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:
Transforming the relationship between man and the city
Transforming the relationship between man and the city
The human-city relationship is an important theme in my photography and can generate a variety of emotions and feelings, depending on the situation. In some instances, transforming this relationship can lead to not regonising the world around us - and creates a sense of unfamiliarity, of otherness and inherent tension. There is the tale of the overshadowing city, making us feel small and almost negligeable in the middle of it. Combined with lower or higher angles, the story and main feelings conveyed can change, from isolation in the middle of the city, to abstraction of the sense of humanity in it. Transforming the background can create completely new and strange stories, with people erupting simingly from nowhere, or from a world different than ours. And at times, city and human elements blend so much with one another that we cannot recognise where one starts, and the other ends - all of these creating situations that are strange and unfamiliar, from slightly disturbing to fully surrealist. A world that we can barely recognise - echoing the familiar while shifting in shape and in meaning.
1.1. In this first photograph, the subject is highly minimised compared to the city heights. The large negative space created by the shadows around her is equally disturbing - it seems to reshape the space around her and create an unfamiliar, overpowering urban setting. There is a sense of strangeness and unfamiliarity in these transformed surroundings, as if we cannot recognise the city itself. As if the city was slowly closing down on our subject, threatening to remove any remaining light.
1.2 In this second photograph, the subject is shot from behind, creating a sense of distance, while his dog is facing in the other direction - as if looking wearily at its surroundings. In addition, the low angle shows them as very small compared to the mega towers in the background, creating a stronger sense of isolation within the city. The scene and angle shows an unfamiliar face of the city, while the subject remains a mystery to us, reinforcing a sense of otherness, of distance and unfamiliarity - perhaps even of threat.
1.3. I talked about this photograph before, but it felt very suiting in the context of creating strangeness. Here, at first sight, we may simply be observing the outside of a staircase, with someone exiting at the bottom. A deeper look though allows us to discover another head above, yet we are never quite sure what is human, and what is part of the staircase. There is a sense of strangeness emanating from blurring the lines between human and non-human, disturbing the normal relationship between humans and the city - which should clearly outline where one begins, and one ends.
1.4 The man in this photograph is shot from the waist, within a very strong light. Adding black and white constrasts, and we simply cannot recognise the background. Not only is he interesting and standing out as a subject, but he seems to emerge from the clouds at first sight. And indeed, light and angle can be highly transformative of the city background, up to creating a completely illusionary tale, a strange portrait of a strange man, emerging from a place we simply cannot recognise.
1.5 For this last image we shift to a different angle, this time looking from above the subject, and through what appears to be a fence. The man, there again, is highly minimised vs. the bigger city, which is an unfamiliar sight. Additionally, the lines created by the fence only reveals a partial look at the city, framing the man in a very narrow window. These lines prevent us from seeing the bigger picture, emprisoning the subject and the city in narrow frames that are coming and going from nowhere. This framing is what creates a sense of strangeness in this image that nearly appears flat, two-dimensional, distorting reality.
1.6 And finally, in this image, the role of light is powerful and transformative. We can see a woman looking sideways, her face half hidden in the shadow, with a background suddenly feeling disconnected from her. Because of the light and the strong shadows, the common London bus in the background seems to emerge from the dark, unreal and unpalpable, while our subject stands in the foreground with no apparent connection with the city behind her. This disconnect creates a very strange and unfamiliar scene, as if we were looking at two different images merging together in a surreal painting.
Thanks for reading, and look out for Part 2 of this series: “Introducing shadows as a destabilizing element”, coming up soon.
Have a lovely day!