Essay

Photoshop has enabled the impossible to happen in photographs. Explore how artists have pushed the boundaries between reality and the impossible.

I have chosen this essay title, because I am intrigued to see how in various ways artists push the boundaries between reality and the impossible and I wish to deepen my understanding. I would like to explore new ways to enable the impossible to happen in photographs and discover how Photoshop has opened up a range of opportunities when it comes to designing for a narrative and bringing the story to life.

In my essay, I will observe the work of artists who have used Photoshop to achieve images that have pushed the boundaries between reality and the impossible. The first artist’s work I will be looking at is Vincent Bourilhon. I have chosen to investigate this particular artist because I am intrigued to find out how he creates his surreal images.

Through his graphics and digital retouching, Bourilhon has created an imaginary world of his own. I am fascinated to look more in depth at how he has been able to present this work, which is on the borderline between reality and a dream world.

Laure Fauvel is the second artist I will be observing. Fauvel is a photographer who has created a series, which illustrates the nightmares that children often experience. I have chosen to look at Fauvel’s work as it presents a world, within the mind, and during sleep. I am interested in exploring Laure Fauvel’s work and how she succeeded in bringing a fantasy world into reality through photo manipulation.

The third artist I have chosen to look at is Oscar Parasiego. I am intrigued by his work, as it is very different to that of Bouilhon and Fauvel. Constantly pushing at the boundaries of what’s real, Parasiego explores self-identification through his photography. As opposed to people appearing in the work of the first two artists, Parasiego presents cut out silhouettes and surreal aesthetics.

I think that looking at the work of these three artists will help me explore how the boundaries have been pushed between reality and the impossible.

By observing my three chosen artists, I will gain understanding, which I can bring into my narrative project exploring¬ surrealism vs. reality. A narrative is a story, which to me often has a sense of imagination and is something I wish to convey in my narrative project. I am interested to see what different techniques I can learn and find out how I myself can push the boundaries between reality and the impossible.

Vincent Bourilhon, 19 years old, is a Parisian photographer who discovered photography at the age of 16. Beginning his photographic journey by capturing everyday life, Bourilhon gradually developed an interest in conceptual photography. Bourilhon loves dreams, film and poetry, which are all reflected through the art of photography. I chose to look at Bourilhon, as he is an example of an artist who has created his own imaginary world that pushes at the border between dreams and reality. Demonstrated in his creations are references to tales and films, which inspire his designs. As a dreamer whose passion comes from his own fantasy worlds, he manages to bring to life his personal imagination. Photoshop has enabled artists like Vincent Bourilhon to make the impossible, possible and make dreams a reality.

An example of one of Bourilhon’s surreal photographs is of the subject gazing at the famous Eiffel Tower, perched on what appears to be a rain gutter, with umbrellas following his eye line to the tower.

Although this ¬photograph could not possibly be real, the Photoshop skills demonstrated by Bourilhon could convince the viewer that there is nothing false about the composition. The imagery presented is so well put together that it appears to be one entire flowing image. However, Bourilhon created it using a few different components layered in Photoshop. This is an example of how Photoshop has enabled artists to make the impossible happen in photographs. This photograph has only used the medium of photography without the use of anything else such as typography, other materials, paint etc. Bourilhon’s photograph is a clear representation of how reality and the impossible can be paired together using Photoshop. The components all naturally go together in reality with the grey sky, rain dripping of the gutter, umbrellas and the subject looking towards the tower. It is the way he has combined these elements that makes it evident that he wants to push at the boundaries between reality and the impossible. The size of the subject standing on the rainy surface could be in reference to the tale of Tom Thumb, who is a character in English folklore who was believed to be no bigger than a person’s thumb. This factor immediately makes the photograph surreal.

The image above portrays an element of sadness and dreaming about something that cannot happen. The umbrellas lead to the Eiffel Tower although the small person wouldn’t be able to get there. The umbrellas getting smaller could represent a distant dream of something far too large, which is not conceivable. Although the image is not captured in a moment, it brings a sense of reality through the surreal composition. Vincent Bourilhon has successfully broken the boundaries between reality and the impossible through the use of Photoshop.

Laure Fauvel is a French, 22-year-old fine art photographer who brings people’s imagination into reality through the technique of photo manipulation. Combining her own primary imagery and digital enhancement, Fauvel uses imaginative editing to produce convincing narrative which is relatable to most people with imagination.

I chose to look into the work of Laure Fauvel because she is an artist who really pushes the boundaries between reality and the impossible. In her series entitled “Terror”, photographer Laure Fauvel effectively illustrates the nightmares of children. Through this series of photographs, she brings to life the monsters that haunt the dreams of most kids but with role reversal. Fauvel stated: “I wanted the children not to be victims and to fight the monsters.” This is an example of how Laure Fauvel pushes the boundaries between what is real and impossible. The reality is that in kid’s nightmares, the monster intimidates, fights against them and always wins. Fauvel has pushed at the boundaries by materializing these fantasies, but also changing their meaning. As opposed to a nightmare, the children have the victory and fight the monsters. In her photographs, the real life children are the heroes in comparison to cowering under the covers in real life when faced with a terrifying monster. By looking at these photographs, the eight and nine year old children appear to have the advantage; armed with guns, sticks, swords and wands. Fauvel has effectively staged children beating their fears and showing bravery and courage.

