Chen Man Exhibition

Today we visited the Chinese Arts Centre in Manchester where Chen Man is holding her first solo exhibition.

I didn't really know what to expect from her work as i had never seen it before although i felt i shouldnt research her beforehand as i wanted to look at the exhibition with an open mind and then find out more about her.

Some of her first work from 2003 really has a cyborg feel to it and i think this is down to the amount of post production she does on her images after she has taken them. She used photoshop a lot to make her work unique and after graduating found her own artistic style.

Here is some of her work which i like the most...












I feel this last image has a strong cyborg influence, i think it is really interesting how the whole image has the colour white although the model still stands out from the background.

Before going today i wanted to focus more on the article i found about business men and woman although after seeing her work i feel i would like to explore the side of post production on an image and using photoshop to create unique graphic effects.

I still want my image to have a distopian feel to it  although i want to go down the route of a very futuristic, super natural cyborg, rather than a human who has cyborg characteristics under the skin.

first attempts

To start experimenting i took some pictures of my boyfriend in a suit so that i could experiment with the buisness man cyborg idea, here is my first attempt...

I like the look of this image although i feel i need more of a city connection within the image, so i plan to experiment by photographing buisness people within the city going about their day, maybe using some movement and then super impose my cyborged business man into the image.

Research

After researching into women within the media who have played cyborgs i came across an article about business people within the city. The main idea of the article was about how people who work in the city walk around ignoring the outside world like they are in their own little bubble just going from a to b like they have been programmed to ignore everything else and to get to their destination with no distractions.

This really interested me as our previous brief was on the city so i  have recently spent a lot of time in the city people watching and find this is very true.

At one of the feedback sessions i heard someone talking about a series on channel 4 called 'The black mirror series' especially the episode 15 million merits. I decided to watch this episode as i thought it may relate to my topic of business people in the city. This particular episode is explained as 'a satire of entertainment shows and our insatiable thirst for distraction set in a sarcastic version of a future reality. In this world everyone is confined to a life of strange physical drudgery.

After watching 15 million merits i realised what the link was between this and my idea. Business people within the city spend all day everyday staring at computer screens or surrounded by technology, just like the people in the episode, that they come unaware of whats going on around them and they block out everything apart from their daily routine.

This has given me a lot of inspiration and a wealth of ideas to do further research on...

Initial Research...

To start off my research i looked into female cyborgs within film,
I found this list and decided to research into each of these characters...


Alice from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
The Alienator, from Alienator (1989)
Alsatia Zevo, from Toys (1992)
Androids in Westworld (1973)
Annalee Call, from Alien Resurrection (1997)
Assorted gynoids, from Robot Stories (2003)
Blade Runner (1982) gynoids:
- Pris
- Rachael Tyrell
- Zhora
Carl Petersen's Fembot Army in Some Girls Do (1969)
Cassandra, from Android (1982)
Cash Reese from Cyborg 2 (1993)
Chalmers, from Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983)
Cherry 2000, from Cherry 2000 (1987)
Cybodain Model 103 from Cyborg She (2008)
Gaily Morton, from Steel & Lace (1991)
Conjugal visit fembots, from Escape from DS-3 (1981)

During my research i came across this video which i found very interesting...

http://www.cgchannel.com/2010/02/digital-domain-on-transformers-2-dan-taylor/

I looked at a few music videos to generate ideas, one which interested me greatly is...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVw7eJ0vGfM


In the video the women have doll like plastic skin and clock workings beneath the skin, the male (David Guetta) turns into a manakin made from silver mesh type skin.


David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj - Turn Me On

Britney Spears - I Wanna Go