BLOG 2
The better lives unit has been of extreme value in terms of information and awareness. It has helped me explore and analyze the impacts of the fashion industry on society through so many perspectives in both good and bad light. Being students in UAL, we have portals of opportunities to express our point of view through our art and implement ideas through collaborations. There is so much diversity, and every individual brings a new way of expression.
I chose to go ahead with Developing a character- Transformation and identity as my subject for this unit as I have a fascination with prosthetics and the idea of having the ability to create a new character through makeup. It was out of my comfort zone as I come from a photography background, and I have zero experience with prosthetics. However, as I began working on it, I began to enjoy exploring with prosthetic makeup. I have been introduced to a wide range of ways to create illusions and effects such as bruises, distortion, and theatrical makeup. The lectures involved an in-depth explanation of framing the face through creating exaggerated shadows, highlights and lines, and techniques to create a bruise through understanding skin undertones and using the right colors. Our tutor was extremely patient, encouraging, and demonstrated the process to us step by step. Practically, I could not manage to get much of a grasp and do as well as I thought I could, but theory wise, I have learned a lot.
Being an image-maker, I believe that it is essential to possess some amount of basic knowledge about makeup, styling as it gives you a broader range of ideas and ways to communicate with your team. I find it very inspiring to see films that instill prosthetics to create a change in the way our society views individuals suffering from various accidents, events such as acid attack survivors, severe burn injuries, or natural skin conditions that sometimes make people unintentionally discriminate. There is a tremendous power to influence and convey a message through images, and movies and I wish to use the knowledge that I have acquired into my professional practice through collaborating with makeup artists who also share a similar interest. There are multiple ways to incorporate prosthetics in a fashion editorial. Surrealism has always captivated me, and I think it would be convenient for me to embody prosthetics with now even a better sense of familiarity to explore further. I have always encouraged my team to feel comfortable with exploring and trying something ‘out-of-the-box’ and have previously used prosthetics in my editorials. But this came from almost zero experience or insight on my part. This unit has given me the understanding and encouragement to dive into the subject, so I can have a broader spectrum of ideas to discuss with my makeup artist.
Throughout this unit, I have always had something exciting and interesting to learn, and I look forward to my future work to imbibe not just what I have learned in my main topic which is developing a character, but also everything that I have learned throughout the briefing sessions. Our responsibility goes beyond just creating fabulous images. There is always something that we can give back to society through our art.