I wanted to experiment with different ways of presenting photography within my sketchbook. I feel that just sticking the picture into my sketchbook won't make people focus on it enough, they wouldn't see it as an important part of my sketchbook. Therefore I used some old polaroid pictures and looked at different ways of presenting them. I decided that I would burn all of them, not because I am an arsonist, but because I really like the effect it creates on polaroid pictures, it almost gives them another layer, lifting the photo of the cardboard backing of it. After doing this I decided to look at different ways of adding to my photographs, to enhance the effectiveness of them, I also felt that it would add another layer which links within my project perfectly. One of the ways I decided to enhance my photographs was too completely peel the back the photo off, this revealed a pink burnt film in which was very thin with small burn marks throughout it. I really like how this turned out, you could still see my drawing behind the film but it gave a interesting pink film which kinda changed the way you looked at the piece, I would like to make this larger scale, maybe making it fill the page, and add a transfer underneath it. I could do this by using a large photo, printing photo paper which would enlarge the image making it easy to burn and to stick over the page. Then I would be able to add a drawing, or transfer one of my own images underneath it. This would again add to project of layers, creating a layered transfers in which a filter is placed on top of it. The second photo was already a faded out photo, so I just decided to burn it, I really like the way that this photo had turned out, by burning it the photo was given texture and another layer. I feel that changing the surface of this photo brings more interest to it, you look closer at it, to see what it is. However I didn't like the cardboard that stuck out at the bottom of the picture, I felt that it made it look really cheap. For the third photo, it was just plain black, this photo burned straight through. This was really effective. It contrasted with the jet black, leaving brown burn marks and holes through out the photo. Overall I feel that this particular photo could have been improved by burning some large holes throughout it, the white strip at the bottom of the photo would have looked better by burning a small hole through it. The fourth photo was just plain white, this means I must have opened the back of my camera, when the sunlight hits undeveloped film its simply stops it from taking in colours and developing. I knew that I wanted to add wax to a photo and create marks on another one. However I felt that this would not work with the white background of this photo. Therefore I decided to cover it with small plastic bags. From looking at Alberto Burri's pieces, who I will be soon going back too, I have found that plastic creates a very intriguing look, especially when heated up or burnt. So, I decided too wrapped the photo in small plastic bags, the kind you can place sandwiches in to keep them fresh. I created four layers around the photo, heating one at a time to see the effect created on it. I feel that four was just enough, the photo was fully covered and a soft yet tough texture was created. Although I liked how this photo turned out I would have liked it if the photo looked a bit more burnt, the actual photo hasn't been affected before therefore I feel that it's a bit pointless. The fifth photo was black, undeveloped like most of them, therefore I took the wax idea would work perfectly on it. I started off by burning some parts of the photo, then I started to melt a candle and let the wax drip onto the page created white marks. I was pleased with how this turned out, the was gave the photo a really interesting look, it blended well with the burnt parts so overall I was happy. Sadly when I came to attach the string through the photo most of the wax had fallen off, the surface of the photo was too smooth therefore the wax easily slipped off it. The only parts it stuck too were the burnt parts but I didn't want to burn the whole of my photo, so I accepted my defeat. The final photo was again plain black, I was excited to start this photo because I had a set idea on what I wanted to created with it. Instead of burning the underneath of this photo, I decided to just burn the top of it, letting the flame burn the black part. What it created was engrossing. The photo has lifted slightly from the backing but has developed a melted effect, whilst burning it, it started to bubble, I immediately stopped just incase it blew up or something. However I just imagined the bubbles would go down and leave the same burnt marks that had appeared on all of my other photos, but it didn't. It stayed. This gave a completely new texture to my photo which I really liked. I knew for this photo I wanted add some colour to it using graphite or a pencil. However neither of these would leave a strong enough mark on the photo for it to actually be noticeable. So I decided to use a wax crayon, although wax failed me on my last photo I thought that a wax crayon may work, and it did. I used the colours brown and yellow, although they aren't the nicest colours they stood out on the picture really well and blended together effectively. Overall I like this photo, I was happy the wax actually worked this time and like the effect it created on piece. To conclude, I feel that this piece was successful, the photo individually has helped me think of new ways to present photography throughout my sketchbook. As an experiment it worked well, as I mentioned before it's given me new photo ideas, in addition to that its helped me move forward towards my final piece, looking at whether I'd want to use photography in it or not. However to think about this experiment critically, I don't like the way I have set this out. I feel the drawing in the background should have been left alone, you hardly notice it when looking at the piece, therefore I could say that it's pointless being there. In addition to that this took a long time to do, although I feel it was worth it, it has taken time out of my other experiments that I have been conducting. So, if I did this experiment again, I would try to do it quick, ie, set myself a time limit for it to be completed. I would also leave the background, maybe lightly wash it with ink to create a subtle background for the photos ot rest on.
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