AFTERLIFE AND DEATH

15/06/2017

As part of my year 2 exploration I have chosen to base my work around the mystery of afterlife and the question of 'Does anything happen to us when we die?', the idea of such thing that can be seen in a negative perspective appeared in my head after the constant worry of fearing the unknown for such a long time. When we think of the word death the feelings produced may be:

• Scared
• Fearful
• Isolation
• Concern
• Lost
• Confused

I have always thought about death and being fearful for what may happen when the soul dies, however, it has always been a sensitive topic to talk about as I often get upset when I think about our bodies dying and reaching the end of our depth, so therefore, I wanted to explore theories, analysis, stories and other peoples emotions towards this major topic that I don't look further into.

I also want to focus on unanswered questions that I have always thought about since I was 11 years old, some of the questions I have are:

• "Why do I experience Deja Vu's? Does it reflect a memory from a past life?"
• "Why do animals not turn into humans? Why are they of another species?"
• "Are there stories which support the evidence of afterlife?"
• "Is that it after we die? Do we die and never come back in a different life?"

Pinterest 16/06/2017

I have provided a link in which you can browse at some of the photos that have given me inspiration as a starting point.

Link- https://uk.pinterest.com/bayliecairnss/art-year-2/

Quick thinking ideas that could link to my theme:

1. Abandonment of places
2. The aftermath of a natural disaster
3. Images of a time-lapse of an event- before and after
4. Stories of those who have recalled near death experiences
5. Look at the abandonment of a setting

Images which gave me inspiration from the abandonment of a setting:

The last image was taken in a place called Chernobyl at the aftermath of a nuclear disaster which resulted in death, injury and people fleeing from their homes, the town is untouched due to the high levels of radiation in the area.

I am particularly impressed with the abandonment of the setting because peoples personal belongings were left at last minute due to being evacuated from their homes, The link below leads to a telegraph report which explains further about the images and attention to detail about the disaster itself.

http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/663591/Nuclear-disaster-ghost-town-Chernobyl-abandoned

Written Study- Year 2 Component one 20/06/2017

More research to do with natural disasters

22/06/2017

I have researched more into the abandonment of  a town or place after it has been destroyed/ruined due to a disaster, I have done research into the objects left behind which are mostly personal belongings to whoever lived/visited there. 

                   

                'The abandoned city of Pripyat'

Above tells you a little bit about the disaster and the images below examine an insight to objects that were left behind by those whos lives were at risk and so had to escape.

KING EDWARD VI COLLEGE ART EXHIBITION 26/06/2017

I visited King Edward VI college art exhibition to gain inspiration from others work to collectively see if any elements could give me new ideas for the theme I am looking at, The exhibition was created to showcase the work of those who have created art throughout the process of the last year.
  
         The images below are some of the pieces that I liked and gave inspiration and new ideas:

Note taking thoughts from the image:

An abandonment of a setting but distorted to look modernised by the colours created

The colours give the effect of darkness, ruin, Contrast and a split personality

It feels like I am looking at the wreckage of a setting (Bedroom) which has been destroyed, the objects implied within the piece create the effect of treasure.

The use of lighting enhances the viewers perspective of their being daylight behind the blinds, however, the light is not beaming nor obvious to be seen.

More images that were taken from the exhibition

23/08/2017- Images that gave me more inspiration.

Although I have been researching and exhibiting 3 artists I felt like I was losing my concept and the main objective which was the ideology of death and 'what actually happens when we die?'.

I went onto pinterest and found random images which have really opened my eyes to the different techniques, theories and artists that i could take into consideration when finding a purpose of my chosen genre.

'The Attention-Sucking Power of Digital Technology Displayed Through Photography by Antoine Grego'

The powerful images have created new questions in my head such as 'Are we killing and wasting our lives away by staring at a computer screen throughout our lifetime?' 

The use of distortion of the face looks as though it has been dragged towards the phones of the individuals, A real eye opener has been shown through the normality of people being on their phones continuously as we see everyday.

                                                  

                

            

                                                  'Worth a 1000 words!'

The caption is 100% true, the imagery spoken within this piece of work idolises the pollution and waste that is KILLING the world we live in, the bottles of plastic and recyclable waste are being dragged into the water killing the creatures who's homes live beneath the waves.

This has gave me lots of inspiration to begin to research ways that are killing the earth and the situations which are betrayed from the media and hidden from our eyes, I am amazed.

