Methods Jelle

Class 1

Jelle (feedback version)

Project 1: Cross (2017)

what

A digital collage. It is an (almost) square picture. The size is 4450 x 4000 pixels. The file size is 4.08 mb. It is a black and white picture, depicting a female under body - from ribs to upper legs. The central point in the picture is the crotch of the female. The female is skinny. Over the genitals there is a big white cross. The cross is white and made of a paint like substance. The picture is rather grainy, and the contrast is high. The sides of the cross are not even.The background behind the female underbody is fully black. The body of the female is partly visible; some of the sides are completely in the dark but you can see the highlights in the bony parts of the female's body.

how

The collage is made digitally out of two digital pictures, shot with a D5200 NIKON camera. The first picture is a shot of my ex girlfriend, laying on a bed naked.The second picture of which the collage is made of is that of two strokes of green wall paint on a piece of paper. The paint was a leftover, and was put on the paper with a big brush. It was still wet when it was photographed. First, the picture of the gril was cropped in Photoshop, turned into a black and white picture and there was a grain effect added to the picture. Also, the contrast was increased and the light balance was darkened. Then, the female body was cut out of the background and a black background was added. Then; the picture of the strokes of paint was put over the picture of my ex gf. The strokes of paint were cut out and devoid of color in Photoshop.Then, the contrast and light balance was changed as to make them appear white instead of a darker shade. Then, the paint strokes were put over the vagina of the female.

why

This project was done in an attempt to create a digital collage that was visually compelling as well as confronting issues about gender, the #metoo movement and the role of a model in a subtle way. I wanted to experiment with digital collage, while adding a physical object, which was in this case the paint. The collage looks the way it looks because I tried to create a film noir like aesthetic; with high contrast, much black and strong shadows. It was part of a series I started right after my graduation at the Breitner Academy. I wanted to do this series because I felt an urge to experiment with collage a bit more, and the combination of paint and (digital) photography is appealing to me. I used my ex girlfriend as a model for this work, because I felt her body type fit the bodily aesthetics which are commonly used in Hollywood & advertisements. I felt her body could function as a allegory for female bodies used in media. The cross over her vagina, functions as a symbol for cencorship and anonymity. I added the cross to make a subtle commentorary on the harsh way media and corporate businesses treat women and their bodies.

Project 2: Indonesia - 42 (2018)

What

A digital picture. It is a rectangular picture. The size is 6000 x 4000 pixels. The file size is 9,90 mb. It is a color picture, depicting a grey wall with an old wooden door in front of it. The door is taken off it's hinges and jus rests against the wall. On the right side, the wall ends and you can see parts of vegetation and a damaged brick wall. On the left side, on the left of the door, there is a small pile of wood.

How

The picture was shot with a D5200 NIKON camera on the Gili Island Trawangan in Indonesia. It was shot without a tripod while cycling on the island with a friend. It was edited afterwards with Photoshop. A filter with lighter shades was added after the raw settings were done.

Why

This picture was part of an ongoing series I did while travelling across the globe. It depicts a result of the 2018 earthquake that hit Java, Lombok and the Gili Islands. Of all the islands that were struck, the Gili Islands suffered greatest of the consequences. Half of the island'sstructures were destroyed, and . This picture is one of many semi-abstract landscape photos I did. With the series, I tried to capture interesting compositions I found hidden in everyday landscapes. I tried to capture as many of these fascinating compositions, I found in mostly urban areas in countries I visited. The pictures often portray a subtle form of decay. Often, the pictures have a pastel color scheme, which I enhanced through hazey and light filters.

Project 3: Bijlmer Bajes

What

A commercial series of digital pictures, depicting the former Bijlmer Bajes (Bijlmer prison). The series consists of 40 pictures that show the interior and exterior of the Bijlmer Bajes, which is located in the south of Amsterdam. Most pictures are around 1 - 2 mb in size and are around 1800 x 1200 pixels. All the pictures are black and white, and are grainy with a high contrast. There are no humans on the pictures. On the pictures, you see the prison as a whole, but also interesting details which tell you more about the history of the place. Roughly half of the pictures show cells and details that I found in the cells. The other half are shot outside, and show the exterior of the prison. As a whole, or in detail.

How

I got access to some of the closed parts of the prison because I was working voluntary in the former prison at the time. It was already abandoned at the time, so there were no people in there. I took pictures with my camera inside and outside of the prison, on several occasions. I took hundreds of pictures and then selected the most interesting 40. Then, I edited them in Photoshop. Firstly, I made them black and white, and then I added grain and a high contrast to add a coherent and spooky atmosphere to the series, since the prison is full of macabre stories and has a haunted feeling to it.

Why

While working in the prison, I learned that it was going to be demolished. I figured it would be a perfect moment to capture the history of the Bijlmer Bajes since I had access to areas of the prison that are not open to the public. Because the Bijlmer Bajes is so well known, and full of history, I felt it was important to capture it's memory before it would be gone forever. I reached out to Vice, and they wanted to publish the pictures after I had shot them. So basically, what I tried to do was document the prison in a certain way to make sure it would be saved for other people to look at.

