Ashton Blyth
Video Shoot 1
For the first video shoot, exploring the theme of identity for my end of year piece, I wrapped a person in a sheet and bound them using string and twine. This was to strip the person of distinguishing features towards their identity; from the accompanying images you cannot tell the person’s gender, skin colour, religion, sexuality, height, weight etc. - they are completely unidentifiable. The lack of being able to put someone in a tick box is what I am exploring in my practice, with this piece showcasing what we would see of a person in a world without social conformity. I had the model stretch and strain against the restricting material to convey the metaphor of trying to break free of society’s restraints.
For my first real attempt at directing another person of what to do to portray my meaning, I think it went well. I feel we were able to capture the meaning of my work within the movements of the figure. I think the video could’ve potentially looked better had I used a thicker, more obvious binding material such as straps to emphasise the straining of body parts. However, I think the fact that the restraints are near invisible also aids the metaphor of the restrictiveness of society that we can’t see, but is always there.