Personal Essays
The Semantic Photographer
--Semantics is the study of meaning in communication. The word derives from Greek σημαντικός (semantikos), "significant", from σημαίνω (semaino), "to signify, to indicate" and that from σήμα (sema), "sign, mark, token". In linguistics it is the study of interpretation of signs as used by agents or communities within particular circumstances and contexts. It has related meanings in several other fields. (source wiki)
No I’m not talking about the Semantic Web or even the Semantic Differential and Time-Lapse Photography, though I do admit to being inspired by an interview with Tim Berners-Lee recently!. Much more simplistically I am attempting to explain a change in attitude and behaviour caused by and documented through photography. I am talking about the way my mind organises emotional data in relation to linguistic and visual data.
Yes, I took this self portrait in a public toilet. “Why?”, you might ask and the reply would be “Because it looked interesting.” Not the toilets you understand, but the act of taking a portrait of myself in a place not usually linked with portraiture. A year ago, I would have strenuously denied ever having the urge to take self portraits, never mind doing so in a public place, yet here it is for the world to see.
Spaces, it appears, are no longer simply linked to function but also to imagery. Chairs are not just for sitting nor apples for eating. They ( and public toilets) are props in my daily attempts to capture a moment or feeling --
Part 1 of the Utata Big Speak 08 Project and blimey.... when did my hair get so long?
No I’m not talking about the Semantic Web or even the Semantic Differential and Time-Lapse Photography, though I do admit to being inspired by an interview with Tim Berners-Lee recently!. Much more simplistically I am attempting to explain a change in attitude and behaviour caused by and documented through photography. I am talking about the way my mind organises emotional data in relation to linguistic and visual data.
Yes, I took this self portrait in a public toilet. “Why?”, you might ask and the reply would be “Because it looked interesting.” Not the toilets you understand, but the act of taking a portrait of myself in a place not usually linked with portraiture. A year ago, I would have strenuously denied ever having the urge to take self portraits, never mind doing so in a public place, yet here it is for the world to see.
Spaces, it appears, are no longer simply linked to function but also to imagery. Chairs are not just for sitting nor apples for eating. They ( and public toilets) are props in my daily attempts to capture a moment or feeling --
Part 1 of the Utata Big Speak 08 Project and blimey.... when did my hair get so long?