The aim of the thesis was to raise awareness about climate issues through a photo series and a printed zine. The subject of the photographs were dead corals from Thailand, which we tried to bring back to life through the artistic process of painting them with tempera paints. In this attempt, we were unsuccessful. When we put the corals back in the aquarium, the colours started to dissolve when they came into contact with water. Through a series of photographs that documents this process, we aimed to create a visual story that highlights the damage ecosystems suffer when corals are bleached and die.
In the theoretical part, we first covered the basics of digital and underwater photography. We explored composition – from formats and the golden section, to positive and negative space. We touched upon the history of staged photography and its influence in the 21st century. We highlighted the importance of photography as a means of communicating and drawing attention to climate change, as well as its origins, purpose and motives. We presented the origins of zines and their impact in society, particularly environmental zines.
In the experimental part, we first created photographs on the theme of environmentalism. As an experiment, we used three different photographic devices. The most successful photographs taken with one device were designed into a zine, which serves as a travelling and informative exhibition. We used Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom to process the photos, and Adobe InDesign and Adobe Illustrator to create and design the zine.
Our final products are a series of photographs and a zine.
|
