All the places you'll go
For my concept I wanted to base it off of the phrase "all the places you'll go" except it revolves around the places I have been that weren't "home". In this case I combined the walkway of my old residence hall on campus (Miltmore Hall) with a train station in Japan ( I lived there for about 3 years). While its focusing on two places I have been, I chose to recreate a train station setting because I don't plan to just stop there and theres many other places that I have been and will eventually go to.Train: https://www.pexels.com/photo/hello-kitty-train-in-kyoto-in-japan-20892175/
Sign: https://www.pexels.com/photo/train-at-japanese-station-platform-31770124/
Sign: https://www.pexels.com/photo/tokyo-subway-station-with-people-walking-31519557/
Hanging Sign: https://www.pexels.com/photo/entrance-of-underground-train-station-in-japan-17637739/
“All the places you'll go” by Aalayna Southerland is a blend between her dorm hall and a Japanese train station. It is composed as if the viewer is standing in the entry/exit of the dorm, waiting to be picked up, looking between the brick pillars to the oncoming train. There is Japanese signage on the overhang and pillars to make the dorm feel more like a train station, as well as phone lines and industrial buildings located in the distance behind the train. There is an almost dreary, somber mood to the piece, with a gray sky and soft lighting. The artist did include her links to source images, but she also said that these locations blended together are both places that were once her home, so she used many of her own photos to make this.
ReplyDeleteThis work is about the constant change and moving that happens in life. We see this by the viewer being placed in what we all know to be a dwelling, a dorm, and instead of seeing campus outside, we see a train coming to pick up the passenger to take them somewhere else, probably somewhere distant and foreign compared to the dorm halls of charlotte. Its dreary mood adds the feeling that change is always happening, it might be wanted change, or it could also be change you are unsure of, but no matter what it will always happen. It gives a feeling of acceptance, that its not always going to be the PERFECT time or place, but its ok to move on and grow.
Technically, everything is composed very proportionately. The masks are clean and the shadows added to the signs and pillars really ground them in this reality. The addition of the train and industrial background feels natural with the overhang of the dorm hall especially when it comes to the colors and lighting of it all. The additions to the original photo add new layers of meaning and purpose, while also being well executed make this piece overall successful.
This piece contributes to culture as a whole by representing that there is not one place we call home forever, we are constantly changing, evolving, and growing both emotionally and physically. It also give a the feeling of a student who is done with their time in college, and is now entering the vast world for the first time, while not being 100% certain about it, but not letting that stop them. I think we all have our own “dorm hall train station” as we all came from somewhere and will end up somewhere else. It also has the aspect of the dorm originally being located in charlotte, and the signage, train, and background being from japan, places that are on almost complete opposite sides of the world from each other, but now being brought together as one, which is something the artist might resonate with.
Overall this piece shows both emotional meaning and technical skill in combination with each other. Everything from the weather to the juxtaposing architecture, its a story about change and acceptance. Its the artist sharing her own journey of what she has called home, in a way to make the viewer think more about the places they have called home and the journey it sends people on. This is all supported by the clean craft, there isn't many new aspects added to the original photo, but just what is necessary to incite feelings to the viewer. Its complexity lies in its simplicity.