P r o c e s s
B o o k
Courtney Ferrara
Contents Introduction
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Artist Statement
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Collage Work
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Photography as a Research Tool
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Research and Ideation
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Save the Bees Campaign
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Poetry and Photography
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Text and Image
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Introduction The final concept idea that is depicted in this book took a long time to reach, but it’s core foundation is detectable through each series. From just merely a medium choice, to a concern for nature, to a final concept that not only holds symbolic meaning to the artist, but is also fighting for a cause that is pertinent in today’s world. Bees are a small creature that most do not pay any mind to, until of course someone is confronted by the possibility of being harmed. However, bees play an integral role in not only the natural ecosystem but also in crop production, for both humans and live stock. Even with this profound importance, they are being killed out; some species even to endangerment. The plight of the bee is caused mostly by pesticides and climate change. This grounds ammunition for a body of work that not only tries to raise awareness of this issue but also alter the negative perception of bees that so many humans share.
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Artist Statement Bees are intimidating. They can sting, and swarm, and that’s all I needed to know to fear them. In learning that several species of bees have been added to the endangered species list, my attitudes have changed. Bees are vital to the world’s delicate ecosystem, and ultimately human existence. Symbolically, they represent strength, healing, and community; traits that are reminiscent of humanity itself. Nature is often depicted as a distinct feminine entity, in control of the fate of humanity. This power is embodied through the bees. Without them the natural ecosystem becomes vulnerable. Through photographs and books I highlight the tension nature manifests between strength and vulnerability, as well as reference the connection between nature and the feminine figure. It is a personal struggle to use my own, female body in photographs. Finding this connection with the strength of nature has helped me begin to overcome internal insecurities and anxieties concerning my body, both conquering and allowing feelings of vulnerability.
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Collage Work Collage is an integral tie between many of the pieces to be found in this book. These images in particular are a former series that sparked an interest in the art of physically cutting and pasting images together. The images are random at first glance, yet each can tell a different narrative for each person who views them. Their purpose is to remain subjective, a graphic placement of image to please the eye and draw attention.
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These pieces are meant to explore the combination of image and text. To continue to bring together design and art practice such as collage work. This series is a focus on the feeling of summer, and references to the season that at the time had just passed. There is a type of experimentation with collage full pages of images, and the attempt to tie found text into those images.
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This series continues the collaging idea, twisted a little differently than previous versions. The text has been further integrated into the images, and the aspect of linking nature into the work has begun. The term “all natural� is meant to give the work the connotation of being tied to nature such as trees and flowers, but also can be linked to the nude figure in the middle-ground of the collage. This started the concept of using hidden meanings in the work.
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The topic of nature, and hidden meaning are represented in these images. Each piece has its own message that is tied into the imagery of the photography. For instance the image with the fox has the line that graphic designers use to test typefaces, “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog�. The messages in these images are much more removed from the viewer, adding an air of intrigue and depth through the layering of photographs.
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These images are more pointed towards the influence humans have upon nature. There is very little of the world that remains untouched by human influence. This is shown through the words chosen to represent each layered image. Working towards a more honed in topic of interest, but using the same type of representation that proved successful with the last series. The message is so hidden it tends to get lost within the photographs.
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This group of images reverts back to the use of collage while purely using magazine and book pages. This series, however, mainly focuses on the theme of nature and the effect that man has on it. Pollution and the potential loss of plants and animals is the main topic in most of these pieces. Lending themselves to the main topic of research discussed later in this book.
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Photography as a Research Tool These are images captured from a local Alfredian farmer’s market that hosts locally sourced fruits and vegetables. As seen in the photographs there are a variety of colors, textures and shapes found in the produce that shifted the photographs into a study of sorts. This again has the ties to nature, but shifting into the realm of photography. A lot of the produce pictured here are also affected by the dying out of bees. Tomatoes, squash, eggplant, apples, etc. are all relying on the pollination that bees provide. The first steps towards focusing my research on the plight of these bee are represented through these photographs.
