Back in the Lab...

Although I have had an ongoing, if inconsistent, photographic practice for many years, I came to realize with the beginning of this new class, that it has been 13 years since I stepped foot in a dark room  to develop my own film / print my own photos. Ouf! Time sure does fly!

Recently, I came across my high school photography binder. Full of the trials and experiments of using both a manual camera for the first time as well as using the darkroom. I had planned to use some of that work as fodder for my first post here; however, in the midst of all our packing, storing and cleaning while our house is for sale, that box of high school books is currently, nowhere to be found.

I do have something else related to the topic of revisiting memories though.  Earlier this week, I saw some very intriguing work by Japanese artist Chino Otsuka.

Otsuka has taken analog photos of her childhood and digitally inserted her grown-up self into the pictures.
The results are often seamless as she has taken great care to match all aspects of the photo as closely as possible to the original including the colours, contrast, shadows, graininess of the film etc...
In creating these mash-ups of these photos, Otsuka offers herself the opportunity to remember the past and reflect on the present, as well as to process the space in-between the two.  

Chino Otsuka, 1982 + 2005, France

Speaking of her work Otsuka says, “The digital process becomes a tool, almost like a time machine, as I’m embarking on the journey to where I once belonged and at the same time becoming a tourist in my own history,” said the photographer.

Source: chino.co.uk ( Image and Quote Retrieved from: http://www.demilked.com/double-self-portraits-chino-otsuka/ )

I really enjoy that Otsuka has positioned her grown-up self in a variety of ways within her digital collages. At times she becomes a second subject in the work, while at other moments she is merely a passer by, a seemingly accidental inclusion in a snap shot taken by a doting parent while on vacation.

In the description for the book from which this photo series is taken, Photo Album (2013) published by Dewi Lewis Publishing, Otsuka speaks about her move from Tokyo to Britain at the age of 10 and how her work is highly influenced by the ideas of home, identity, memory, displacement, loss, and belonging.
" For Chino, tracing back and recreating the past is a way to deal with such issues. The imagined and the real, reflection and projection, past and present..." (http://www.dewilewis.com/products/photo-album)

Although there are advanced technical components to creating this type of flawlessly reconstituted photograph, I think the idea here has so much potential for use within the classroom or community setting.  Technical aspects aside I love the idea of having students reflect on their past and to revisit them through their artistic practice. Guiding questions such as " If you could relive this moment today, would you change anything? " or " If you could tell your 8 year old self something at the moment this photo was taken, what would it be? " could help students think about how they might interact with their past selves.  There is potential for a lot of fun here too - what about photo-bombing your own photos! It could be a lot of fun, just image all the laughs!

From a technical stand point, as students become increasingly proficient at using editing software by the minute, I think this type of work will become quite accessible, and with a few tutorials on adjusting things like grain, levels, and hue/sat. I think it would be possible to use this effectively within a high school or community setting.

Imagine doing this as a high school leaving activity with a photo from grade 7 or kindergarten? It could be really fun and very meaningful!... I think I am off to pitch some ideas to our grad committee :)