               

                 

                                                       'Our last days of summer'

25/08/2017

Whilst doing some experiments on photoshop which have been influenced by a few artists I have looked at, As I was trying to experiment with the way that Nicholas Bruno creates his work, I wanted to create scenarios from experiences of those who suffer from sleep paralysis in the same way that Nicholas is inspired. 

Before photoshopping I decided to search 'sleep paralysis examples' and it led me to a website professionally known as the NHS,As sleep paralysis is a mental illness I am linking the research to those who explain what they may: see, hear, smell, touch and taste; I found this very interesting article.

"I had a feeling of immense panic" 

Gareth Fletcher regularly had sleep paralysis when he was a teenager. Although it has virtually stopped, he still experiences it very occasionally. "

I first experienced sleep paralysis when I was 16. I remember it vividly. I went to bed one night as usual, but at some point I woke up and was unable to move a muscle. I was conscious and aware that I was in my bed, but my entire body was paralysed. "It may have only lasted a matter of seconds, but the experience was terrifying. There was a ringing noise in my ears that seemed to get louder, and no matter how hard I struggled, I couldn't move. I had a feeling of immense panic, and an urgent need to move my arms and legs. "Then suddenly I could move again. While this was a great relief, I was still scared as I had no idea what had just happened. "The same thing happened again a few nights later, and then it began to happen regularly. It would sometimes happen a couple of times in the same night. "I became nervous about going to sleep - worried that every time I went to bed I’d wake up and be unable to move. Even though the paralysis was only temporary, it was very frightening. "I would often wake up suddenly after having a vivid dream. Sometimes this was an unpleasant dream, which made the experience even scarier. "I didn’t tell anybody about it at first. This was partly because I began to doubt that it was really happening. I thought perhaps I was dreaming it, and although it seemed very real at the time, perhaps it was just a nightmare in which I couldn’t move.This gave me so much inspiration to photograph images from a first person view and begin to re create images by the research of those who experience and suffer from sleep paralysis.

I then researched into first person accounts which goes into great detail of what they see, hear, smell, taste and touch, I will re-create these popular on going nightmares on photoshop whilst using my own images. On photoshop i am going to experiment withy brightness, blur, crop etc.

First person accounts from those who suffer from sleep paralysis

Sleep Paralysis Ghosts and Shadow People

Often, the sufferers of sleep paralysis are unable to fully identify the evil being or presence of evil that accompanies their immobility and panic. In many cases of sleep paralysis, the episode starts with a shadowy figure in the corner that slowly advances on the paralyzed person.These sleep paralysis shadow people are sometimes described as ghosts. In these instances, the victims feel pressure on their chest before the shadowy figure ever reaches them, or else the sleep paralysis ghost lies a heavy and menacing hand on the victim’s chest.Sometimes, the unknown figure reappears several nights in a row and eventually transforms into a demon or hag. Other times, the shadowy figures accompany instances of demon attacks or an old hag episode.

Sleep Paralysis and Demons

In many cultures (possibly dating back to Mesopotamia in 2400 BC!), the elusive sleep paralysis entities have been described as demons. The sleep paralysis demon was sometimes a succubus and other times an incubus, depending on the gender of the person sleeping. According to legend, a succubus is a female demon that mates with a human male while he is sleeping. She may strangle him or otherwise drain him of life (or rather, attempt to).The succubus is often associated with Lilith, the legendary first wife of Adam who was kicked out of Eden for refusing to lie under Adam during sex. A sleep paralysis incubus is a male version of the succubus that attacks and haunts women while they sleep. Scholars believe that these stories originated in ancient cultures as a way to explain pregnancy outside of marriage.Over the years, many different names and descriptions have been given to similar sleep paralysis demons. In nearly all cases, the sufferers witness a menacing force attempting to possess or hurt them. The demon either sits on them or otherwise causes an unbearable pressure on the sufferer’s chest. In a sleep paralysis demon attack, the victim is completely paralyzed and unable to even yell for help.

                                     Poll of sleep paralysis
                                                                                      Online research

Why do you see, hear or feel strange things?

The explanation for why you feel physically paralyzed but awake is one thing, but how does science explain 3 of the main sleep paralysis stories that people report?

1. That there’s an intruder or other presence in the room.


2. That there’s some kind of sleep paralysis demon pushing down on your chest, strangling or doing other unpleasant things to you.


3. Having an out-of-body experience.