Black Mirror

I haven’t got a speech I didn’t plan words I didn’t even try to, I just knew I had to get here, to stand here and I knew I wanted you to listen, to really listen. Not just pull a face like you’re listening like you do the rest of the time, a face that you’re feeling instead of processing.”

You pull a face and poke it towards the stage, and we lah-di-dah, we sing and dance and tumble around. And all you see up here, it’s not people, you don’t see people up here it’s all fodder. And the faker the fodder, the more you love it, because fake fodder’s the only thing that works any more. Fake fodder is all we can stomach. Actually, not quite all; real pain, real viciousness, that, we can take.

Yeah, stick a fat man up a pole and we’ll laugh ourselves feral, because we’ve earned the right. We’ve done cell time and he’s slacking, the scum, so ha-ha-ha at him! Because we’re so out of our minds with desperation, we don’t know any better. All we know is fake fodder and buying shit. That’s how we speak to each other, how we express ourselves is buying shit.

What, I have a dream? The peak of our dreams is a new app for our Dopple, it doesn’t exist! It’s not even there! We buy shit that’s not even there. Show us something real and free and beautiful. You couldn’t. Yeah? It’ll break us. We’re too numb for it. I might as well choke. It’s only so much wonder we can bear. That’s why when you find any wonder whatsoever; you dole it out in meagre portions.

And only then until it’s augmented, packaged, and plumped through 10,000 pre-assigned filters till it’s nothing more than a meaningless series of lights, while we ride day in day out, going where? Powering what? All tiny cells and tiny screens and bigger cells and bigger screens and F**k you!

F**k you, that’s what it boils down to. It’s F**k you for sitting there and slowly making things worse. F**k you and your spotlight and your sanctimonious faces. F**k you all for thinking the one thing I came close to never meant anything. For oozing around it and crushing it into a bone, into a joke. One more ugly joke in a kingdom of millions. F**k you for happening. F**k you for me, for us, for everyone. F**k you!

Bing [Daniel Kaluuya] Black Mirror: 15 Million Merits. 2011

Black Mirror: 15 Million Merits on 4oD

Morality- The Good and The Bad

Some time before Christmas, I was thinking about discussing the intricate web of morality that surrounds religious children/ children with religious parents through my visual practice. This encouraged a brilliant debate in a seminar which, admittedly, got slightly heated. The great thing about this debate was that it was actually that; rather than an argument. I don't think any party took anything personally or held a grudge after the debate had ended. My tutor actually took the time to ask if I (as the other half of the duo responsible for the majority of the debate) was ok. I felt like I had received a tongue-lashing of the highest order, but I  really liked it. This kind of healthy debate is absolutely brilliant in my opinion and when I have engaged so much with a discussion my appetite is truly whetted for more. It was possibly this insatiability, along with my at times flippant nature that led on to the next part of this sequence of events.

I was in university and ran into a good friend who I hadn't seen in a while. We had a quick catch up and before long I was regaling her with the tale of the tongue-lashing I had received only hours earlier. After this, my friend asked me, 'So, what do you think about religion?' I responded bluntly; 'Religion is stupid.'

Now I want to clear things up here; primarily, I actually do not think that religion is stupid. I will be the first to point out that religion, over history, has been at the heart of so many acts of kindness, and is responsible for an awful lot of good throughout the world. I truly believe that I was astronomically foolish, and brash in my response to my friend's question. With said tongue-lashing still ringing in my ears, I responded in kind; taking the heated energy from that debate, and immediately applying it to the current one. 

Recently I was talking to the same friend and took the opportunity to apologise for my previous comment as I felt It would be productive to admit I was wrong and apologise for my actions. My apology was greeted warmly, which I was glad of and greatly appreciated. We then started to discuss our own separate views on certain issues which eventually turned to the topic of overpopulation. 

I feel very strongly about overpopulation, especially as a symptom of human-centricity. This cumulated hypothetically, discussing the ramifications of applying a law similar to Chinas 'One Child Policy' in the UK. Focussing on the human-centric side of the argument I stated; 

"you can't say to people 'you're only allowed one child' because if people want more than one, they'll have more than one. Especially in western society, there would be a MASSIVE uproar about it, even though in the long run it might prove beneficial."

My friend then responded with a simple sentence that made me have a kind of mini-epiphany. She said, "It would be morally wrong yes." I felt that the use of the word moral in this sentence was absolutely paramount. I thought it over for a couple of minutes and then replied; "But that creates a sort of paradox where morality, which is supposed to protect people, could possibly end up hurting them. Don't you think?"