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These photographs are the beginning of the exploration into the world of bees and bee hives. A local farm allowed for the up close capture of a honey bee colony. Other insects were present in the area, which later helped me to distinguish between wasps and bees. I continued to photograph types of plants affected by bee pollination, as shown on the following page.
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Research and Ideation
Beginning stages of designing a logo for an organization that fights for the protection of bees.
What Is Killing America’s Bees and What Does It Mean for Us? − 1980s, a thousand hives could earn a beekeeper between $65,000 and $70,000 a year in honey sales alone, not to mention the cash coming in from leasing hives out to farmers to help pollinate their fields − In ancient times, they were thought to be prophetic. Honey gathering is depicted in cave paintings that date back to the Paleolithic Age. The ancient Egyptians floated bees on rafts down the Nile to get them from one crop to another. While honeybees are not native to North America, they were deemed important enough to be packed up by the Pilgrims, and crossed the Atlantic around 1622 (according to Thomas Jefferson, the Native Americans referred to them as “white man’s flies”). − Today, bees are responsible for one out of every three 24
bites of food you eat and are an agricultural commodity that’s been valued at $15 billion annually in the U.S. alone. They are a major workforce with a dogged work ethic − Bees from one hive can collect pollen from up to 100,000 flowering plants in a single day, pollinating many of them in the process. Americans wouldn’t necessarily starve without them, but our diets would be a lot more bland and a lot less nutritious. − The first commercially successful neonicotinoid compound was synthesized by agrochemical giant Bayer CropScience in 1985, but it wasn’t until the early 2000s that they began to be used extensively. − All a farmer need do is sow a seed coated in neonics and the water-soluble chemicals get drawn back up into the plant as it grows. Referred to as systemic insecticides, they spread through the plant, making it resistant to predators
− Studies demonstrated that bees exposed to sublethal amounts of these neonicotinoids showed a loss in cognitive functions, including their ability to navigate home − More than 90 percent of corn and soybeans grown in the U.S. are genetically modified; they cover an estimated 89 million and 85 million acres, respectively. A 2012 U.S. Department of Agriculture survey found neonics in 30 percent of cauliflower, 22 percent of cherry tomatoes and in more than a fourth of bell peppers. In 2011, the Food and Drug Administration found them in 29 percent of baby food. − While good for business, monoculture is disastrous for biodiversity, wiping out beneficial species that need more varied habitats and diets, and also creating a smorgasbord for pests that prey on a single crop. (If every plant for miles blooms only two weeks a year, bees have nothing to eat for the other 50.) −2014 study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that 90 percent of honey tested positive for at least one neonic, and 50 percent contained at least two. It’s true that honeybees can metabolize these toxins quickly, but that also makes them difficult to detect. − Average of 30 percent of hives dying every year − It takes 60 percent of all the commercial honeybees in this country just to pollinate the almond crop in California. Pesticides may cut down on losses, but it’s pollination that increases yields. And without bees, crops would be devastated − The USDA reports that 10 million beehives have been lost since 2006, at a $2 billion cost to beekeepers (by contrast, in 2009 alone, the sale of neonics brought in $2.6 billion globally) − In the past year’s tally, hive losses were up to 42 percent, and for the first time ever, more losses were reported in the summer, when bees typically thrive, than the winter
actions might threaten the existence of an entire species. We must be fully aware of the risks that chemicals pose to our environment.” − Bees and other pollinators, essential for the two-thirds of the food crops humans eat every day, are in decline in countries around the world. The European Union banned the three most widely used neonicotinoids, based on strong science indicating that neonics can kill bees outright and make them more vulnerable to pests, pathogens and other stressors. − New York State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick. “Our survival is based on the delicate web of nature, which has been disrupted by corporate interests putting profits ahead of our very future. It is essential that we confront and stop this destruction for the sake of future generations.” − Neonics contribute to impairment in reproduction, learning and memory, hive communications and immune response at doses far below those that cause bee kills
Note to bees: do not stop and smell the roses − There are no federal requirements necessitating that plants treated with neonics be labeled − It’s not just farmers, but home gardeners who also now need to pay attention to pesticides −“It targets the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors,” −“A lot of the foods we enjoy eating,” he says, “almonds, apples, blueberries, cherries -- there are a number of crops that are pollinated by bees and if we’re not protecting their health then we’re going to see impacts. Either we’re not going to get the supply that we want or it’s going to be a lot more expensive to get these foods.”