By looking further into her work, I can see that Fauvel’s imagery is highly convincing and really showcase’s her digital manipulation skills. I have realised that if a person possesses these skills, any photograph can be made to be believable as seen above. It is having these computer software skills that enable artists to make any narrative plausible. Laure Fauvel’s series presents photographs, which tell a story which most people can relate to. They have a clear concept and meaning, which are not hidden or difficult to decipher at first glance. As her photographs demonstrate nightmares, there is a fantastical, dreamlike quality to them, which people can relate to. I feel that her narrative content is of high strength and could take the fear out of nightmares, which are usually terrifying. She manages to bring an element of fun into her photographs, which could be difficult to get across to the viewer.

The overall images are very striking and reveal to me that the meaning of a narrative can be completely turned around by how an artist presents an image. From my observation, it appears that Laure Fauvel has successfully broken the boundaries between the impossible and reality.

Oscar Parasiego is a Spanish, visual artist who draws from multiple disciplines outside normal boundaries. Parasiego graduated in 2008 from the School of Photography EFTI situated in Madrid, with an Honours Degree from the MA Fine Art Photography. Currently based in Birmingham, he has collaborated with various countries and communities over the last ten years, delivering a number of art projects.

Parasiego continually pushes at the boundaries of photography and attempts to capture human self-reflection and its complexity. Through his artworks he explores themes such as identity, death, emigration, communication, and relationships. Oscar Parasiego creates powerful, spirited images through surrealist aesthetics. His view is that the viewer comes to a conclusion themselves about how the journey of the narrative image ends. “He is currently interested in pushing photography’s boundaries and exploring the untruthfulness of photography with virtual and invisible technologies. His aim is to re-think photography in an innovative way, no longer as a 2D or frozen time instant but something else.” I gather from this quote that Parasiego is a prime example of an artist pushing the boundaries between reality and the impossible. He uses his skills in artwork to portray stories through imagery.

The above photograph above is from ‘Diaspora’, his series of photographs, which portray the feelings, transformations, and adaptions of individual people who go after a brighter future by emigrating to different countries. Drawing on his own experience of moving from Spain to the UK, he uses the art of photography to share the story of emigrants and reveal their emotions. Parasiego manages to combine simple images together and create outcomes, which have a much deeper meaning through the use of digital software. The subject matter of Parasiego’s photographs is silhouetted, invisible outlines of people, which have taken on the appearance of their surroundings. One can assume that the person is becoming a part of their new environment; however the transparency of the silhouette could suggest that they are struggling to completely fit in. It could symbolise the person taking on a part of their new environment but still holding on to the old. It could be said that by becoming invisible in their new environment, they risk losing their real identity by conforming to the culture of the new place. His work is a self-reflection of his own struggles. It has been said that people who have been through similar experiences to that of Oscar Parasiego, instantly relate to his images.

I think that Oscar Parasiego is a good example of an artist who pushes at the boundaries between the impossible and reality as shown in his images. Through his photographs he tells a story which many people can really relate to and understand.

Conclusion In conclusion, beginning with Vincent Bourilhon, having the use of Photoshop allows him to combine fantasy with reality using photo manipulation. Photoshop enables him to make surreal images convincingly real and portray fairytales as reality. The software allows Laure Fauvel to push the boundaries when it comes to illustrating children’s nightmares. Her photographs appear to be taken straight from the mind of a child but have a personal twist, which could only be achieved through the use of Photoshop.

Finally, Oscar Parasiego, he has been enabled to make humans transparent with the added aid of overlaying images for his desired effect. This would prove to be a lot more difficult without the use of Photoshop. Overall, I have discovered that artists are continually pushing the boundaries between reality and the impossible, which mostly has been enabled by Photoshop. It has made it easier for artists to get acros their ideas and concepts by giving them a wider range of possibilites and more freedom in the images they produce.

Bibliography http://vincent-bourilhon.com/vb-photos.html

http://www.pourmonmur.com/en/7_vincent-bourilhon

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2014/jul/22/kids-battle-themonsters-of-their-nightmares-in-pictures http://www.fubiz.net/en/2014/07/10/bedroom-monsters-series/

http://flavorwire.com/466742/adorable-photos-of-children-fighting-the-monstershiding-in-their-bedrooms/3 http://www.oscarparasiego.com/index.php?/about/

http://beautifuldecay.com/2014/01/20/oscar-parasiego-depicts-alienation-immigrants-ghost-like-portraits/