The discussion ended there; on a point to think about and come back to. This is me coming back to it, almost a month later. The point that I am trying to make here is that our current system of morals have been developed on an individualistic basis. Much like I feel religion needs to heed in part to science, individual morals may need to be at very least re-thought as the planet is nearing capacity. I will probably write again on this topic but I wanted to keep it short after the paradox theory so that, like the discussion it can be a point for you to mull over and take away from reading.

The End of Oil...

In 1956 M. King Hubbert formulated a model for Peak Oil- the point at which the world is producing the maximum amount of oil, after which it enters terminal decline. He used this model to accurately predict the peaking of oil production in the United States. There are varying predictions of when peak oil will occur, from pessimistic predictions citing that it has already happened and global oil production is declining while optimistic predictions state that the decline may not occur until 2020. The Hirsch Report, published in February 2005, focussed on peak oil and came to the blunt conclusion that peak oil is going to happen. It asserted that twenty years of mitigation is needed to avoid global fuel deficit.

Michael Ruppert, an ex-LAPD officer, was interviewed for the motion picture Collapse in 2009. This film discusses the ramifications involved with peak oil. One of the examples Ruppert uses to emphasise his point is that Saudi Arabia, the worlds most oil rich country (with a 25% share in global proven petroleum reserves under their land) are now drilling offshore. He discusses the extent to which modern society relies on oil using it for fuel for transport as well as being a key ingredient for production, at it’s very base level we rely heavily on oil and other fossil fuels for powering plants which provide electricity for everything from laptops to cameras. Without electricity there can be no digitized media, and there would be incredible disruption to communication.


Ruppert dismisses the idea of alternatives such as wave, wind and ethanol as a substitute fuel source stating that demand would far outweigh supply in any circumstance. The extent to which we are dependent on oil becomes clear throughout the film and with anything that is depended on, when it disappears there are withdrawal symptoms.

A strike by 600 drivers delivering fuel to Shell petrol stations around the country in 2008 caused major queues at forecourts as people panic-bought petrol in the fear it would run out. This small-scale example is a terrifying glimpse of the future if the situation is not acted on. Our society revolves around energy and is desperately dependent upon it, in this case oil.

Other energy transitions in human history, from wood to coal to oil, have been slow and gradual. A viable replacement for oil has not yet been found and therefore this issue needs to be at the forefront of human development, and efforts have to be made to avert a Malthusian Catastrophe, which would force subsistence living for the vast majority, if not all of the human population.

The sun is setting on the age of oil, and what the night holds is unclear.

Twentysix Gasoline Stations (Around Sunset)...

So I'm coming to the end of my last project of second year. I'm really happy with the concept, but given more time i think the work would be a lot stronger... but then again that's probably my fault for not getting stuck in earlier. I'm producing a book with twenty six gasoline stations around sunset, and also a select few images from the book will be printed up larger as 'exhibition'-esque prints.


I felt that I needed to get away from my, what some people would term as, 'overcomplicated' symbology narratives so I decided to simplify it so it was more accessible. This meant that rather than having an intricately formulated set of symbols which are all equally important to understand and equally important in working out the narrative, I submitted somewhat to what I like to call the 'cult of the aesthetic.' By this I mean the images outweigh the concept, in many cases forfeiting a concept altogether. On reflection though I think I have struck a nice balance. 


The 'Twentysix Gasoline Stations' is obviously a reference to Ed Ruscha's book published in 1963. I used this because my project focuses on oil depletion, and gasoline/petrol stations are  an everyday connection with oil (and it's price) that people take a lot of notice of, because we've become so dependant no doubt. The 'around sunset' aspect that I added is a fairly transparent metaphor when put in context, symbolising the end of the era of oil. The varied times that the photographs were taken (which will be included in the titles) can also be related to the multiple and incredibly varied predictions about when peak oil will occur. And that's it symbology-wise... cracking, let's just see how things turn out.


Here's a few photographs that I may be including in the final work:




Shell Service Station, Horley Road (20:29 27/05/11)



Esso Service Station, Reigate Road (21:09 26/05/11)



Murco Service Station, Shelvers Hill (21:32 26/05/11)

Final Term of Penultimate Year...

First off, apologies, I have been awful at updating my blog but I've had a few bits and pieces to sort out in the real world, however these things have been sorted out and I shall be updating regularly again.


So, I wasn't too pleased with my work for last term, least of all with the comments I recieved from my tutor but that's another story for another day. As a consequence I have promised myself to make this project as kick-ass as i can to get a good mark and go back to the success I had in the first term of this year.


