Looking through my conceptual photography work it strikes me, as it has struck others, that my protagonist does not make eye contact; does not break the fourth wall.
I’ll give you some of my thoughts on the why, but they are just that, thoughts. Feel free to leave a comment (or DM me if you’re shy).
Separation ©Julie Corcoran 2020
My work speaks to my audience as it speaks to me, through the undermind (I’ve always found the term un-conscious clunky; sub-conscious less so but when I came across Neil Gaiman’s term undermind, I loved it).
Directional gazes and gestures much more symbolic than direct eye contact; they invite us into the narrative suggesting other realms to explore, beyond the conscious.
Traditionally, in European art, the ideal viewer has been, for centuries, the heterosexual male.
“Women are depicted in a quite different way from men - not because the feminine is different from the masculine - but because the ‘ideal’ spectator is always assumed to be male and the image of the woman is designed to flatter him”. John Berger, Ways of Seeing.
Maybe I am creating work with another audience in mind and for the purposes of this discussion - not men in need of flattery.
So there you have it, some thoughts as to why I don’t break the fourth wall (Ryan Reynolds take note). I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Date for Your Diary
30th November 2022
6pm - 8pm Looking for Light Exhibition opening
ArtisAnn Gallery, 70 Bloomfield Avenue, Belfast.
Recommended Read
My recommended read has to be Negative Space by leading Irish art critic, Cristín Leach. It is a memoir told through the prism of art. Beautifully written I know you’ll enjoy it. I’ve read it twice already and it really is one of those delicious books that you’ll treasure, a favourite quote I’ve underlined;
‘for an artist, what life throws at you is never as important as what you do with it’.
Negative Space by Cristín Leach. Published by Merrion Press. My recommended read.