CONTEXT
With this photo research, I would like to raise a question on the modern speed of perception of information and explore how nowadays preliminary impressions are formed during incredibly brief time periods and general contemporary human reliance on quick judgments which can be easily manipulated due to insufficient motivation for analysis.
I suppose that in the quest for more informed decision-making, we need to explore ways to encourage people to raise questions and to make accents on critical thinking. But not by pointing out or criticising the fact of quick judgment itself, since it is an integral part of our modern world, but to encourage to slow down by provoking interest and thought or by raising additional questions with no exact answers.
In future, I would like to make a photographic social experiment on an exploration of the ways how the specific sequencing of the images combined with the absence of textual references can impose a narrative on us or lead us to jump to conclusions that may differ from the facts. How pictures taken out of context, combined and turned into a narrative create an impression based on our biases, dispositions and mental attitudes.
The result of this experiment would be not to judge or correct narratives of different observers or provide with the facts for comparison, but to show how narrative can be manipulated by exploiting features of the human psyche and desire for simple, clear and understandable stories and labels, as well as how images have the power to work in relationship to each other and through sequence can communicate something on a psychological level.
As a sample for this concept, I’ve created several short photo stories by combining different unrelated images from my travels over various years. But for the future and for the more clear experiment, I would like to create at least three completely different narratives from images taken in one place in one period of time, so that I would be able to show, that pictures taken in the same environment can be sequenced differently leading to different results.
During the public presentation of those stories, the best outcome would be if visitors or observers could write down or explain personally their feelings or their perceptions towards the presumable narrative.
For now, while watching these photo sequences try to analyze what emotions they evoke or what stories, and sensations develop in your head.
(I specifically tried to use photos from ordinary everyday life in various countries from different times without using any images with refugees, fighting or any other hostilities to emphasize the difference between the perceived narrative and the original place or story behind the image).
STORY #1
STORY #2
STORY #3
STORY #4
STORY #5
STORY #6
STORY #7
STORY #8
STORY #9
EXPERIMENT TIMELINE
1. First week on finding subjects or places to construct possible narratives for three stories.
2. From the second to fifth week shooting.
3. At the beginning of the sixth week select and print out the first samples and start working on sequences and check the narratives that are being formed.
4. Seventh week for additional shooting and filling the needed frames.
5. At the end of the seventh week create drafts and ask for first reviews, comments and critiques.
6. Troubleshooting on the eighth week and start developing final materials for presentation.
7. Final presentation during which to interview the visitors on their reaction. Possibly, to make it anonymous, provide a stand with written questionare and motivate visitors to answer.
8. Still haven’t decided whether it is needed to show, that all photos are of the same time and place or if it is better to leave it unsaid and reveal it after the end of the exhibition or only in possible print materials.
9. Check all the answers from visitors and create a list or visual graph of reactions on how the narrative is perceived by different people and types of reactions.