2018

Art doesn’t have to be perfect to be a masterpiece. The imperfections are part of the story and can add to the beauty, if you let it. This was a lesson which was relevant to the photography and drawing classes I was fortunate enough to do during my semester abroad. I learnt that faces aren’t symmetric, and sketching an imperfect circle was actually more accurate and made my drawing more human and real.

Now, with my sketches and photographs sprawled out around me, I had an opportunity to reflect on what they meant to me, and what they represented: an eventful, frenzied year that disappeared before my eyes. I know January is already drawing to an end, but it’s still a limbo – a time spent trying to reconcile the year that’s been, and make sense of the year ahead. Honestly speaking, 2017 was an otherworldly experience for me, where at times I felt like I was a spectator watching as some of my greatest heartaches, and greatest accomplishments, pass me by. I had many moments of epiphany where words of warning or assurance uttered to me during my childhood finally played out in reality in a way that I truly understood and felt the truth of those words. My conclusion is this: we can recognise, but never fully understand the truth of something until it knocks us off our feet. This realisation is allowing me to put into perspective what we truly can control, and what we have to acknowledge we can’t. Though we can plan for the future, we only have certain control over our present.

Spontaneously creating the images for this post with my sister (whilst surrounded by the mess of 6 months’ worth of clothes, art and souvenirs) was such a fun and collaborative experience because I was an active participant in the moment, with no expectations and nothing to lose. This is my wish for 2018. There is no sense in letting life or the prospect of what your life should be overwhelm you if you are going to allow it to remove you from the simplistic beauty of what seemingly insignificant moments can be. There will always be highs and lows but your attitude and action will determine the longevity, magnitude and memory of your highs and lows.

I considered whether these thoughts and images would be worth sharing, out of fear that any potential negative feedback would taint my impression of the experience. This would have defeated the very essence of this project and why I want to share this going into 2018. My hope for anyone reading this is to understand what vulnerability and control can mean in the new year. You can’t control people or the world around you. As important as it is to foster relationships and to love those around you, you can’t take accountability for anyone else’s feelings, mistakes or life. You can be a supportive friend without being someone’s life force. You will conserve so much valuable time and energy the sooner you realise that you can be vulnerable and share a part of you, for you, not for anyone else. You can live presently, at peace with your past and waiting in eager anticipation for your future.

Your life might not be perfect, but it can be a masterpiece if you choose to see it that way.

Happy New Year!

 Special thanks to Elné Bezuidenhout

Five Faces

Open your eyes, and really see

I often find that eyes are a source of inspiration for many poets, artists or musicians. It’s an essential feature of the face, and often draws the attention of a beholder. But not only is this a physical feature which is captivating; sight becomes a metaphor for a greater level of knowledge, seeing or understanding. There is a quote which says “The eyes are useless when the mind is blind”. This describes perfectly the photography project of Alex Dimmock. The project is a visual piece which we can admire, as well as appreciate for its emotional depth which becomes present through the frame, lighting and focus of the images. In this project Alex offers us a glimpse of, and into, a subject. He reveals not only their physical features, but the nuanced characteristics and expressions of a person and subsequently their personality. 

Alex Dimmock, a talented linguist, traveller, photographer and friend, simply began taking photographs of his friends and family as a means to experiment with different lenses on his camera. This experiment soon evolved into somewhat of a project and a study of the details in people’s faces. Alex noted how his images revealed how the nuances of a person’s facial structure represented their personality. In order to capture the true mannerisms and expressions of a person, Alex created a comfortable and personal atmosphere in which he instructed his subject to disregard the camera. He set the camera on silent so that the camera shutter did not distract the subject and simply encouraged an authentic conversation. “We're just having a conversation”, he would say, “forget about the camera in-between us.”

As the project unfolded, there was a clear direction and style which he wanted his images to embody. The celebrity portraits of Martin Schoeller were a great inspiration to Alex as well as the portraits of National Geographic photographer Steve McMurry. A key feature and source of inspiration for his works was the proximity to the subject and the visual effect in which the subject was almost drawn into the lens. This was a technique Alex wished to incorporate into his photographs and contributed to the intimate nature of the images, which ultimately reveals the essence of the subject in the intricate expressions and details of their face and eyes. In fact, Alex stated that the eyes were a feature of the face that he wanted to capture in great detail and wished to feature them as a focal point. He reflects on the saying “The eyes are the window to the soul” and so highlighting this feature was essential to his project.

As I mentioned previously, Alex opens our minds as well as our eyes. The project he says, offers us an intimate and unmoving insight into a person’s facial expression which is usually only fleeting in a conversation. It allows us to reflect on their personality which Alex believes is a direct extension to their mannerisms. “Without knowing a person, you can fill in the blanks, identify with their expression, imagine what they would like.” Whether this interpretation is right or wrong, Alex believes that this study and admiration of a face is something that we can invest more time into, and that the details of a person’s face, an everyday person without alteration or editing, is worth more of our attention. 

In our society today, we are often exposed to endless images of altered celebrities. The subjects are often embodiments of ‘perfection’ or ‘beauty’ and we are encouraged to strive for these ideals. This collection of photographs was a breath of fresh air, and a reminder that there is a person underneath the physical being. When we can consider both, and how these physical and emotional elements come together to represent a unique and individual person, we can start to appreciate how incredible the people around us are. We are surrounded by people with a completely exclusive and personal blueprinted face and body, and an equally intricate and distinctive nature. This diversity is overwhelmingly awe inspiring and definitely worth more of our time and attention. Thank you, Alex, for opening our eyes, and our minds. 

 

Photography: Alex Dimmock Words: Anke Bezuidenhout

Martin Schoeller Portraits

Steve McMurry Portraits