Here we go.

The editing and collaborating process of this assignment was helpful more than anything. Editing has always seemed somewhat daunting, complicated and fidgety. I have never been good with fidgety things. Putting together my familiar and new pieces of media was enlightening and helped me to tie together the overall idea behind my self portrait. Without the tools used the effect achieved would not have been possible.

Included in my piece is audio of a bottle opening and gas lighting a stove, pots and pans and general kitchen noises. My way of introducing my downtime activities – cooking and drinking. Eating and drinking. Food, drinks and great people. Since moving to Melbourne in 2014 I’ve had to tackle the challenge of fending for myself – which mostly consists of feeding myself. Through this I’ve found a love of cooking and eating, feeding my friends and achieving new meals every week.
My flatmate Kaya kindly agreed to feature in my video and audio, singing and on guitar. We are playing on our balcony over Chapel Street and singing “Saving the World” by New Zealand artist Brooke Fraser. I was humbled to sing this at my Great Aunt Robbie Swanson’s funeral, who I came to love and learn a lot from. This song means a lot to Kaya and I as it brings back memories of commemorating her life and celebrating what an inspiration she was to all the people around her.
I’ve included an edited video of several shots of the process of my artwork. Drawing an eye has significance to me as my father is an eye surgeon in New Zealand and currently achieving beyond what we could ever imagine. The drawing itself is inspired by reality vs inspiration and the imagination. See video and later blog post for more information.
The images used were from the lo-fi self portrait assignment 1. I felt they managed to capture the feeling of growth and development of the self and I hope to further explore the possibilities of photography.