Bee Killing Pesticides Found in 51% ‘Bee No Bees, No Food − In recent years, beekeepers report they’re losing on Friendly’ labeled Plants − 36 out of 71 (51 percent) of garden plant samples purchased at top garden retailers in 18 cities in the United States and Canada contain neonicotinoid (neonic) pesticides
average 30% of all honeybee colonies each winter — twice the loss considered economically tolerable.
− We rely on bees to pollinate 71 of the 100 crops that provide 90% of most of the world’s food. Imagine no almonds, fewer apples and strawberries, less alfalfa to feed dairy cows, and the list goes on.
− Some of the flowers contained neonic levels high enough to kill bees outright assuming comparable concentrations − When seeds are treated with neonics, the chemicals work are present in the flowers’ pollen and nectar. Further, 40% their way into the pollen and nectar of the plants which, of the positive samples contained two or more neonics. of course, is bad news for bees and other pollinators. Worse, for the bees and for us, neonics are about 6,000 − New York State Assemblyman Steven Otis. “It’s times more toxic to bees than DDT. important that we avoid creating an imbalance where our 25
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These are examples of bee centered poster ideas that have been sketched out. The source of inspiration behind them stem fro the work of Armando Milani, simple illustrations that hold a lot of impact, towards a specific cause. These specifically are concerned with the negative effects pesticides have on bees, and how this can harm an entire hive if the infected bee returns home.
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John Bellavia is a bee keeper by hobby in the Rochester, NY area. He happily agreed to have a conversation with me about the trials and tibulations he's had with his own bees, as well as steps we can take to help out the bee population. He also supplied me with the images seen on these pages.
Traditional Langstroth Hive with sugar water to feed the bees in winter
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Top bar hive, different style of raising bees know for being more natural. No foundation, less intense honey harvesting, less disruptive to the hive during weekly/ biweekly inspections.
Honeybees frequently "beard" on hot / humid summer nights to reduce the hive population in the hive as a means of reducing the internal temperature to maintain the optimal temperature for raising their brood and ripening honey stores.
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Q. Have you heard of neonicotinoids/neonics or how they are possibly connected to bees? A. Yes, If my memory serves me correctly those are both
Q. Can you explain what happened to your hive that experienced CDC, were there any warning signs? A. The Langstroth hive that experienced CCD showed no signs that they were weak or in distress. This hive was extremely productive and growing in number throughout the season. A few weeks before the winter season hit i noticed that I had not seen any activity. When I did a hive inspection i found the queen and about a dozen or so nursing bees that were left behind (alive) along with about 40-45 pounds of ripe capped honey stores that had not been touched. The balance of around 60-70K bees just up and left?
Q. What do you believe could be a factor related to the cause of CDC? A. There are a number of theories behind the cause of CCD from the build up of toxic chemicals in the hive from pesticide used in the hives 1-5 mile feeding radius, to weakness caused by infestation of the Varroa mite, and/or stress caused by transporting of hives to pollinate crops (more related to commercial beekeeping). For my hive i would guess that toxic build up or varroa mites may have contributed to the colonies collapse although I practice foundationless frames (to introduction of toxins from commercially available plastic foundation that has been coated with potentially contaminated bees wax). In regards to Varroa mites, this may have been the cause although when passively inspecting the hive I did not find any evidence of mite infestation. With that being said I have chosen not to treat the hive with medication and such to proactively control the Varoa mites...perhaps I will need to start doing that this season. I take pride in being as non invasive and natural as possible; however, when my hives keep collapsing (this is the second year) I may need to re-evaluate. 30
the active ingredients commonly find in some pesticides that are believe to a major contributing factor in the decline of the honey bee population. The neonicotinoids build up in the wax comb in the hive as the bees bring pollen and nectar into the hive when they forage in the surrounding area. It is thought that when the level of these toxins build up to toxic level the colony collapses; unfortunately, as long as people are using pesticides, round-up and the like the bee population will continue to be at risk. We do not use any pesticides on my 8 acreas of property to keep our local area as natural as possible for both the bees and my free ranging layer chickens.
