What is Strangeness? A sense of otherness. The opposite of common, ordinary, familiar. Strangeness comes out of capturing human beings and the world in a different, unfamiliar light. In this article, I wanted to explore different ways I have evoked a sense of strangeness and otherness in my photography - and through this, introduce possible avenues for you to explore. I hope you will enjoy this reading, and if so, let me know in the comments!
While there are many ways to think of the strange and unfamiliar, in my next series of articles I will discuss five themes that are close to my heart:
Connecting elements to create tension and parallels
Part 3 - Connecting elements to create tension and parallels
Sometimes, this is simply the interactions between elements in a photograph that create strange, uncanny scenes, creating illusions and playfully deceiving the viewer. Objects can take a disproportionate importance, creating abstract, uncanny or absurd worlds. Subjects themselves can be connected in weird and unrealistic ways to create new meaning and feelings. There are many possible avenues to create strangeness through juxtaposing elements in a photograph, in a way that creates tension and / or ambiguity, and often through invisible lines creating connections and meaning in the photograph, between objects and subjects. Below are a few examples from my own portfolio to illustrate this theme.
1. In this image, the collision of red and blue objects surrounding the subject creates interest in a suddenly unfamiliar scene. We’ve all seen road blocks and balloons, but here is this is the composition itself that connects all those elements together and somehow achieves to elevate a mundane story to something strange, uncommon. The blue ballon in the top right corner is so predominant in the frame that our mind starts to connect elements where there should be no connection in reality. The subject emerges in a world of rounded blue and red shapes, surrounded on all sides, as if she’d be added as an after-thought to an abstract image. Her humanity here is lost in chaotic geometry.
2. In this image above, the strangeness comes from an illusion of size and proximity. The giant legs appear closer to the boy than they really are, and are moving in the opposite direction - creating a strange impression that the boy is soon going to be trapped by these giant legs. The image frames our subject very clearly, taking a bended shape as he climbs the stairs. On the other hand, we can see only the giant feet of strangers coming in his direction, seemingly close to impact with our subject. Connecting elements like this and playing with proportions can give strange, funny and uncanny scenes through our photography.
3.3. A somewhat uncanny, bizarre scene can emerge from the juxtaposition of multiple subjects who are apparently unconnected, while the dynamic of the group creates a strange impression on the viewer. In this image above, we have four subjects, all looking in different directions - creating invisible lines with their eyes and their postures. They appear to be on a shopping street, where people are normally walking. Yet they are all in a stand-still in this photograph, their eyes never crossing each other, seemingly unaware of the others but for the last man in the background observing the entire scene. The light also plays an important role in creating areas of shadows and emphasizing the strange dynamic of all these different bodies turned at different angles, looking beyond their shoulders, up their nose, away where we cannot see. The resulting effect is that of a strange dance of strangers, and our eyes do not know what to believe.
3.4 And sometimes, the uncanny can emerge from a direct connection with the photographer, and by extension, the viewer. In this scene, what creates interest is not simply the second subject looking directly in the eyes of the camera, becoming aware of the intrusion. It is the surrounding subjects in the crowd, all unaware of the camera, all looking away in the same direction, as opposed to this woman seeing through us, escaping from the crowd itself to become an active mirror of who we are. It’s also noticeable that she’s hiding behind the woman in the front, only partially visible to us, while her friend in the front remains perfectly unaware of our presence on the scene - which creates tension in the image. We are left to wonder who she is, what her connection with the woman in the front is, and what she thinks of us. This double reflection creates a sense of otherness, of separation, between them and us.
The dog leash
3.5 In this image on the left, the sense of strangeness comes from an illusion: the small woman in the background appears as if whe was holding the dog leash herself, or at least part of it - which is not physically possible. In doing so, this image creates a sense of tension, connecting directly two elements that are, in fact, on different planes in the image. This additional connection is what creates a strange, uncanny image.
3.6 And finally, to close this series of examples, here’s an old image I took in Chicago, from a lower perspective. Here the strangeness and absurdity comes from juxtaposing the fence with human bodies, so that each body is visible through the fence, yet their heads are hidden - depriving them of an important element of their humanity and identity. The perspective and angle in this photograph are everything. Too high or too low, and you wouldn’t get the same results, while the near perfect alignment of bodies over the holes of the fence shaped like bodies themselves creates this uncanny, unfamiliar and strange effect.
That’s all for today. Stay tuned for Part 4 and 5 of this blog series, coming soon! I wish you well in your photographic journey. To the next episode :)