That Old State of Mind

Brainfog
(Fuzzy thoughts, lack of clarity)

Several months have passed since I updated about my photography project, State of Mind. This is part of goal 12 (Complete 3 photography projects) and is still ongoing, but here are some recent additions, plus one from last year (above) which I previously only posted as part of a 365 Project update.

Since it's been a while, here's the arty-farty description of this project:

State of Mind explores different emotions and mental states through a series of 'faceless' self-portraits, each one being a personification of those mental states or emotions: the residents of 'The State of Mind'.

Exhaustion
(Extreme tiredness, caffeine dependent, running on empty)

These most recent images haven't all turned out exactly as intended; I'd wanted to use a full-sized pillow for Exhaustion but...it was too big. Fortunately this little rectangular cushion pad was the right size!

Anxiety
(Catastrophe. Chained. Can't Escape.)

I'm finding that some 'states of mind' are harder to personify as a faceless portrait than I expected. It can be tricky to define emotions as objects, especially the more complex ones that are made up of lots of different smaller feelings, and are experienced in different ways by different people.

Gloom
(All is dull, no light to be seen.)

Though there is a similarity between some of these pictures (and there will probably be more), I hope the differences stand out. For example, Brainfog and Gloom are similar with pale, fuzzy heads, but whilst Brainfog emits a feeling of fluffy-headedness, Gloom is a lot darker, a lot heavier.

That's it for this project so far; other photos may end up being composite images, editing together a 'head' shot and a 'body' shot, due to issues with size/weight of the 'head'.

Fingers crossed it won't take me another ten months to post another update on this!

State of Mind

Daydreamer
(In moments of stillness, the action happens Inside)

In the process of keeping up with 365 Project, I've begun the second of my photography projects for goal #12 (Complete 3 Photography Projects).

State of Mind explores different emotions and mental states through a series of 'faceless' self-portraits, each one being a personification of those mental states or emotions: the residents of 'The State of Mind'. 

Inflated Ego
(That moment of smug big-headedness)

This is still a fledgeling project so I'm still developing the ideas!
Considering the subject matter of this and A Strange Pair, it seems matters relating to psychology are of interest to me, doesn't it!

Discombobulating
(Confused, surprised, trying to comprehend)

I started off using a few handheld props, but am looking to make more use of masks and/or headpieces, to give an effect of the head being Different rather than merely having something held in front of it...

Poisonous
(Those negative thoughts that catch us unawares)

In the image above, I reused the mask I made for one of the prompts on Delightful Aberrations some time ago! I'm glad I kept it. Comparing the above image to the one created last time I used this mask, I can see how much I've benefitted (technically at least) from my cheapo camera remote. Life is so much easier when you don't have ten seconds to rush between camera and backdrop!

Idealist
(Too many flowery thoughts, not enough roots in reality)

I also discovered that I can 'MacGuyver' together a flower mask using tissue paper, staples, an elastic band and a piece of bent wire!

This project has been fun so far, and I've started to think a lot more about each persona. I'll likely take more in future, since there are so many more mental states to consider--and just like Poisonous, they are not always good.

The State of Mind, like any state, province or county, has its bad guys.