'Neglect' Development

'NEGLECT'

Dream sent via email -

'My recurring dream was that I would wake up in a huge bed filled with cuddly toys. Every time I woke up I would be in a different place like an airport or a supermarket, but everyone would ignore the fact that they were walking past a giant bed with a child in it. A man would then approach me. He was tall and skinny and wore black trousers and a black turtleneck. He would come over to tickle and scratch me and I'd scream for someone to help me and everyone would just walk past and ignore me.'

The person who sent me this dream may have been experiencing a feeling of neglect or a may feel irrelevant to someone they care about, resulting in a dream where they are being ignored. The also may have experienced someone making them feel inferior or less knowledgeable, hence the child-like character. The tickling and scratching from a tall dar figure may represent their helplessness and cries for help, potentially as a result of a failure to get help and lack of support in real life.

I have chosen to recreate this dream because I feel that there is a fun element of the initial production of the dream but it can be captured in a really dark and lonely light and transformed into something disturbing in post production. With the right lighting and characterisation I believe that an interesting outcome can be produced.

INSPIRATION:

Love Magazine's AW14 shoot featuring Cara Delevigne shows a playful character with bright settings and props. I particularly like the clashing colours making it look very flamboyant and garish. I will be taking on a similar setting by using multiple oversized toys/teddies to emphasise the character taking on a small child-like and more vulnerable state. These images strongly remind me of a certain Japanese culture called Kawaii, which translates to cute, lovable or adorable. The fashion itself is very animated and includes novelty accessories and brightly coloured hair and makeup.

I aim to create a sinister take on this dream recreation rather than producing a cute and innocent production. Alice (1988 Film) by Jan Svankmajer, "a surreal adaption of Lewis Carroll's classic children's book", shows a disturbing undertone throughout the duration of the film. The lighting has colder blue tones which produces melancholic atmosphere.

Here we can clearly see Alice's clothing, which includes a pink and white pinafore dress with white socks and black shoes. The colours create a innocent, child-like characterisation of the little girl. She is dressed like her dolls, who also sport a short blonde hairstyle with a fringe.

I will be basing my styling on this representation of Alice. The left and right image show the white lace tights and gloves purchase. The centre image shows the dress I have purchased from an online store that specialises in Kawaii Japanese fashion. I have chosen pink and white, not only because of Alice's character, but also because pink symbolises weakness and vulnerability. The white lace represents her fragility and purity.

TIM WALKER:

My primary inspiration for the photography of this dream comes from Tim Walker. His work shows a strong recognisable style and a magically eccentric charm. His images show a great sense of theatrical elements with dramatic settings to produce images with surreal qualities.

 'Imaginary Fantastic Bizarre'

This series includes oversized props to create the illusion that the model is very small. This is how I wish to portray my character, surrounding her with large objects. The styling is very feminine and almost doll-like.

'A Magic World'

The model is portrayed as a gentle, vulnerable character, styled in pastel coloured clothing. The model has a lost expression on her face, similar to the concept of the dream where she wakes up in random and unknown destinations. There is a certain fragility presented in the images which I find haunting and endearing.

'Mechanical Dolls'

To continue with the theme of toys and child-like appearances, I would like to create a play on effect by attempting to represent the model in a doll-like pose and style of hair and makeup. Walker again has created a depressing and lonely coldness to this series, which I feel produces a tense atmosphere of darker possibilities.

'China White'

This particular series by Tim Walker shows a very lonely looking character with a clown-like appearance. The blue eye makeup and blushed lips work well with the paleness of the skin and the dull surroundings. The lighting is very dingy but also has more depth in tone than the other images. I wish to recreate a similar lighting during shooting and post production to mimic a similar atmosphere.

MOOD BOARD:

HAIR & FACE CHART:

WIG STYLING:

I managed to find a very bright yellow wig on ebay which was a very reasonable pice. The wig was synthetic but I had enough time and preparation to cut and style is using a steaming technique. The wigs texture was extremely difficult to work with but I managed to get there in the end.

I then released the curls (image on left) then decided I wanted the wig to be shorter so I cut into it more to produce the outcome on the right.

MODEL & PHOTOGRAPHER:

Model: Abbie Hills

Abbie is a very petite model and I can imagine her perfectly capturing the essence of the character I have derived for this dream.

I have also worked with Abbie before on multiple shoots and she is an extremely passionate model so I have every faith in her ability.