Selected digital edited photos from skin-scape photo-shoot using camera raw and Adobe Photoshop.
Primary focus of this work was to document a range of individuals marks on the surface on their skin. The images are intentionally close-cropped and magnified in an attempt to draw attention to the scars and in turn disconnects the subjects creating a sense of anonymity. This action of disrupting traditional portraiture and erasing the face dissolves barriers that tend to separate the subject from the viewer. The skin becomes comparative in an embodied relation. Gender, sex, age and race are erased only allowing the marks to be the representative index of identity.
Lighting was created by using a house hold lamp. This lighting strategy was effective in highlighting details on the skin, however the color of the light has cast a warm yellow tinge on the subjects. This could be easily altered in editing. The intention of this was to make an environment within the photo that is private and personal to reiterate the sensitive nature of the work. Often these marks are hidden and covered there is a sense of intrusiveness when engaging with this work as a witness. The concept of private and public could be further pushed and developed through experimentation with installation to reiterate ideas of concealment and exposure associated with skin and photography.