Q. Are you in contact with any other beekeepers, have they experienced CDC or a mass dying or loss of bees as well? A. I sporadically attend monthly meetings with the local beekeeping association; however, due to my recent schedule i have not been able to attend in the last several months. In previous meeting, yes there is a continuing discussion trying to understand losses that have been seen by local hobby beekeepers like myself...medicating for Varroa mites is the only contributing factor that us beekeepers have any control over...once again the dilemma is purposefully introducing chemicals into the hive that may have other unforseen detrimental effects.
Q. Have you heard of "bee houses" or "hotels" for solitary bees and do you think they could be helpful in attracting a bee population? A. Yes, anything that people can do to help the pollinators (bumble bees, honey bees, etc.) helps. People also need to understand that pollinators of all forms have a profound effect on our staple food sources and reducing/ eliminating the use of pesticides and migrating to more organic and sustainable agricultural practices is paramount to the pollinators we depend on for our fruits, vegetable, nuts, agricultural crops etc...
Q. Are you familiar with bee baths, do you think this would be a helpful addition to a garden trying to attract bees?
A. I am not familiar with bee baths, however, every action helps. Bee feeders are a great idea also to add to gardens.
Q. What plants would you suggest planting to attract bees? A. To be honest I am not up to speed on specific plants; however, every flowering plant is a good food source for bees for gathering pollen and nectar. On a side note...those annoying clovers that people heavily treat to eliminate from their lawns every year are a favorite for honey bees and an amazing source of nectar for the bees in the early spring. I intentionally decrease the frequency of mowing on my property in the early spring as I watch hundreds of bees frantically sucking the sweet nectar from the clovers.
Q. What produce is affected most by bee pollination, to your knowledge? A. Per the above any plant that is dependant on insects for pollination to reproduce...which covers from my knowledge 60-70% of our staple food sources and numerous other flowering plants and trees.
Q. What do you do with the honey after harvesting? Do you use the beeswax for anything? A. When i have excess honey i sell some and share with my friends and family. The wax I harvest with each honey harvest I melt down, purify and make lip balms, body butter, homemade soap. I plan to one day make some bees wax candles when I collect enough...
colony she is greeted by the hives working bees where she will transfer the nectar to these younger females. The young worker bees will then begin the process of methodically filling each individual comb cell with this unripe nectar along with her saliva and enzymes. As the cells are filled the workers continue to fan the unripe nectar to the water content of the nectar reaches approx. 16-18% water content. At that time the cells are then capped with fresh white wax for storage- this nectar is now referred to as "ripe-honey" and can be used to feed their young or the beekeeper can harvest when excess stock is available. Going back to the pollen, when the foraging bee returns to the hive, she removes that packaged granules from her pollen baskets and hands them to the hive workers. The workers once again transfer the pollen into dedicated comb cells usually located around the edge of the frame or comb and pack it away for later consumption. The ripe honey serves as the bees primary source of carbohydrates/ energy while the pollen serves as their protein source. Royal Jelly- All larvae are fed royal jelly (a milky secretion from the workers glands) to stimulate growth for the first 2-3 day, at which time they are fed a combination of pollen and honey. When the workers are trying to product a queen (fertile female) to replace a missing or failing queen the selected larvae will be fed a continuous diet of ONLY royal jelly. This nutritious substance packed with protein and special enzymes transforms a normal larvae into a queen with her infamous extended thorax to accommodate a lifetime worth of eggs that will hopefully be fertilized by the male drones in the area following her maiden flight about one to two weeks after she emerges from her queen cell. When she returns to the hive after her maiden flight she will spend the rest of her life laying eggs and being fed royal jelly by her tending nurse bees.