Jelle (original version)

Project 1: Cross (2017)

what

A digital collage. It is an (almost) square picture. The size is 4450 x 4000 pixels. The file size is 4.08 mb. It is a black and white picture, depicting a female under body - from ribs to upper legs. The central point in the picture is the crotch of the female. The female is skinny. Over the genitals there is a big white cross. The cross is white and made of a paint like substance. The picture is rather grainy, and the contrast is high. The sides of the cross are not even.The background behind the female underbody is fully black. The body of the female is partly visible; some of the sides are completely in the dark but you can see the highlights in the bony parts of the female's body.

how

The collage is made digitally out of two digital pictures, shot with a D5200 NIKON camera. The first picture is a shot of my ex girlfriend, laying on a bed naked.The second picture of which the collage is made of is that of two strokes of green wall paint on a piece of paper. The paint was a leftover, and was put on the paper with a big brush. It was still wet when it was photographed. First, the picture of the gril was cropped in Photoshop, turned into a black and white picture and there was a grain effect added to the picture. Also, the contrast was increased and the light balance was darkened. Then, the female body was cut out of the background and a black background was added. Then; the picture of the strokes of paint was put over the picture of my ex gf. The strokes of paint were cut out and devoid of color in Photoshop.Then, the contrast and light balance was changed as to make them appear white instead of a darker shade. Then, the paint strokes were put over the vagina of the female.

why

This project was done in an attempt to create a digital collage that was visually compelling as well as confronting issues about gender, the #metoo movement and the role of a model in a subtle way. I wanted to experiment with digital collage, while adding a physical object, which was in this case the paint. The collage looks the way it looks because I tried to create a film noir like aesthetic; with high contrast, much black and strong shadows. It was part of a series I started right after my graduation at the Breitner Academy. I wanted to do this series because I felt an urge to experiment with collage a bit more, and the combination of paint and (digital) photography is appealing to me. I used my ex girlfriend as a model for this work, because I felt her body type fit the bodily aesthetics which are commonly used in Hollywood & advertisements. I felt her body could function as a allegory for female bodies used in media. The cross over her vagina, functions as a symbol for cencorship and anonymity. I added the cross to make a subtle commentorary on the harsh way media and corporate businesses treat women and their bodies.

Project 2: Indonesia - 42 (2018)

What

A digital picture. It is a rectangular picture. The size is 6000 x 4000 pixels. The file size is 9,90 mb. It is a color picture, depicting a grey wall with an old wooden door in front of it. The door is taken off it's hinges and jus rests against the wall. On the right side, the wall ends and you can see parts of vegetation and a damaged brick wall. On the left side, on the left of the door, there is a small pile of wood.

How

The picture was shot with a D5200 NIKON camera on the Gili Island Trawangan in Indonesia. It was shot without a tripod while cycling on the island with a friend. It was edited afterwards with Photoshop. A filter with lighter shades was added after the raw settings were done.

Why

This picture was part of an ongoing series I did while travelling across the globe. This particular picture,depicts a result of the 2018 earthquake that hit Java, Lombok and the Gili Islands. Of all the islands that were struck, the Gili Islands suffered greatest of the consequences. Half of the island'sstructures were destroyed. This picture is one of many semi-abstract landscape photos I did. With the series, I tried to capture interesting compositions I found hidden in everyday landscapes. In all the pictures, I tried to capture landscapes without humans in them.I tried to capture as many of these fascinating compositions, I found in mostly urban areas in countries I visited. The pictures often portray a subtle form of decay, while also portraying a certain aesthetic beauty. Often, the pictures have a pastel color scheme, which I enhanced through hazey and light filters.

Project 3: Bijlmer Bajes

What

A commercial series of digital pictures, depicting the former Bijlmer Bajes (Bijlmer prison). The series consists of 40 pictures that show the interior and exterior of the Bijlmer Bajes, which is located in the south of Amsterdam. Most pictures are around 1 - 2 mb in size and are around 1800 x 1200 pixels. All the pictures are black and white, and are grainy with a high contrast. There are no humans on the pictures. On the pictures, you see the prison as a whole, but also interesting details which tell you more about the history of the place. Roughly half of the pictures show cells and details that I found in the cells. The other half are shot outside, and show the exterior of the prison. As a whole, or in detail.

How

I got access to some of the closed parts of the prison because I was working voluntary in the former prison at the time. I took pictures with my camera inside and outside of the prison, on several occasions. I took hundreds of pictures and then selected the most interesting 40. Then, I edited them in Photoshop. Firstly, I made them black and white, and then I added grain and a high contrast to add a coherent and spooky atmosphere to the series, since the prison is full of macabre stories and has a haunted feeling to it.

Why

While working in the prison, I learned that it was going to be demolished. I figured it would be a perfect moment to capture the history of the Bijlmer Bajes since I had access to areas of the prison that are not open to the public. Because the Bijlmer Bajes is so well known, and full of history, I felt it was important to capture it's memory before it would be gone forever. I reached out to Vice, and they wanted to publish the pictures after I had shot them. So basically, what I tried to do was document the prison in a certain way to make sure it would be saved for other people to look at.