georgia has lots of experience modelling for students at Southampton Solent University and is a reliable and trusted friend of mine. This particular shoot involves her being naked from the waist up so it was important for her to feel comfortable in front of the camera and with me applying makeup to her.

Megan was the choice of photographer for this particular shoot as Georgia felt more comfortable with a female photographer and I trust Megan to be at the shoot prepared and on time. Georgia's only requests were to see the test shoot images before release in case she felt uncomfortable with the exposure.

I presented Georgia with the below sketches of poses. The poses will demonstrate the vulnerability and uncomfortable exposure experienced in the dream.

TEST SHOOT IMAGES:

REFLECTION:

The contrasting colours of the gel lighting work well together and compliment colours of the product on the model's skin. I feel as though the colours could have been intensified on the actual body of the model, rather than just focusing on the pig head and the background. Despite the need for a more intense colour, the red on the left side of the pig head works really well.

I applied variations of colours to the body to exaggerate the model's body shape, but somehow the lighting made it look very flat and patchy. We even held up reflectors around the model in attempt to help pick up certain areas of the skin where the glitter was applied but this attempt goes unnoticed. The model's hair on her arms where picked up by the product which looks unflattering and detracts from the attempt to make the skin look flawless and glossy.

Georgia was extremely easy to direct and took initiative with her posing. The shoot was challenging for her as she is very exposed but showed great confidence in front of the camera. I will be having Georgia model for me for the final shoot as she understands the concept of the dream and embodies my vision. We have discussed that in the final shooting it is possible that she will not be wearing the velvet shorts because they do not appear to fit with the image and having her baring it all will look more effective.

IMPROVEMENTS:

- The texture of the skin needs to be more dewy and glossy to produce a wetter and more reflective effect. I will be experimenting with different products in attempt to achieve the desired outcome.

- The lighting needs to be more dramatic and more pigmented in colour to have a larger impact on the model's body to produce a more striking image. This will help to pick up the effect of the product on the skin and show the contrast in the bone structure to create a more vulnerable mood.

- I will ask the model to remove all hair on the body to help make the skin look completely flawless and avoid any distracting texture pick up from the product.

- I will be adding more detail, potentially with jewellery, more glitter and studs/gems.

- Additional poses and angles will be attempted to create a more intensified mood. Angling to camera down onto the model will look more intimidating, producing a more vulnerable subject.

FURTHER TESTING:

For the skin on the model I chose to use baby oil and eyeshadow pigment. This process was not only massively faster but also produced an intense dewy texture. The lighting of choice here was a spotlight which created a very dramatic effect and picked up the product on the chest and collar bones beautifully. I will be discussing this lighting technique with my photographer and incorporating the use of multiple gel lighting colours to see which works best.

I decided to experiment with different distortion techniques on Photoshop to try and produce different outcomes and experiment with hues. I feel that the last image on the top row, with the reflected/double image effect, demonstrates a really interesting outcome with the altered colours. It is possible that I will be using greens and blues for the body in the final shooting as I feel that these colours look extremely vibrant and show an interesting contrast to the colour of the pig head. The staggered image effects on some of the photos look like the shutter speed has been adjusted. This effect has created a more surreal image that works really well with the dream.

SKIN TEXTURE/MAKEUP TESTING:

Kryolan Supracolor Palette, baby oil, glitter:

The grease based product lacked pigmentation when on a large area of the skin and took a lot of product to cover a large surface. The oil created a glossy texture that really worked in the light and when moving around. The glitter used in this experiment had a fairly large grain and looks very visible - not really the effect I was after.

Kryolan Aquacolor Palette, Snazaroo face paint, baby oil:

The Aquacolor product was much more highly pigmented and a little went a long way as I was able to mix the product with water. I also used Snazaroo face paint which comes in large pots and is much cheaper. The colours aren't as pigmented but help create to desired effect. I then sprayed the oil over the top, and as the paint was water based, the paint lifted very very easily. Unfortunately this presents me with an issue. As the model is going to be covering her body with her hands and arms, the skin contact will rub away the paint. As a solution, I purchased some spray plaster which fixed the paint with a waterproof layer. With my concers as to how the plaster spray would react/attach to the oil, I also purchased talc powder to apply on top of the plaster. Following this process, the oil was applied and the product held much better!