Q. Can you explain the process of how bees move from pollen, to honey, and how does royal jelly fit into this process? A. The working female honey bees toward the latter part of their life cycle are designated as the foragers for the colony. Each bee when she goes out foraging is concentrating on one specific plant species during that flight. She will visit multiple flowers of the same species (ie. Clover to clover to clover) collecting nectar. During her visit to each flower pollen sticks to the hairs covering her body, as she moves to the next flower pollen rubs off from her hairs to the new flower pollinating that plant. Throughout her visits her hairs get weighted down with pollen, when this happens she will use her lefts to "push" the pollen granules into her pollen baskets on her rear leg. As she visits each flower she will also use her tongue to collect nectar from each flower stem. When she returns to the
Homemade bee feeders
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Save the Bees Campaign
The main reason that bees are dying is because of a new pesticide that is found on certain seeds and plants that effects the bee's brains. This is contributing to the large disappearance of bees. On top of this bees have now been added to the endangered species list which can greatly impact our ecosystems in the future. It has even been said in biblical texts that the dying out of the bee population is a sign of the end of the world. This series are the first explorations into that topic through collage. They represent both the fragility of the bee as well as the human influence that effects them.
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These are the first digital renderings of simple posters that contain powerful facts about the bee epidemic. These posters utilize photographs in a way to convey information graphically to viewers. They also sport a sponsor behind the bee saving efforts that the posters promote.
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WE MUST PROTECT THE BEES
Bees are responsible for 1 out of every 3 bites of food you eat. Yet the USDA reports that 10 million beehives have been lost since 2006 due mainly to pesticides
Find out more at: https://www.epa.gov/pollinator-protection
These illustrate incorporating imagery of the bee with the produce affected by their disappearance. Along with more examples on the next page of ways to represent digital renderings from sketches. The point of these posters is to experiment with the use of both illustration and impactful photography as opposed to the straight image and text concept that has been used in previous work.
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WE CAN’T WITHOUT THEM This past year seven types of yellow-faced bees native to Hawaii are officially endangered species in the US. It has been known for a while now that America’s bee species are in danger, so why are they still in trouble today on such a large scale? Bees may be small, but they are extremely important to upholding the American ecosystem. We rely on bees to pollinate 71 of the 100 crops that provide 90% of most of the world’s food. Imagine no almonds, fewer apples and strawberries, less alfalfa to feed dairy cows. It takes 60 percent of all the commercial honeybees in this country just to pollinate the almond crop in California. Pesticides may cut down on losses, but it’s pollination that increases yields. And without bees, crops would be devastated. Something needs to be done...
BEE AWARE These are examples of the kind of public service announcements that will draw attention to the cause of protecting the bees. Some walk through certain steps that anyone can take to contribute. They are meant to combat the present sense of apathy towards the loss of bees, in an approachable, accessible way. The three sections in the poster on the right are meant to inform viewers of different simple ways to be involved in protecting bee colonies.
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STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO PROTECT THE BEES We rely on bees to pollinate 71 of the 100 crops that provide 90% of most of the world’s food. Pesticides have been killing America’s bees and without bees, crops would be devastated. Something needs to be done...
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Plant at least three different types of flowers in your bee garden to ensure blooms through as many seasons as possible. This will provide bees and other pollinators with a constant source of food. For example:
• Spring blooms: crocus, hyacinth, and wild lilac • Summer blooms: cosmos, snapdragons foxglove, and hosta • Fall blooms: zinnias, witch hazel and goldenrod
PLANT A BEE GARDEN Native Bees: Leave a patch of the garden in a sunny spot uncultivat-
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ed for native bees that burrow. Some native bees also need access to soil surface for nesting. Wood and stem-nesting bees: This means piles of branches, bamboo sections, hollow reeds, or nesting blocks made out of untreated wood. Mason bees: They need a source of water and mud, and many kinds of bees are attracted to weedy, untended hedgerows.
