This series was taken from a project carried out in my first year at Southampton Solent University; the images were shot on medium format film and then printed by myself in the colour darkroom at the University.
The method of this project was to burn my negatives to create portraits where the face has been removed to reveal a visible absence. The concept behind this series was to disrupt the normal interaction that the viewer would have with a portrait.
Normally when analysing a portrait, the viewer is drawn immediately to the facial features, in particular the eyes. Instinctively we try to find clues about what the subject is thinking or feeling from their facial expressions. So if the face has been removed, the viewer is forced to analyse the portrait in a different way, observing the absence in the image and the effects it has had on the portrait.
I chose to display this project as a series to show the progressive effects that the burning has had on the image.