I was looking for topics with which I could occupy myself for a term when I hit a block and decided to go out for a bit. I ended up buying the new Rise Against album 'Endgame'. Upon opening it and having a flick through the booklet I came across a section with recommendations of films to watch and books to read. One of these was a movie called 'Collapse'. (Trailer Here) This movie scared the SHIT out of me. It is a true horror story, one from which none of us can escape. Michael C. Ruppert (Collapsenet) discusses the ideas, theories and reality behind Peak Oil.


This movie shook me so much that I had decided within an hour of watching the film that I wanted to focus on it for my project this term. At the moment I'm still in the early stages of secondary research and test work, but here's a couple of images that I have shot recently for this project.

A Sociopath With a Camera...

The private view for the afore mentioned 'Shift' exhibition where I am exhibiting work with 16 other photographers was last Friday. It went unbelievably well. The exhibition was busy from start to close, wine was a-flowing, and merriment was in the air. 

The highlight for me was that people genuinely engaged with my work. Exhibiting and watching people engage/not engage with my work is what i love most about photography. It gives me the chance to see how 'the other' views my work and therefore measure it's success. After all, my work is intentionally instrumental.

The abstract featured in the exhibition booklet explaining my work is as follows:

The driving force behind my work is always an issue that I feel strongly about and want to act upon in some way. Issues that I have worked on include: the illegality of war in the middle east; the 2010 United Kingdom general election; and also a few, more personal narratives. The views that I present are generally exaggerated and often quite obscure. For some, my use of symbolism isn’t always immediately obvious. Symbolism is one of the cornerstones in my work and coding images with symbolism is one of the things that I enjoy most about my practice.

The project ‘Mundane and Monumental’ is a response to the constant state of flux in which people find themselves. When taken out of context, any two events in a given persons life may seem unlinked from an objective observer. However the way in which people think is a complete mystery to anyone else and two events which, may seem unconnected, are in fact intimately connected.

I encouraged another photographer who was exhibiting (Callum Kirkwood) to deduce the intended/correct narrative which i had used to exemplify the subject matter of the work as explained in the abstract. He, amongst others, struggled to glean the exact narrative, guessing around and sometimes the exact reason for the elements included in the piece, but failing to compile it with other knowledge they had failed to gather.

Callum's induced interest in my work quickly caught on and soon, more people were asking me what the work was about. I replied 'I can't tell you that. You have to work it out for yourself.' I got mixed responses to this standpoint on my work.

It isn't that I don't like talking about my work. Quite the contrary, I could talk about my own work (the ego-central being that I am) for hours upon hours. However, from my point of view, if I explain the entire work then surely it is just me talking and the work has been produced as a jumped up conversation starter. 

The main aim of my work is to encourage engagement with the environment. In a way i suppose its trying to get people to view the world as I do. Everything has happened as a direct or indirect result of the action or inaction of something else. Therefore I include symbology in my work which must be deciphered entirely to be read correctly.

My symbology doesn't appear to follow any conventions, intentionally anyway. It's more a compilation of various social conventions and their connotations. (For example: In 'The Mundane and The Monumental' I use a fork and knife sat parallel atop a pile of pasta on a plate. This positioning of cutlery, to me, implies that the meal is finished. Yet setting this arrangement upon a pile of pasta somewhat confuses the meaning as the meal is clearly unfinished therefore transforming the reading to a subjects unwillingness to eat.)

The first conclusion I can draw from this is doubt. I am now having doubts at how effective my work will be after university. Maybe my symbology is more geared towards my understanding of these symbols rather than their wider context within society. I now realise that what i am trying to do is create a whole new visual language, no small feat, and if I want the work to be universally translatable I will need to work on this. I do not wish, however, to adjust my style of working as the symbology included in my work is an incredibly important tool. It allows and encourages an engagement between the viewer and the piece's message.

The second and final of my conclusions is that i am indeed, a sociopath with a camera. Saying what I have, it is more evident than ever now that my work purely manipulates people. It frustrates the viewer intentionally, and to be honest, I like it like that. If nothing else, it stirs some kind of response in viewers. I suppose.

Shift Exhibition...

I have an exhibition with 16 other NTU Photography Second Year students in Nottingham that is open for 3 more days. I realise that I should have posted this sooner but i've been busy so give me a break! The exhibition is at the Photographers' Hub on Lower Parliment Street in Nottingham. The website URL is:


www.shiftexhibition.co.uk


Have a look and a visit, I'll post some highlights after it's finished, probably this weekend sometime.