You can also support the Honeybee Conservancy’s Sponsor-a-Hive programs, which places honey bee hives in school and community gardens across the U.S.
BUILD A BEE HOME
3 Read up on the importance of pollinators such as bees and the factors that are affecting them, see what is being done and also how you can help all at: https://www.epa.gov/pollinator-protection Together we can make a difference
BE INFORMED AND SPEAK UP
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The photography work shown here is another form of collaging, that incorporates the sense of bee and human interaction. The work is meant to give an air of ignorance, or lack of empathy on the part of the humans. And conversely the attention and attraction of the bees to the humans. They are potential images to be used in a campaign combating the sense of apathy that is present.
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Poetry in Photography A large shift in the creative process occurred, as evident through these images. This series is the result of research into the religious and symbolic meaning behind the bees. Meant as another way of bringing attention to the importance of bees and changing the stigma of bees as harmful creatures. This series also combines the connection to the meaning behind bees into fruition. The meaning behind each of these specific images lies within the lines of a section of a poem written by Antonio Machado, stated here: Last night as I was sleeping, I dreamt that I had a beehive here inside my heart. And the golden bees were making white combs and sweet honey from my old failures.
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The poems illustrated through these images are written by Jo Shapcott and is a multi part series centered on the loss of bees that is being experienced due to colony collapse disorder, a mysterious phenomenon that is affecting a lot of beekeepers when their bees mysteriously disappear with no real explanation. Photograph ideas are being planned out that link with this poem and the previous one by Machado. This concept continues to tie in the spiritual and healing aspect that has been brought into the photography work. Examples of the poetry are stated here: I waited all day for tears and wanted them, but there weren’t tears. I touched my lashes and the eyewater was not water but wing and fur and I was weeping bees. Bees on my face, in my hair. Bees walking in and out of my ears. Workers landed on my tongue and danced their bee dance as their sisters crowded round for the knowledge. I learned the language too, those zig-zags, runs and circles, the whole damned waggle dance catalogue. So nuanced it is, the geography of nectar, the astronomy of pollen. Believe me, through my mouth dusted yellow with their pollen, I spoke bees, I breathed bees. My body broke when the bees left, became a thing of bones and spaces and stretched skin. I’d barely noticed the time of wing twitch and pheromone mismatch and brood sealed in with wax. The honeycomb they left behind dissolved into blood and water. Now I smell of sweat and breath and I think my body cells may have turned hexagonal, though the bees are long gone.
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Continuing with the poetry content as a fuel to the imagery being created, there was a necessity to create a more dynamic effect. Again using the practice of collaging, now in the digital realm allows for a stronger sense of movement and differentiation between images. Examples of specific images before their transformation can be seen below.
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Text and Image After the initial photo shoot for the Shapcott poems, was the idea to incorporate a stronger sense of design into the images. Bringing text and image together is the culmination of what has been thought about from the beginning of the year. This concept is a way to bring fine art and design together. These are the initial sketches and experiments with including text in the photographs. Examples are continued onto the next page.
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bt ycom hone The
ft hey le
behind dissolved i
nto blood a nd wate
r. Now I smell of sweat
and br
eath
and
t ave I
h ay
dy cells m my b o th
in k
al, gon
a hex ed ur n
ee s b he
ht g ou th
ne. go
g lon a re
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After a long battle struggling with incorporating text into the images that were already available, it became apparent that a new series of work had to be created. This series of photographs contains images taken of empty, farmed bee hives as well as dying, decaying plants. Each section of photographs are meant to illustrate the looming danger of killing out species of bees, while also incorporating text directly into the image, following patters, lines and shapes.
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