This is 8 images from a series that I am going to keep working on that reflects the various ways that grief is felt and seen from my own personal perspective.
Everything in each image has personal meaning and
significance to me but is open enough to be understood or at least can be
potentially relatable to someone experiencing the loss of a loved one.
I hope to expand on this narrative by not only adding
additional composites to the set but also exploring different ways to visualize
the emotional effects my mother’s passing has had on me.
Final note: The last image intentionally deviates from the
rest by driving the focus up towards the white in an attempt to see the light
rather than the darkness. In addition, this image as well as the first are also
the only two without water.
I hope to have a total of 12 completed as a personal project.
-Kim
My inspiration: Mikhail Ray Batrak.
Portfolio/PDF: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11Ir5oyVsjZJRmzAaP6XEUVZdEQ2r0Vi5/view?usp=sharing
This portfolio by Kim Ballinger depicts images that explore different aspects and stages of grief. I found this theme to be relatable and compelling and was drawn to review this post because our portfolios share tangentially similar themes.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy that Denial through Hope share a common theme of water, and an object or figure interacting or relating to that water in some way, while being book-ended by images that differ in that theme. I feel it tells a story of a journey through loss, and how overwhelming that can be, while each having their own unique traits to that end. To me the water represents the concept of feeling like one is drowning in their own feelings and can’t pull themself out. The butterfly flying over the water being the second to last image really solidifies that idea for me, like finally being able to come back up for air and rejoin the world again.
I think the compositing is fairly simple, though I think this is to its benefit as it doesn’t do so much that it distracts from the message but contains enough elements to give a surreal feeling and hold visual interest. The only criticism I might be able to give, taken with a grain of salt, is the color grading. Some of the objects feel as though they are not affected by the colors in the environment and therefore stick out very harshly. However, the grain of salt comes in because this also feels intentional and adds to the surreal and uneasy feeling. I think the only reason I noticed it was because of Despair, where the hand is affected by the light, but the lighthouse is not. I think the hand being the only thing affected by the ambience breaks some of the cohesion, so personally I think I would tone it down so that it matches the same “out of place” feeling that the others have, versus giving everything else more ambience.
The work feels very intentional, and I felt that the amount of original photography used was impressive and commendable. I could tell there was a lot of symbolism in each of the images even without knowing what it could all mean. Everything included in the image feels like it exists there for a specific purpose. The use of scale and distance help to communicate a sense of loneliness in many of the images as well.
The PDF was very pleasantly and cohesively laid out. I liked how the font effect reflected the theme of water and that the background had a bit of flair without being distracting. My only bit of advice (and it is the most nitpicky thing ever and not a reflection of the quality of the work or portfolio) is that some of the images do not fully line up with each other. I only noticed because it is a scrolling PDF. In a book I doubt anyone would notice this at all. The sources are very clear and easy to understand, as all images used are included at the end of the portfolio.
Overall, I really enjoyed Kim’s portfolio and think that this is a strong set of images with a compelling and relatable theme expressed through personal symbolism and clear themes surrounding grief and loss.